Spoke length?

[Nvreloader]

Guys,
I just got a new bike, yes it is a standard pedal type, got it for the better half,

Archive - 2009 CX Comfort | Montague Bikes

www.montaguebikes.com

It is a neat lite bike, (32#'s) when compared to my 2 electric bike ( 100#'s),
after reading the above spec's etc, I have to find and replace 2 broken spokes in the front tire.

I measured the length of the 14 ga missing spokes from the top of the rim to the spoke hole and came up with 10.500", the the spoke nipple sticks .315" above the top of the rim.

I don't know how much of the spoke nipple sits underneath the rim?

Would a total length of 10.815" or 274.701mm be the correct length for these 14 ga spokes? I am not sure how to measure for the correct spoke length.

I have to order new tires/tubes and spokes plus the required tools/equipment at the same time, then do/finish the work at one time, with no delays etc.

Your thoughts and suggestions...
Tia,

 

[harryS]

Take the tire off and remove an old spoke. You gotta pull the tire anyway, There's your length. It can be a pin in the neck to buy just two spokes. Go to a well stocked bike shop and they cut/thread them to length from longer spokes while you wait, Do I know of any such shops..,,I have to believe they exist.
.
I'm sure you have a double wall rim. If the spoke is too long, I add washers under the nipple.

 

[Nvreloader]

Thanks Harry
I attempted to remove a spoke from the same side as the broken ones, I could not get them to move, I didn't have a spoke wrench,
used a new 4" adjustable end wrench (crescent), it was a NO go,
so I'll have to wait for the tools to get here and make 2 orders etc.

The closest bike shop is in Reno, NV over a 100+ miles one way,
so that leaves me doing all my own work, as usual, and I have to use online services for ordering of any parts etc..
Tia,

 

[harryS]

The round combo spoke wremch they sell for a few bucks will grip on even the cheap wheels from china, but you want the single slot wrenches if you plan to keep adjusting them..

 

[indianajo]

Spoke length is measured from the middle of the end of the bent part, to the end of the spoke. Nipple has to be removed.
I use a 6" crescent wrench to adjust spokes. US, spanish or swedish made adjustable wrenches stay straighter than ****ese garbage. If nipple will not move, apply penetrating oil and wait 2 hours. If it still will not more, heat the nipple with a propane torch. Remove tire, tube, rim liner before applying heat.
If spoke is seriously rusted into the nipple, a vise-grip pliers applies more clamping force than any wrench. Again Petersen, Irwin, Milwaukee and Dorch are the only quality vise grip pliers I have bought. Petersen is closed, visit a flea market for those. I haven't bought any Irwin since they moved their factory to *****. Milwaukee looks cheesy with a plastic adjust screw, but I have a 4" milwaukee I have used for light jobs like holding brake/shifter cables while tightening for 3 years.
Once spoke is loose, a flat blade screwdriver applied from the outside of the rim is faster than the wrench.
There are 10 mm 12 mm and 15 mm spoke nipples. The longer ones allow for compensating for too short spoke. If you intend to keep the bike for some years, brass nipples do not rust and sieze up.
If spokes broke in shipment from the factory, indicates imitation "steel" usually from *****. Replacing all spokes with a pack or two of DTswiss spokes will improve reliability. I do not find thicker spokes to be necessary, if the steel is real iron carbon vanadium or molybdinum only. No lead, brass, copper tin scrap allowed in proper steel.
In bicycles built with **** spokes, rims can also crack or warp. Usually an entire used trek, giant, cannondale, kona, specialized bicycle is cheaper than a couple of proper replacement rims & spoke packs. Enormous triangle frame bicycles are a plague on the used market, even if a quality brand.