rebeccmeister (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rebeccmeister) wrote2014-03-03 01:05 pm
rebeccmeister) wrote2014-03-03 01:05 pm
Entry tags:
Spokes
Right after I wrote that post on Saturday morning, I flipped over Froinlavin to spend a bit more time truing the rear wheel, and promptly discovered that I'd broken a spoke. So that explained the strange noise right as I left the house.
I'm not especially surprised, given how loose the non-driveside spokes were. I was planning on meeting up with my friend J for our ride at 10:30, so I called and suggested we meet up at the Local Bike Shop of Ambivalence, to see if I could get the spoke replaced and on the road, or figure out if I'd need to swap bikes and ride the Jolly Roger instead. One way or another, I was determined to get in a decent brevet training ride, and a broken spoke shouldn't be the showstopper.
A mechanic at the LBSoA was able to work on it immediately, and did a decent job, although I was pretty amused by his suggestion that I replace my patched tube with a brand-new tube. [I had no problem with his suggestion to replace the rim tape, although I should have double-checked what kind he wanted to put on there. I also temporarily ignored his aghastness at the quality of my rear brake pads. As a friend says, never buy a car mechanic's car, or a bike mechanic's bike.] While I was there, I figured I'd pick up some additional spokes, and got a bunch of spare patches, too.
And so, after the conclusion of our 120-mile training ride adventure, while putting things away, I noticed - yep. Another spoke has broken. This isn't too surprising. I'll replace that one myself. I just have to hope I don't have to repeat this process too many more times.
But it's all making me wonder - are these problems my fault, and is this the wrong wheel for me? The wheel came with the road bike, and with a 3-year warranty, so I'll bring the wheel back up to the shop in Seattle in April. At the same time, it is true that I've put substantial "crazy" loads on the bike, in more than one way. I hauled a load of compost in the bike trailer (causing a friend to comment that she saw the wheel flex when I started to pedal). I've toured on it a couple of times, and I wouldn't exactly call it "light touring," even though I've certainly toured with much heavier loads. I haven't been riding it on any especially gnarly terrain, unless you count Texas chipseal as gnarly terrain, and even before all of this I've had to re-tighten loose spokes pretty frequently.
So, maybe it's time to shop for a more beefy rear wheel. There are so few bike shops that actually understand these kinds of problems, because (1) the vast majority of them stereotype me as a dainty woman rider (oh honey), and (2) the "racer" culture is always harping on and on about lightweight and aerodynamic stuff. Yeah, efficiency matters, but it's pretty damn inefficient to have to stop and replace spokes every hundred miles. Just ask that guy who was touring around the Pacific Northwest on a pennyfarthing, having to replace multiple spokes on a daily basis. [I wish I still had a link to his blog - that guy was crazy! ha.]
I'm not especially surprised, given how loose the non-driveside spokes were. I was planning on meeting up with my friend J for our ride at 10:30, so I called and suggested we meet up at the Local Bike Shop of Ambivalence, to see if I could get the spoke replaced and on the road, or figure out if I'd need to swap bikes and ride the Jolly Roger instead. One way or another, I was determined to get in a decent brevet training ride, and a broken spoke shouldn't be the showstopper.
A mechanic at the LBSoA was able to work on it immediately, and did a decent job, although I was pretty amused by his suggestion that I replace my patched tube with a brand-new tube. [I had no problem with his suggestion to replace the rim tape, although I should have double-checked what kind he wanted to put on there. I also temporarily ignored his aghastness at the quality of my rear brake pads. As a friend says, never buy a car mechanic's car, or a bike mechanic's bike.] While I was there, I figured I'd pick up some additional spokes, and got a bunch of spare patches, too.
And so, after the conclusion of our 120-mile training ride adventure, while putting things away, I noticed - yep. Another spoke has broken. This isn't too surprising. I'll replace that one myself. I just have to hope I don't have to repeat this process too many more times.
But it's all making me wonder - are these problems my fault, and is this the wrong wheel for me? The wheel came with the road bike, and with a 3-year warranty, so I'll bring the wheel back up to the shop in Seattle in April. At the same time, it is true that I've put substantial "crazy" loads on the bike, in more than one way. I hauled a load of compost in the bike trailer (causing a friend to comment that she saw the wheel flex when I started to pedal). I've toured on it a couple of times, and I wouldn't exactly call it "light touring," even though I've certainly toured with much heavier loads. I haven't been riding it on any especially gnarly terrain, unless you count Texas chipseal as gnarly terrain, and even before all of this I've had to re-tighten loose spokes pretty frequently.
So, maybe it's time to shop for a more beefy rear wheel. There are so few bike shops that actually understand these kinds of problems, because (1) the vast majority of them stereotype me as a dainty woman rider (oh honey), and (2) the "racer" culture is always harping on and on about lightweight and aerodynamic stuff. Yeah, efficiency matters, but it's pretty damn inefficient to have to stop and replace spokes every hundred miles. Just ask that guy who was touring around the Pacific Northwest on a pennyfarthing, having to replace multiple spokes on a daily basis. [I wish I still had a link to his blog - that guy was crazy! ha.]