26"" Front #408 wheel breaks a lot of spokes

Roy

Roy

100 mW
Joined
Jun 1, 2007
Messages
43
Location
Santa Clara, California
Rode about 10 miles today on asphalt with occasional hard bumps. Noticed *two* broken spokes on the way home. These are the 3rd and 4th broken spokes in the last 200 miles. Now I'm wondering if should just keep replacing them or restring the whole wheel. Spokes always break in exactly the same spot, just above the bend where they lace into the hub. I wonder if something is fubar in the engineering, like does the hole in the hub really fit the contour of the spoke. And how tight do they really need to be? How do you even measure tightness?

Has anybody solved this sort of problem?

Are there better spokes available than stock? (This is a crystalyte #408 hub "goHub" kit from Largo Scooters). To be fair,
it is mounted in a tandem bike and carrying 60v worth of 12ah AGM batteries. But I'm riding it single and I only weight 170. These are very husky spokes. I don't believe they should be breaking so easily. There is also the question of interlacing (not crossing). As delivered the spokes all interlaced and so could literally not be pulled into a straight line as the interlaced spokes interfere with each other (see image). Should I replace w/o the interlace? (That is my inclination).
spokeswrong.png


Anybody know a good spot to buy new spokes? And how to determine what size (#) I currently have?

A lot of questions and puzzlement,
Roy
 
I'm thinking spoke 1 should cross OVER 2, not the other way around. That's how I spoked my wheels, and they've been fine. :?
 
hello Roy,

Wheels built correctly don't break spokes - e-bike wheels should follow suit. Do you know if Key Largo Scooters laced the motor to the wheel, or was it shipped prelaced? How many miles is on the wheel? Tandem? Have you always ridden it alone, or do you add a second passenger on frequently? Could have some burring on the hub flange where the spokes enter. Could be many things causing the breakage.

Lacing and properly tensioning a wheel takes most bike shop mechanics quite a while to master. I have worked on and around bicycles for the past 20 years, and still give my wheels to people I trust will do a better job than me. Here in pittsburgh there are only two guys I am certain can build a wheel to last.

regarding spoke tension, there is a tool called a spoke tension guage, which attaches to each spoke and measures the tension . Specifications for regular bicycle wheel tension or reference-able; don't know about ebike wheels with the heavy guage spokes.

Len
 
Link said:
I'm thinking spoke 1 should cross OVER 2, not the other way around. That's how I spoked my wheels, and they've been fine. :?
Click to expand...

Nope, he has it right. the way its pictured looks funny, but lacing like that keeps the tension off the spoke head, and on the elbow. check out Shelden Browns site for a better explination.


breaking Clyte spokes doesn't suprise me, though. When I took my motor out of the 700C rim to put it in a 26", i used a wire cutter to snip through the 2.2mm stock spokes. it cliped them like string. But I had a couple of replacement spokes. they were thinner, 2mm spokes, but they were DT Swiss, and I couldn't cut them with the wire cutter I had.

Good spokes make all the diffrence.
 
Thanks for advice guys.

Lenk42602 says, "Wheels built correctly don't break spokes." Well I believe that too.
The wheel was apparently laced by the OEM in China.

Having thought and researched a bit more, I think that
1. The interlace on this wheel is a bad idea and I will remove it when I can.
2. Probably the wheel needs re-lacing because the spokes have all been strained.
3. I'm going to look at motorcycle shops for the best qualify spokes to use as replacements.
 
What rim are you using on this wheel ?

the hub, spokes and rim all work together.. 12 gauge spokes require very " stiff " double walled rims.

If you use 13 gauge spokes in holes made for 12 gauge, you will have problems. As posted above, using washers will help to keep the shoulder in place ..

The criss-cross pattern is a good thing, prevents spring wich in turn helps keep your nipples tight. :wink:
 
disndat:Roy ,ebikes sells good 13 gauge spokes and I also recommend using washers on the spoke heads and using a 1 cross pattern.Check out ebikes.ca for more info.
Click to expand...
Good tip, thanks. Google didn't catch that info.
Ypedal: What rim are you using on this wheel ?
the hub, spokes and rim all work together.. 12 gauge spokes require very " stiff " double walled rims.
If you use 13 gauge spokes in holes made for 12 gauge, you will have problems. As posted above, using washers will help to keep the shoulder in place ..
The criss-cross pattern is a good thing, prevents spring wich in turn helps keep your nipples tight.
Click to expand...
The rim is indeed what I'd call double walled and stiff. How can I determine spoke guage? These spokes have a diameter of .09" or about 3mm. The shoulder" (the bent part I take it) maintains same diameter as shank. I've seen some replacement spokes with larger diameter in the shoulder (If I'm using the term correctly). The shoulder has my attention as that's where the spoke will always break.
As to criss-cross, I'm talking interlace rather than crossing so I'm not at all clear what you mean by "prevents spring" (Not that I have anything against keeping nip er spokes tight.) And I've never seen or heard of washers on spokes; is that to stabilize the flattened end where it contacts the hub?
 
Quick followup for archive readers:
1. Got a whole set of new spokes from ebikes.ca
2. Started replacing with a washer as illustrated in Ypedal's post
3. Install w/o the severe interlace the wheel cam with

Results:
-breakage problem has receded. Only one broken spoke in last 2-3 months
-But I've learned to be very easy on front brake and only clamp it down
when a fast stop is essential.
-Though braking is biggest threat, it also happens rarely on quick throttle at low speed.
 
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