Workouts for us triathletes can be demanding to say the very least. Mix in bike or brick workouts when a spoke breaks and you’ve got a solid recipe for frustration, possible injury and a good probability of being stranded far from your home or car. Don’t know about you, but being late to the office because of a bike mishap doesn’t usually go over very well; unless you ride your bike to work.
The truth is that bikes are strong and durable, but still remain sensitive and temperamental. Does that sound like your loved one? Ahem. I digress. Rims are strong. Are they indestructible? No. That also means spokes are not made of indestructo material. When a spoke snaps on a training ride or a brick, it could send you skidding to a stop, ruin a rim or just be a pain in the neck. Here’s what you can do to help minimize your risk (not foolproof,but things to look out for):
1. Bladed Spokes – Avoid these if you are over 200 lbs or like to climb in massive gears. If you are 250 and ride a 36 hole rim with bladed spokes you are NOT guaranteed to break a spoke, but in general bladed spokes are great for smaller riders.
2. Avoid Potholes – Sounds like a no-brainer, right? Not only will avoiding a pothole decrease your likelihood of ever getting a pinch flat, but also prevent your rim from getting whacked and warped. Once that rim gets “out of true” or warped, the likelihood of spokes breaking increases quite a bit. Essentially, some of the spokes are shouldering more of the load of your body and bike.
3. Avoid Cornering at High Speeds with Wheels that are Severely Out of True or Warped: Because your potential for breaking a spoke is increased when the wheel is severely warped, take a fast or sharp corner just adds to the stress of that already stressed out rim.
What happens if you take all of those precautions and you still break a spoke? There are a few thing you can do:
1. Open your brake: You can flip the little lever on your brake caliper to increase the distance between your brake pads and the rim surface. This will minimize or even sometimes eliminate rubbing so you can get back to your car or home. IMPORTANT: If you only use one brake on your bike, don’t do this because you would be riding with no brakes.
2. Wrap the spoke: If the rim is not severely warped after the spoke breaks, simply wrap that spoke around a good spoke so that it doesn’t clatter and drive you totally insane.
3. Let a pro repair it: Wheels are something you want to leave to the pros. Trust us.
So, fellow triathletes, you now know how to handle a broken spoke. Remember to train safely and consult our bike DVD for triathletes if you an any other questions about the bike and triathlon.