When spokes loosen or break the wheel will develop a wobble and needs to be trued to prevent rim damage. One option is to simply remove the wheel and take it to your local bike shop (LBS) and have them fix it.Marty R: When I discover a loose spoke, or replace a broken one (only on the rear wheel so far), I hand-tighten it with a spoke wrench to its approximate tension. If needed, I'll run by a local bike shop to have them true the wheel on a jig. I also re-true the wheel every time I change a tire. Don Cross: I also make a point to check all the spokes for tightness. Easy to do if tight they will kind of "strum" when you pluck them. Loose ones rattle. I tighten them myself after adding a little drop of red Lock-tight. If you haven't done that ask at your nearest bike shop and they will show you. be careful to not overtighten. With the rough roads in central NY I used to find at least two loose ones after every 28 mile commuting day. Now after getting them lock-tighted I may find one every three trips. A good quality spoke (stainless steel) doesn't stretch. They become loose when the spoke nipples back out. Loctite a troublesome spoke Note: this can be done with the wheel on the ELF. 1. Use your spoke wrench to loosen the spoke until several of the threads are showing 2. Put a drop of teflon lube (eg Tri-Flow) on the threads and spin the wheel a bit to help it work itself in 3. Use a rag to wipe off all excess lube 4. Put a drop of the Loctite Blue on the threads 5. True the wheel and let it sit for 24 hours to let the loctite fully set With the drop of lube you'll be able to adjust the spokes if you needed to. If you use the full strength loctite or no lube you may not be able to move it ever. - LarryP If you have your own truing stand then you probably already know what you are doing. The rest of us should take the wheel to the bike shop and have them take care of it. A professionally trued wheel will stay tight much longer. - LarryP For a 24" wheel (like most of us have on the front) the length is ~ 230mm. Not many bike shops will have spokes that short in stock but it shouldn't be hard for them to cut a longer one and rethread it. One shop quoted me $3.00 for one but I found another shop that charged me $0.77. - LarryP |
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