I "spoke" too soon...
...ha! get it? no?? well nevermind, then ;)
So my trusty Specialized Tri-Cross Singlecross that I have been using as my commuter/daily-driver has developed a bit of a problem... a few, actually. First of all, I started hearing a knocking coming from somewhere!! I checked the fenders, the racks, the basket, anything that could have been loose... to no avail. I even brought it to the LBS -- one of the mechanics took it for a ride and could not quite pin-point what it was. He ultimately suggested that I start by repacking any part of the bike with bearings (BB, headset, hubs, etc...) till I found it; well, I did, and thankfully it was the first thing I pulled apart... the front wheel-hub. A rusted or ruined bearing of some sort; well, I can't afford a new wheel or new decent hub, so I just repacked it (but I will be replacing the bearings in the not-too-distant-future).
So nearly as soon as that problem was diagnosed...
...the other day, as I started home from work, I heard a sound I have not heard since before I got this bike, a sound not heard since the days of riding the old Fuji every day...
...the crack and bang of a spoke breaking.
Now, I know that I have probably (does a few quick calculations) put around 2000 miles on this bike since I bought it in November of last year ('09, for the record) but I wasn't expecting to start hearing spokes break... well, I went and got a new spoke and replaced the broken one... and not a day later another one breaks!!
I got the Tricross because it is technically a Cyclo-cross bike and I wanted something that could stand up to both the harsh New England Winters and the terrible pot-holes and ruts of the Metro-Boston streets.
Here are a few pics from last Winter:
Considering I am 6'1" and hover around "Clydesdale" weight (200lbs) I guess it's stood up pretty well for having been ridden nearly every day for the past 8 months... not to mention the fact that a good 90% of the time I am riding it I am hauling around 20+lbs in the basket... As a matter of fact, during my semester at school , I was carrying sketchbooks, clothes, shoes, paints, and other various art supplies on a daily basis...
...perhaps a bit much for the poor thing, eh?
I guess that a little maintenance was inevitable... hopefully it won't be every week like my old Univega got to be!
it sounds like the spokes may have been overtensioned... had the wheel been re-trued since the bike was purchased? usually after one or two truings, the wheel spokes should be completely de-tensioned and re-trued from scratch.
ReplyDeleteNo, the wheel was pretty much "as is" from the day it was bought with the rest of the bike. The only time it went out of true even a little was when the first spoke broke; but after those 2 rapid succession breaks, it has been fine for @100+ miles so I dunno if it just might be a case of general fatigue on the part of the wheel.
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