Why do I keep snapping spokes?
Discussion
mattviatura said:
louiebaby said:
Your best bet is to get a good relationship going with your local bike shop, (LBS.) A good one will discuss what you want to use the bike for, your skill level maintaining it and so on, and give a good recommendation. Pay them back for their time and helpfulness with a sale.
Just did, bought a Scott Aspect 50 on Saturday from The Northwest Mountain Bike Centre in Cheadle on Saturday.Staff there couldn't have been more helpful.
(I'm sooo glad you went for a hardtail, this is my primary advice for anyone who wants a decent quality mountain bike at the budget you're looking for. Suspension on bikes of that sort of price is only every there for show.)
mattviatura said:
Update
Just bought a new wheel from a bike shop about five miles away. It was fifty quid.
The guy, who came across as a bit of an arrogant arse, spoke a fair bit of sense
I have to ask teh OP, is this the same shop you eventually bought the bike from?Just bought a new wheel from a bike shop about five miles away. It was fifty quid.
The guy, who came across as a bit of an arrogant arse, spoke a fair bit of sense
I only ask because, in fact, the advice you were given last April - although a bitter pill to swallow - was mostly bang on.
Digga said:
have to ask teh OP, is this the same shop you eventually bought the bike from?
I only ask because, in fact, the advice you were given last April - although a bitter pill to swallow - was mostly bang on.
Nope, the guy in the other shop lost himself the sale by being an aI only ask because, in fact, the advice you were given last April - although a bitter pill to swallow - was mostly bang on.
hole. I don't know much about bikes and needed advising, not patronising.By contrast the guys at the Northwest MB Centre were great help.
A little late to the thread party with regard to the original question, however I've found that even on a semi-decent road bike wheel bought from a LBS, the spokes, if they're going to go, always go on the drive side necessitating sprocket removal.
Partly this is due to the fact that where they tend to sever is at the point that is difficult to clean! An accumulation of dirt/debris enhances corrosion in the area and ping....
Cheers,
Tom
Partly this is due to the fact that where they tend to sever is at the point that is difficult to clean! An accumulation of dirt/debris enhances corrosion in the area and ping....
Cheers,
Tom
mattviatura said:
Nope, the guy in the other shop lost himself the sale by being an ahole. I don't know much about bikes and needed advising, not patronising.
By contrast the guys at the Northwest MB Centre were great help.
hole. I don't know much about bikes and needed advising, not patronising.By contrast the guys at the Northwest MB Centre were great help.
The truth hurts, but I agree there is a very fine line between being frank and forthright and plain, downright rude.
louiebaby said:
I did the same thing a few years ago. You can spend £150 on a bike that lasts a year, or £400 on one that lasts 3 or 4 years.
I have a £75 bike that's lasted 3 years, no intention of scrapping (though recently treated myself to a second hand roadie 
). Not aimed at you personally at all, but the biggest bugbear I have about cycling is the consumerism - yes there's a difference between a cheap bike and a good bike, but I get sick of the attitude that anything decent costs thousands of pounds when you could buy something a tenth of the price that, despite the slandering, is perfectly viable transport, and just as good at keeping you fit. How do you expect people to get into cycling when the magazines are constantly telling you that you'll be useless at it unless you spend a million pounds on a carbo-unobtainium frame?...and breathe. Feel much better now. Apologies for the thread hijack.
I've got the same problem with my Marin since I put road tyres on it. Knobblys wouldn't last long on the commuter run and I need suspension because the roads round here are . The extra grip meant more power went through the wheel. Eight spokes snapped and the rim vandalised itself the first time I sprinted the bike. Grrrr!
. The extra grip meant more power went through the wheel. Eight spokes snapped and the rim vandalised itself the first time I sprinted the bike. Grrrr!Floor Tom said:
With bike sales men its the same as anything else, you get some tts and you get some guys who are interested in getting the correct bike for your needs. As a bike sales man (I have done a bit of it, not much though) it can be difficult to identify with someone who wants to buy a £200 bike as it is something that most people that work in a bike shop would never consider doing.
Try to find a shop with staff you get along with and stick with them.
Ain't that the truth.ts and you get some guys who are interested in getting the correct bike for your needs. As a bike sales man (I have done a bit of it, not much though) it can be difficult to identify with someone who wants to buy a £200 bike as it is something that most people that work in a bike shop would never consider doing.Try to find a shop with staff you get along with and stick with them.
'What the cheapest bike in the shop?'
'This mongoose for £200'
'But it doesn't even have suspension...I can get a bike with all the suspensions for £100 from Halfords'
'yes but....'
'You lot are rip off merchants, I'm off!'
paranoid airbag said:
I have a £75 bike that's lasted 3 years,
If that's a mountain bike, you ain't riding it hard enough! 
paranoid airbag said:
the biggest bugbear I have about cycling is the consumerism
I'm sure the cheap-tat merchants make just as much margin as the purveyors of top-spec stuff.Equally, in the scheme of bugbears, I and I guess most decent LBS's get pissed off with people paying a dime and expecting a dollar tune when it comes to bikes & components.
shalmaneser said:
Ain't that the truth.
'What the cheapest bike in the shop?'
'This mongoose for £200'
'But it doesn't even have suspension...I can get a bike with all the suspensions for £100 from Halfords'
'yes but....'
'You lot are rip off merchants, I'm off!'
I understand that point of view but can assure you I wasn't acting like that and would rather spend the money locally than on the internet, Halfords etc. Okay it's not a lot of money compared to what some of you hardcore lot spend but it fits what I need it for.'What the cheapest bike in the shop?'
'This mongoose for £200'
'But it doesn't even have suspension...I can get a bike with all the suspensions for £100 from Halfords'
'yes but....'
'You lot are rip off merchants, I'm off!'
I've said before that some staff in bike shops, in my experience, are contemptuous of people who don't know the 'language' and for that reason it can seem quite a closed scene.
Digga said:
If that's a mountain bike, you ain't riding it hard enough!
quite possibly, I'm not brilliant at mtb'ing and spend half my time in the mountainous fens, so not that much opportunity 
. Ironically, it was a halfords bloke persuaded me not to get a cheap full-susser.I've ridden better bikes, and yes I'd buy one if I had the money (student). I just dislike the attitude that spending lots is necessary - put it this way, if autocar told you that a golf gti was entry level, and anything below that wasn't a car, you'd laugh. I've ridden a true BSO - borrowed from a relative, older than me, and the front wheel fell off within a mile. Brakes were fecking useless too. Anyway, back on topic, I have no idea why spokes would snap unless they're overtightened, etc
hthmattviatura said:
I understand that point of view but can assure you I wasn't acting like that and would rather spend the money locally than on the internet, Halfords etc. Okay it's not a lot of money compared to what some of you hardcore lot spend but it fits what I need it for.
I've said before that some staff in bike shops, in my experience, are contemptuous of people who don't know the 'language' and for that reason it can seem quite a closed scene.
That wasn't directed at you at all - a decathlon is a reasonable bike, but I would suggest spending £300 or more on a replacement if it's going to be used regularly.I've said before that some staff in bike shops, in my experience, are contemptuous of people who don't know the 'language' and for that reason it can seem quite a closed scene.
You really do get what you pay for.
paranoid airbag said:
I just dislike the attitude that spending lots is necessary
FWIW I think it's necessary to have a decent bike, but you can still do this without busting the bank.If you know what to look for Ebay and Pinkbike.com (amongst others) have some great secondhand stuff, which knows a lot of the cheap shop dross into a cocked hat.
Yep, you have to have decent kit if you're a decentish rider or it will fall apart and spokes will snap. But you don't have to spend a fortune. Bought all my bikes in the past 2nd hand and they turned up good as new, like they were straight out of the box.
Specialized Rockhopper with the aluminium metal matrix frame, titanium bars & seatpost, XT throughout: £200
Specialized BigHit Expert, Bomber 888 RC2s: £700
Both a fraction of their new price.
On the wheel front, have a go at lacing your own up, I did all mine and they're outlasted any shop bought wheels. It's not as hard as it looks, Sheldon Brown does some good guides on the internet, follow them and have a standby wheel to copy the pattern and you're away.
Specialized Rockhopper with the aluminium metal matrix frame, titanium bars & seatpost, XT throughout: £200
Specialized BigHit Expert, Bomber 888 RC2s: £700
Both a fraction of their new price.
On the wheel front, have a go at lacing your own up, I did all mine and they're outlasted any shop bought wheels. It's not as hard as it looks, Sheldon Brown does some good guides on the internet, follow them and have a standby wheel to copy the pattern and you're away.
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