Is this wheel klaar?

[Craig Armstrong]

So I'm riding on a set of AM Wide Lightnings.

A few weeks ago I noticed that this one spoke is pulling through the rim. 

 

I'm not sure if it happened recently or if its been like that since I bought them second hand a few months ago.

Either way, I've continued to ride like normal and the wheel hasn't exploded and the crack hasn't seemed to get worse.

Is there anything I can do here, or should I just ride it until its kaput

[BaGearA]

its klaar , but you can keep on riding it like that it will probably break "goed en klaar " with A loud sound and probably a very large crack or split 

 

 

the whole wheel won't just implode on itself 

 

 

Not A good idea tho , you never know where A stray spoke might end up , could be your chest in the worst possible case

[intern]

I'd ride it till it fails completely. Even that is unlikely to be any more spectacular than a (commonyl encountered problem of a) broken spoke, centrifugal force will keep it more or less in line with the rest of the spinning bits. Worse case scenario is a few scratches to your bike, in that eventuality...

[MORNE]

its klaar , but you can keep on riding it like that it will probably break "goed en klaar " with A loud sound and probably a very large crack or split - a chance of it maybe being your face  

 

 

the whole wheel won't just implode on itself 

 

 

Not A good idea tho , you never know where A stray spoke might end up , could be your chest in the worst possible case 

i stabbed myself so bad on a cut spoke the past weekend...it went in like a knife into butter...almost no pressure being applied. Those things are stupid sharp.

[Craig Armstrong]

Damn. Was definitely hoping that Interns advice would be worst case scenario. 

Thanks for the advice, guys

[Pure Savage]

i stabbed myself so bad on a cut spoke the past weekend...it went in like a knife into butter...almost no pressure being applied. Those things are stupid sharp.

End of spoke or the side of it. 

 

Those aero spokes are not friendly to paint on frames either, get it wrong and it just peels that clear coat way back!

[DJR]

I would look very carefully at the rest of the wheel as well. It is not often that just 1 spoke does that. I would expect to find a few more, or to soon to find a few more.

 

What to do about it? Good question that, because sometimes it can keep going for a long time. But I don't like question marks when it comes to safety, so, I would rebuild it with a new rim rather than to wait for it to fail.  

[rudi-h]

it's klaar... buy a new wheel and don't use it any longer.  speculating about how bad the consequences of a catastrophic wheel failure would/could be is a little bit like speculating about how bad you'd be injured if you would drive your car wheel if you'd drive it until it bursts.

[MORNE]

End of spoke or the side of it. 

 

Those aero spokes are not friendly to paint on frames either, get it wrong and it just peels that clear coat way back!

i can imagine those bladed ones can be nasty too. this was a broken spoke end...the 1.7mm side. ive heard stories of bike spokes being used as weapons before...ala wolverine style....it makes sense now. They are so stiff and sharp and small surface area, they just glide in.

[Pure Savage]

i can imagine those bladed ones can be nasty too. this was a broken spoke end...the 1.7mm side. ive heard stories of bike spokes being used as weapons before...ala wolverine style....it makes sense now. They are so stiff and sharp and small surface area, they just glide in.

Sounds very prison breaky !

[Mawbs]

clean it nicely then put some Quickset steel putty in the cracks and smooth it off ..will last a lot longer

[Craig Armstrong]

clean it nicely then put some Quickset steel putty in the cracks and smooth it off ..will last a lot longer

 

Honestly that's what I was hoping someone would say. I wasn't sure if I was just being stupid for thinking that though 

[Flatdog7]

Waaaay of topic kinda, my dad was an ambulance driver for st Johns in the 60's, they would get a lot of scenes where a guy had been stabbed with a bicycle spoke. Loads of blood and almost impossible to find the wound.

[PhilipV]

Start sourcing a new rim. The hub can he rebuilt into a new wheel. If replace spokes as well, but it may not be necessary.

 

In the meantime ride it like that. If the spoke breaks off you'll know. Then you just twist the broken spoke around a spoke next to it and continue the ride. The rim is klaar anyway.

[DJR]

Think about the forces at play. Those cracks happened because the spoke tension got higher than the aluminium of the rim could resist. In effect the spoke pulled through the metal holding it. That could have happened because the spoke was tensioned too much in a ham fisted attempt too true the wheel, or as a 1 off big hit on a rock / hard landing a jump. Whatever the cause, that spoke is no longer carrying its weight and that means the 2 adjacent spokes will carry more. You can ride most wheels minus a spoke, or even 2, but would you do it for longer than you have to? No, most would replace the broken / missing spoke as soon as they get safely home and before their next ride. Riding it as it is will sooner or later cause more cracks and eventually ruin the wheel / rim. How long will that take? Will it happen gradually? Will it happen suddenly? Will it happen miles from home? Will it happen when you land a big jump? These are all impossible questions to answer. That is why I would replace it as soon as possible. Meaning, when there is money / time / opportunity / parts to get it done. It should not cost you more than price of a new rim and the few hundred rand labour to a good wheel builder.

[DJR]

clean it nicely then put some Quickset steel putty in the cracks and smooth it off ..will last a lot longer

Yes, it will, but see any epoxy it as an emergency temporary fix, not a repair.