Rear wheel issue

CK61938 · 22 Jun 2016 at 19:13

Hi guys! Hope someone can help.

Cycling home this evening and suddenly felt the bike wobble more than it should. Looked down and noticed the rear wheel was out of alignment. I was probably 3-4 miles from home when this happened. Didn't cause too much of an issue so when I got home, I took a closer look and noticed one of the spokes has come off from the centre.

Question: if I ride to work tomorrow, will it get worse or will I be fine before taking it in to be looked at?

There's an Evans Cycle right around corner from where I live so I can drop it off there tomorrow after work (couldn't this evening as I had no idea what had happened and the shop is now closed). Checked their site and they would charge around £20 to get the wheel true again.

But basically if anyone can give me an advice as to whether I can still cycle to and from work tomorrow without further damaging the rear wheel, please.

Thanks all!

DaleTheWhale · 22 Jun 2016 at 19:39

If only one spoke is gone then you should be OK to ride, how bad is the wobbling?
What wheels do you have?

Local place might do it for cheaper than £20 if you have any around.

CK61938 · 22 Jun 2016 at 19:59

ThaReaperGuy said:
If only one spoke is gone then you should be OK to ride, how bad is the wobbling?
What wheels do you have?

Local place might do it for cheaper than £20 if you have any around.

It's not that bad to be honest. I might be able to get away with it. But worried I might cause stress on the other spokes.

And there's nowhere local. Evans it literally a 5min walking distance from where I live. So that really is my local. Lol.

DaleTheWhale · 22 Jun 2016 at 22:25

CK61938 said:
It's not that bad to be honest. I might be able to get away with it. But worried I might cause stress on the other spokes.

And there's nowhere local. Evans it literally a 5min walking distance from where I live. So that really is my local. Lol.

As long as there's enough spokes to take the tension, you'll be fine.

And fair enough, they'll sort you out.

CK61938 · 22 Jun 2016 at 23:22

Thanks. I have decided to not cycle tomorrow. Just don't want to cause more damage. Especially as riding to work is more uphill than downhill.

6thElement · 23 Jun 2016 at 02:50

If it's a low spoke count road wheel and it's got a noticeable wobble with a single break, don't ride it.

I no longer ride low spoke count road wheels after a single broken spoke caused my rear wheel to go so out of true it couldn't turn in the frame. Thankfully I was able to walk a mile or so and catch the train home.

CK61938 · 23 Jun 2016 at 09:38

6thElement said:
If it's a low spoke count road wheel and it's got a noticeable wobble with a single break, don't ride it.

I no longer ride low spoke count road wheels after a single broken spoke caused my rear wheel to go so out of true it couldn't turn in the frame. Thankfully I was able to walk a mile or so and catch the train home.

It's a high spoke count hybrid wheel. But the wobble could be worse and could cause issues with the other spokes. That's why I didn't ride it today.