The tip of the spoke is probably broken off inside the nipple, so you need to replace the spoke and the nipple.

Spokes breaking like that makes me worry that the wheelbuilder used spokes that are a little too short as well.

 

Spokes breaking like that makes me worry that the wheelbuilder used spokes that are a little too short as well.

yeah hopefully we're wrong, but I tend to agree w/mack. That's an odd failure for a healthy, well built wheel.

 

It would seem that the threads left on the spoke were not engaged with the threads on the nipple. The spoke broke, leaving the part that was threaded in the nipple. I would agree with mack, the spokes were/are probably too short. In this case you will be very lucky if you replace the spoke and nipple and all is well. Worst case the whole wheel may need to be rebuilt with correct length spokes. But without actually seeing it in person there’s no way to know for sure.

 

Shitcan the spokeaand nipple!

For one, it is too short to be viable.
For two, spokes can behave like "torque to yield" bolts, they are one time use only.

Torque to yield bolts will stretch once they have been used and never hold proper torque again but will break and not reach spec. It's better to err on the side of safety...

 

Shitcan the spokeaand nipple!

For one, it is too short to be viable.
For two, spokes can behave like "torque to yield" bolts, they are one time use only.

Torque to yield bolts will stretch once they have been used and never hold proper torque again but will break and not reach spec. It's better to err on the side of safety...

so… those fancy, expensive torque to yield bolts work harden when they are tightened. They stretch permanently.

Spokes in a wheel which are stress relieved are not tightened until they yield. Do you have any evidence to your claim that spokes in a built wheel have yielded, work hardened and cannot be reused?

My evidence is that spokes removed from an old wheel did not come measurably longer.

op, when you go to replace the nipple you’ll have access to the back of all the other nipples. Have a gander up their backsides and see that the end of the spoke is reasonably flush with bottom of nipple. If the nipples have a deep empty hole the spokes are too short.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen threaded spokes breaking at thread because they’re too short, it’s the nipples that I’ve seen explode. When I’ve seen a spoke thread snap its where the nipple stops grabbing the thread - always a cheap spoke with cut threads and maybe under tensioned or not stress relieved. Who built the wheel?

 

eri, they also do a great job of letting cylinder heads lift at high RPM such as going over Eisenhower so that I get to make a living from people that cannot take their leg outta the throttle! Head gasket jobs pay handsomely... I thank ARP for their stud kits which are the only way I will do cylinder heads...
Once those TTY's stretch, they are gonna break long before reaching specified torque. Subarus are notorious for the head lift.

You are right about nipples letting go... When the spoke doesn't pass through, into the bulb, there is no support of the nipple itself. As for spokes breaking at the thread, there is good reason for rolling threads as opposed to using a die to make them.

 

ya arp stud are picture perfect fasteners. Is like a fastener theory come to life. Experienced motor people (not me) claim they’re reusable as head studs which is bonkers to me, just shows the power of high tolerances and solid intent. Its metallurgy that wasn't available when my old car was built.

I purchased the bike off of Pinkbike a few months ago. I assume the wheel was a factory wheel but I am not sure. It has the same exact spec as the stock Stans wheel with the same hubs except for the upgraded POE. The wheel I assume has about 1000 miles on it. Maybe more if the previous owner used it before building up the bike.

The thing is, changing tire and tape is a PITA but a proper wheel will last a long time. Probably right now you should take the tubeless tape off and check the backsides of the nipples, check for corrosion (blooms of white chalky stuff), then retape. If the spokes are all quite short (show us pictures) then you're probably in for rebuilding that wheel with new spokes and nipples. It sucks though because expensive.

If this was my wheel I'd get a single matching quality spoke and nipple and replace just the broken one - even if the other spokes are too short. I'd ride it and cross my fingers, and wait until more fail before paying the $100 for all new spokes and nipples.

 

Re-build wheel with new proper length spokes and new nipples.

 

That one's definitely broken and not just unthreaded. Looks like about half the threaded bit is gone. I'd suggest taking it to a shop so they can look it over if you can't tell the difference.

 

1) The spoke is broken.

2) The spoke and nipple are toast.

3) This can happen with correctly-sized spokes when you have the combination of machine-building and cheap cut-thread spokes (eg. DT Industry). It happened to me on a '21 Levo Comp that was otherwise decently-spec'ed... except for the spokes. This happened to a lot of '21 Levo Comp owners.

 

I agree with everyone else that due to the break, spoke and nipple both need to be replaced.

To answer your original question though, had it truly just unthreaded itself, you could just tighten back to about the same tension as it’s two neighbors going to the same flange and then true the wheel. If it’s not true from just tightening it back up that is.

 

Ok sounds like I need to replace both the spoke and nipple as well as check all the other ones to see if they too, are short. When I do this is there an easier way than completely taking off the tire, sealant, and rim tape? Also, where can I find what length spokes I need to buy?

 

No way of replacing nipple without removing tire and such. Also hot tip is to put tape on the nipple so that as you are taking things apart it doesn't fall into the cavity in the rim and then you have to try to fish it out, I have experience on this one and it is a pain in the ass for sure.

You could pull an adjacent spoke out of the rim and take it to a shop to get a replacement or take the broken one and have them find the right length one based on the length of the threads at the top of the threaded area.

I also agree with everyone else in that you should look at the rest of your spokes to ensure that they are the correct length. If the spoke isn't flush or slightly poking through the bottom of the nipple in adjacent spokes then they were probably too short to begin with.

Also is this a machine built (factory wheel) or a mechanic built (replacement or custom) wheel? How many miles as well?

 

I purchased the bike off of Pinkbike a few months ago. I assume the wheel was a factory wheel but I am not sure. It has the same exact spec as the stock Stans wheel with the same hubs except for the upgraded POE. The wheel I assume has about 1000 miles on it. Maybe more if the previous owner used it before building up the bike.

 

I took the rim strip off today and this is what the backs of all the nipples look like. Seems like they are all a bit short, however they seem threaded in enough that there is no threads poking out of the front of the nipple where the spoke threads in.

 

I found the tech document for my Wheelset to determine what length spoke I need to buy. In the tech doc there are two measurements. Ex. 294(294.7). What are both of these measurements?

 

Length from head to end of spoke. One side of the wheel takes a longer spoke than the other. Common due to dishing of a wheel.