I was trying out seat drag today and had gone a couple cycles of the wheel and was in the process of bailing out when I heard a “ping” sound. Upon examining my unicycle, I found that one of the spokes had popped out of the rim, leaving the metal which should hold it in sticking up. I had noticed before that the parts of my rim which hold the spokes in were slightly cracked or bulging in some places, but paid no attention to it. Hopefully you can understand the problem. Anyway, here are my questions:
Is it possible to fix this, or is the rim ruined?
If it can be fixed, should I do it myself or bring it to the LBS?
If it is possible to fix it at home, how?
Would it wreck the unicycle to ride it in this condition if I stick to non-strenuous stuff like regular riding, backwards, and wheel walk? I can sort of stick the spoke back into the hole and it stays put for the most part when I do.
Note: my unicycle is a 2003 24" chrome Torker. I bent the rim several months ago by falling on it and had to get it straightened at the LBS. The rest of the unicycle isn’t in very good shape either. I am considering buying a 20" freestyle sometime fairly soon, but I would still like to have a 24" around for distance riding and light MUni.
Did the spoke break right at the nipple, or did the nipple actually pull all the way out of the rim?
If you just broke a spoke, a bike shop will be able to fix it easily. You can even do it yourself if you want. Just tighten the new spoke to the same tension as the other spokes in the wheel.
If the nipple pulled all the way out of the rim you may be able to fix it by putting a washer inside the rim to hold the nipple. A bike shop may have the appropriate size washer. Or you can get creative and try to make your own washer by drilling a hole in a little piece of metal.
Or the nipple head could’ve sheared off. That happened to me recently. I decided to completely re-tension the wheel after it sheared off, but I did 2 days of semi-strenous riding before I did so. The wheel survived repeated 30"+ hops, and some 30" drops to flat, plus some nasty gaps, without much trouble, so you ought to be fikne, although I was riding a 19" wheel that was probably built with better quality than your torker.
The entire spoke pulled out of the rim. The spoke itself is intact.
How would I install a washer? I can see how it would work if I got it on there, but I don’t know how to remove the spoke from the hub.
You don’t need to remove the spoke from the hub. From what you say the spoke is still good. The nipple (the threaded piece at the end of the spoke) is also good.
Take the wheel off the unicycle
Remove the tire and tube from the wheel
Remove the rim strip from the rim
Unscrew the nipple off the spoke
Put the washer in the rim
Fit the spoke nipple in the washer in the rim
Thread the spoke so it is just like the other spokes in the wheel
Thread the nipple on the spoke
Tension the spoke using a spoke wrench
Replace the rim strip
Put the tube and tire back on the rim
Inflate the tire
Put the wheel back on the unicycle
Ride
Keep in mind that the chrome Torkers have a very cheap steel rim. It’s not worth it to spend a lot of money to fix it. If it turns out that you will need a new rim then it would be better to just spend the money on a new 24" black Torker. Getting a new wheel built at a bike shop could easily end up costing $70 or more. For that money you might as well buy a new black Torker. With the black Torkers you’ll end up with a better unicycle.