Disk vs Rim brake

I recently discovered a big advantage with rim brakes. A few weeks ago on a trail in the middle of nowhere, a spoke snapped. I had a spare, and could replace the spoke without taking anything apart. Yesterday a spoke broke on a uni with a disc brake. Crank and disc had to come off (well, only the crank actually thanks to KH). I had to walk home to get it fixed.

Interesting.
I would never carry spare spokes with me or the tool to replace them during a ride.

I think it’s ok to ride a uni missing a spoke (just ride gently and don’t do it excessively?)

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I agree on this. I’ve got a broken spoke on a bike of mine that I intend on replacing. I’ve been intending on doing it for probably more that a year now and have probably put 200-300 miles on it in that time without any issues that I can detect. It does have a slight wobble to it, less than 1/4", but it uses disc brakes so that’s not a big problem.

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I may be lucky but I have never had a broken spoke even as a kid riding my skinny tire ten speed like a single track mountain bike. I went on a 4 day bike trip last year and was advised by a seasoned rider of the same trail to take extra spokes with my tool kit but did not. I have never done it so I don’t really know the process . I hope my lucky strike continues.

I have had one uni (nimbus trials) where all the spokes bar 5 broke over the course of a very short time. No idea why they broke on that uni.

Can’t recall ever breaking spokes on any other uni or bike.

Insufficient tension makes spokes break.

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And uneven tension makes spoke break. Typically it’s the ones that are less tight that snap first.

My 36" used to break a spoke almost every ride (I bought it well used, and a bunch of spokes must have been close to failing) but it never made the wheel unrideable. And I’ve broken lots of bike spokes over the years, same result - no problem finishing the ride.

You can get kevlar replacement spokes that can be used on the trail without removing the brake disc (or bike cassette) - I used to carry one - but I never used it.

Interesting. I found this: Emergency Replacement to Fix a Broken Spoke
Edit: Somehow i missed the picture.

I’ve broken several spokes. If aborting the ride is an option, I’ll do that so I don’t risk breaking more spokes. If not I continue the ride. If you’re a happy careless person, I’m sure you can go on and on for miles and miles before destroying the wheel :laughing:

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I watched a YouTube video on the fiberfix spoke repair kit. It looks like a really good emergency plan to have. It is compact and the repair looks easy to perform.

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