the Way of the Turtle

REBUILDING THE WHEEL
Friday, January 11, 2008

I was supposed to go out for a run tonight but ended up falling asleep after getting home instead. For some reason, after I woke up I was hit by the urge to finally fix the front wheel on my road bike, which snapped a spoke a month ago.

I started out just replacing the broken spoke, but then bit the bullet and worked my way around the wheel replacing all the spokes that hadn't yet been replaced. It's a cheap bike, and the thin bladed spokes just haven't been strong enough. Early in the summer, I replaced all the spokes on the back wheel, and I haven't had any problems with it since then.

Replacing the spokes isn't all that difficult... it's just a matter of doing it carefully and making sure to lace them correctly. Of course, the fun part is just starting - now I have to true the wheel as best I can. That will probably take longer than it took to physically replace the spokes, and typically proves to be an exercise in frustration management, since adjusting the tension to remove one wobble often introduces wobbles elsewhere on the wheel. But it might be a nice break from grading homework assignments this weekend.

JMH