this post was submitted on 21 Jun 2024
135 points (98.6% liked)

Bicycles

3128 readers
1 users here now

Welcome to [email protected]

A place to share our love of all things with two wheels and pedals. This is an inclusive, non-judgemental community. All types of cyclists are accepted here; whether you're a commuter, a roadie, a MTB enthusiast, a fixie freak, a crusty xbiking hoarder, in the middle of an epic across-the-world bicycle tour, or any other type of cyclist!


Community Rules


Other cycling-related communities

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
135
submitted 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) by kersploosh to c/[email protected]
 

I lost four spokes on my morning commute when the chain decided to jump off the big cog. Of course I don't have a spoke protector. (Who needs a dork disc? Bad things won't happen if you keep your bike maintained. /s) I was lucky to skid to a stop rather than crash when the rear wheel locked up.

PSA: keep a few zip ties in your repair kit.

top 17 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] [email protected] 43 points 5 months ago (1 children)

What a bummer! This looks like you impaled your hand with half a dozen spokes

[–] sugar_in_your_tea 5 points 5 months ago

Yeah, that happens. Next time wear gloves. ;)

[–] [email protected] 26 points 5 months ago

I love that all it takes to stop people from using something helpful is give it a shameful alliterative name like "dork disc" 😅

[–] [email protected] 15 points 5 months ago

I had one broken spoke in around 40 years of cycling. I always thought it was basically impossible to break them, even if the bike is 20+ years old. I guess you just need the right (wrong?) circumstances...

[–] [email protected] 14 points 5 months ago

I've seen what a splintered carbon arrow can do, and for a very short moment I thought the image was actually showing something like that. Still sucks, though.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 5 months ago

Honestly if they broke that easily it was only a matter of time before a big shock to the rear wheel did the same thing

[–] [email protected] 9 points 5 months ago

I didn't know this was a thing. I've never lost a single spoke. But then I buy cheap stuff that isn't hyper engineered to the tightest specs.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Who needs a dork disc? Bad things won't happen if you keep your bike maintained. /s

When was the last time you indexed / adjusted your derailleur?

[–] kersploosh 14 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I'm sure it's been years. I tell myself I maintain my bikes well, but I'll be honest: I usually ride it 'till something breaks. I was asking for this one.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 months ago

Yeah. I wasn't sure whether you're mocking people maintaining their bikes or yourself there. I think doing a quick tightening of your screws, oiling / waxing your chain and adjusting your derailleur are kinda the main things you want to do, especially if the bike was standing around for a while (even more so if stored outside where the temps fluctuate even more).

[–] pc486 8 points 5 months ago

Oof. You definitely were taking a risk with that drive train. I'm glad the worst of it is a few broken spokes.

That's clearly have a working bike, not some sort of weekend roadie show piece. Put a dork disk on there! There isn't any shame in favoring function over form.

Awesome call-out on zip ties. They're the duct tape of the bike world.

One small thing I noticed is how your fender and rack are mounted. It's fine to share a single eyelet to mount both, but it's best to mount in the order of frame, rack, fender, washer, and bolt. That ordering shortens the cantilever of the rack load, a much higher load than a fender, on the bolt.

[–] xiao 4 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Thanks for the zip ties tip !

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 months ago

I love the satisfaction when something goes wrong on a ride and you're prepared for it. I came off my bike a few months ago and scraped up my elbow pretty bad. Despite the mild concussion I remember being quite excited to be able to patch myself up in the field, hahaha.

[–] Grass 3 points 5 months ago

I have a 50 or 52 on the back of my bike and its a decent amount bigger than any dork disc I've ever seen. They seem to only go up to 34 and I have been thinking of 3d printing one that matches my colour scheme.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago

Good reference on the title. Zip ties to the rescue

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago
[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago