Torq Spokes

[stokepa31]

Hi All

Now my electrics are sorted my beast decided to throw a spoke this morning.

This is not an aspect of bike maintenance I am familiar with and have a couple of questions.

1. Is this fixable under warrantee and is it worth getting my bike over to Loughborough for such a small fix

2. Is there a standard stock spoke for the torq that my local bike shop would have available

3. is it a difficult job to tackle yourself and what equipment might I need.

Thanks
Paul

 

[JamesC]

Hi All

Now my electrics are sorted my beast decided to throw a spoke this morning.

This is not an aspect of bike maintenance I am familiar with and have a couple of questions.

1. Is this fixable under warrantee and is it worth getting my bike over to Loughborough for such a small fix

2. Is there a standard stock spoke for the torq that my local bike shop would have available

3. is it a difficult job to tackle yourself and what equipment might I need.

Thanks
Paul

Hi Paul
Assuming it is the frontwheel, as far as I am aware it is unlikely to be a stock spoke with a regular bike shop.

Give a call to Lloyd or Scott at 50cycles and I am sure that they can send out some spokes to you for a local shop to fit.

I live quite close to Loughborough and was able to watch Lloyd do a very effective job in re-truing the wheel (he does a lot of non-electric, offroad stuff and is well used to wheels) without removing it from the bike.

Since then, I have purchased a spoke key from Halfords and fitted one myself, probably not to the highest standard, but enough to get by until a professional can recheck it.


I am sure many e-bike users will sympathise with wanting to do the job without removal of the wheel.

When you are more confident about the bike being out of warranty etc. I can really recommend the mod from Flecc's site about adding a couple of small stubs to the handlebars, so that the bike can be turned upside down without any damage to the stuff already on the bars.

This makes roadside replacement of a spoke into a very quick job.

James

 

[flecc]

Yes, I second James on that, you can replace it yourself. Use the existing spoke nipple thats in the rim, only unscrewing the old spoke when you are ready for the new one so the nipple doesn't drop back into the rim. Don't bother with letting the tyre down etc if it's the correct length spoke from 50cycles, and tension it to roughly the same as the existing spokes, then fine adjust if necessary if the rim is out of true, but don't overdo it.
.

 

[stokepa31]

the spoke appears to be in one piece but im not sure if its sheared or not. it came away from the rim end not the hub. There appears to be a slight thread on the end which it literally twice round the spoke (should this be longer)?

will I be ok to ride the bike minus a spoke for a few days?

Paul

 

[flecc]

That's unusual Paul, they usually go at the hub on these. You'll need to replace both spoke and nipple since the thread section has snapped. It's normally longer than that

You can ride safely for a few days with one out, just take more care than usual to avoid potholes and the like.
.

 

[JamesC]

the spoke appears to be in one piece but im not sure if its sheared or not. it came away from the rim end not the hub. There appears to be a slight thread on the end which it literally twice round the spoke (should this be longer)?

will I be ok to ride the bike minus a spoke for a few days?

Paul

Hi Paul
Oh dear that sounds like a sheared spoke - there is normally about 5 or 6 mm of threading rather than a couple of turns.

You might need a nipple as well (from 50cycles) and will have to let the tyre down to fit it.

Mine have both sheared off at the 90deg bend at the hub, making Flecc's procedure the one to follow.

I don't know how much harm it does to ride, but I decided not to as the wheel was well out of true with one broken, and I did not want to stress the ones either side.

I guess if it has broken at the rim end, then it is possible to go into the rim and do some damage.

The first time, I did ride gently home for about a mile, but without power.

James

See Flecc's post

 

[stokepa31]

50 cycles will get a spoke and nipple in the post today so should be sorted soon. I will probably take it to a shop to be fitted.

Thanks once again for the prompt advise and knowledge

Paul

 

[stokepa31]

update

half way home when two more spokes decided to shear. one was blocked by the front disk break so i coudnt take it out. this meant that the bike could not be pushed as it would run the spoke round the motor and snag the break. 50 cycles had advised that the bike would still be ok to ride!

again they went at the rim!

two mile walk supporting the front of a torq so there is no wheel rotation is not recommended.

I am now thouroughly buggered and dejected. looks like another call to 50 cyles to request more spokes and nipples, though I am now tempted to deliver it back and let them fix it.

I guess i will see how my fitness is progressing tomorrow as i will have to take my regular carrera out for a spin. And here was me thinking that ebikes woul make my life easier

 

[Jeremy]

If the spokes are breaking at the thread end then I would suspect a problem with the spokes, either poorly cut threads, or perhaps over-tensioning.

The chances are that more spokes will fail, so your best bet might be to get the whole wheel rebuilt.

The spokes may well be custom length, cut to fit, ones. Certainly that's what my LBS had to do when they built my wheel for me. Unless done competently it's possible to create a stress-raiser at the thread end, which might explain your problems.

Jeremy

 

[Tiberius]

Does anyone know what the thread is? Then longer spokes could be cut down and the ends threaded.

Nick

 

[burncycle]

Well thats just such bad luck for you.
Its must be so frustrating with I new bike !

I was thinking of ordering a Torq this week but it seems that this forum seems to be adding more and more stories of woes with this model.

I hope you get resolve soon.

Bob

 

[JamesC]

Paul

Sorry to hear that more have sheared at the thread. I am sorry to say that I don't know what would cause that.

It is worth mentioning that the Torq Trekking uses different length spokes to the Torq 1 (which I have). I have seen technical specs for spokes for some makes in another part of the forum (FAQ ?), but now can't find it. Possibly not updated to include the Trekking yet.

Perhaps Russ or Flecc knows where.

Found the link, but only shows length and gauge for Torq 1 near the bottom of the page.

James

 

[flecc]

If the spokes are different, just measure an existing spoke from the centre of the hole at the hub end to the rim surface and add 3 mm. Armed with that length, go to the link below and buy what you need to the nearest 1 mm. The British made short lengths at the foot are suitable for hub motor wheels and are good for the job. St Johns Cycles service is good:

SJS spokes

Don't worry about the gauge, 14 gauge are quite strong enough.
.

 

[stokepa31]

Thanks Everyone

I think if i'm going to make a fist of this ebiking I have to take responsibility for maintenance and repairs myself. It could get expensive if I rely on shops all the time.

I did read somewhere on here (from one of Flecc's posts) that the front hub motors do lead to broken spokes so I guess its just one of those things.

The only concern I have is the fact that they are going at the rim. should I be worried about this? Just thinking out loud but do you think it may have something to do will the front suspension on the new torq?

If this does not work and it turns out that a rebuild is called for, does anyone have rough idea of what it might cost me.

Regards
Paul

Im going to buy a good book tomorrow (Christmas vouchers for waterstones still unspent), measure up and order the spokes.

 

[flecc]

A need for rebuild is most unlikely Paul. It's not unusual for the odd spoke to go on a hub motor wheel early in life. Production demands lead to the odd tensioning error, but it's seldom serious. Out of all the hundreds of Torq 1's sold, I know of just two which had a problem needing a wheel rebuild by 50cycles. Others have had an odd spoke and then nothing else. And of course, with mass production spokes, there's always a chance of the odd spoke being faulty.

The motors stress a wheel a bit more, but the suspension forks on your will help avoid breakages.
.

 

[burncycle]

How did Paul, Stokepa31 go on with his wheel ?

No posts from him since this one !

 

[Tiberius]

There was no answer to my question about thread sizes, so I measured up one of the broken spokes off my Torq.

It appears to be M2.5 thread on the end. The spoke diameter is 2.18 mm, ie, thinner than the OD of the thread. So you could not cut a spoke down and rethread it, unless you started with a thicker spoke. What are the standard sizes?

My new Zeus book doesn't list wire guages any more, but it does tell me the command codes for CNC machines. This is what we engineers call progress.

Nick

 

[flecc]

Have a look on the page below Nick, showing the full range of spokes and gauges, including waisted types:

SJS Spokes

You would probably have been horrified at the immediate post WW2 situation with supplies, just one spoke type and length with a mile of thread.

Just use and cut off the protuding surplus.

On larger wheel sizes a fair length of thread was always exposed within the wheel.
.

 

[Tiberius]

Hi flecc,

I looked at the SJS site but they all appear to have 2 mm ends not 2.5.

Nick

 

[flecc]

But standard spokes would be perfectly ok Nick. The tensions and overall build quality are far more important than gauges and threads. I've rebuilt e-bike wheels with standard spokes in place of thicker originals with complete success, and Ian reports the same replacement with success.
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