FarHorizon

As I was heading out for an enjoyable couple of hours of riding this afternoon, I heard a sound like something bouncing around in the spokes of my rear wheel. When I stopped & looked, I found a broken spoke!

These are the Campagnolo Vento wheels with some radical spoke patterns and not very many spokes. Unlike some dire predictions from BF members, my wheel did NOT immediately taco. In fact, I was able to ride without incident, and the wheel still seems true.

I've entrusted the wheel to the tender mercies of my LBS since I lack a truing stand. They've been asked to look at all the other spoke heads and to replace all spokes that show any signs of wear.

If they find additional spokes that show signs of "working," I'll have to assume that these are not the wheels for me after all. I have a spare set of heavy-duty, 36-spoke, 3-cross wheels that I may have to resort to until I lose more weight.

Unfortunately, my "heavy duty" wheels have a Shimano freehub, and the red racer is all Campagnolo 10-speed with index shifting. Does anybody make a 10-speed Campy-compatible cassette that will work with a Shimano freehub?

If not, the red racer is e-Bay bound, and I'll just build a fat boy bike that I can use instead. While the racer is in the shop, I've put the new (larger) rear cog on my fixed-gear bike and will be spinning like a tornado while the bike creeps down the road. Good exercise!

taylor8

Keep the red racer and get a MTB and ride that until you loose weight. That is what I am doing.
Joe

stapfam

The vento wheels sound as though they may be a quality wheel, but All wheels have a problem in that they are used and abused and do deteriorate over time. In some cases a very short time. It is not often that I buy a new bike, but when I do, within 200 miles the wheels are sent off to my wheelbuilder for checking and trueing. The miracles he can work on even a cheap set of wheels is well woth the $10 he charges.
I do not know the Vento wheels, but even quality wheels have shipping problems and rider abuse thrown at them. The wheel does seem to be strong enough as it is still true so I should think that a replacement spoke and Retrue will be ok. If not Look at your next set of wheels being bought from a good wheel builder and you will be surprised at how cheap they can be.

jppe

Unfortunately I've had too many experiences with broken spokes. I hate that sound-it sounds like a rock hitting your spokes with a really loud "ping".

I now carry a couple tie wraps (like what you'd close a bag of bread with) in my saddle bag to secure a broken spoke in case it breaks.

The last time I had a spoke break it flopped down into the chain, then was drug into the rear derailleur. Needless to say the rear wheel locked up and the rear dropout got bent outwards. It was a carbon frame and long story short I wound up needing an entirely new frame as the manufacturer had problems replacing the dropout.

My wheels are the reduced spoke count model as well. With the increased spoke tension the wheels maintain the trueness okay after a spoke breaks well enough to ride with the brake calipers fully opened.

Al1943

I believe you can get a Shimano splined Campagnolo spaced cassette from Wheels Manufacturing or from American Classic. There is also a device called a Shiftmate that when added to your rear derailleur will change your Campy cable pull ratio to Shimano spacing. Any one of these solutions should allow you to run a Shimano 10-speed compatible wheel with your Campy 10-speed shifters.

Al

GrannyGear

Jtek Shiftmate. Peter White Cycles is one source for about $35.00. Also saw one cheaper on eBay. I'm considering using one, but have no personal experience yet. If you're curious, do a search over on the Road Cycling forum here at BF....others there have suggested the Shiftmate when I had the same question regarding mating Campy/Shimano shifting.

John E

Friction barcons or downtube levers enable one to use almost any derailleur with almost any cogset.

biker7

I'll be darn. The first I have ever heard of a late model Vento wheel breaking a spoke. A few questions if I may. How much do you weigh? Do you ride the bike hard through rough road frequently...bang curbs etc? How many miles do you have on your wheels? Again...late model Ventos are typically bombproof and run relatively low spoke tensions for elasticity and forgiveness when it comes to need for truing and the V section rims are very rigid and impervious to bending.
Please let us know how hard and how many miles you have ridden the Ventos. Lastly, where did the spoke break...at the hub or at the nipple?
Thanks,
George

RockyMtnMerlin

[QUOTE=jppe]Unfortunately I've had too many experiences with broken spokes. I hate that sound-it sounds like a rock hitting your spokes with a really loud "ping". QUOTE]
Man the world works in mysterious ways. I have ridden somewhere around 80,000 miles on road bikes since the late 70's. I have never had a broken spoke. Guess life just is not fair.

p8rider

[QUOTE=RockyMtnMerlin]I guess these are rear spokes going "ping". It must be all of the torque jppe puts on the wheel through the drive train. I have never popped a spoke either, so you and I must be slow pedalling lightweights RockyMtnMerlin. lol

FarHorizon

260#
.
Very rough roads, but seldom jump curbs.
.
I bought them used from a rider who raced, so I have no idea of the background. I've a total of about 800 miles on them.
.
The spoke broke at the hub, and other spokes showed evidence of wear at the hub as well.

RockyMtnMerlin

biker7

At 260#'s...you know this...a high spoke custom wheelset maybe in order. Makes a bit more sense now what you wrote and why I asked about your habits and the wheel's past.
Racers put big load on wheels and if you stand and mash, so do you. I stand and crank up hills at 180#'s and its not the same thing. Vento's rock IMO...one of the best bang for buck wheelsets out there. I have mine apart as I write this. Just repacked the front cartridge bearings and moving to the rear to remove the axle, and freehub for a bit of winter maintenance. I can't say enough about the integrity of Campy wheels in general but will take a good look at my hub/spoke interfaces if you witnessed other spokes with some sawtoothing which maybe a combination of torque, weight and low spoke tension.
Best Regards,
George

stapfam

There is a reason for having a conventional wheel with 32 or 36 spokes in it. THEY WORK WITHOUT ANY PROBLEMS.. I have a set of mavic crossrides with 24/28 spokes on my mountain bike and I do not even think about these wheels when I am out. 3 years old, probably about 3000 miles on them and just sent the rear wheel in to get the freehub rebuilt as it is causing a few problems, $40 later and I will have a pair of wheels that are as good as they were when I bought them. (The hub by the way needed new pawls and new bearings) The front wheel is still perfectly true so that did not need a rebuild and just had the spokes retensioned. Not bad for a pair of wheels I paid $200 for. Incidentally- the best pair of wheels I have are a pair of XTR hubs with Mavic 517 rims and 36 spokes. Bought 8 years ago and still perfectly true. Better pairs of wheels than the original Bianchi ones that have long since gone to the Scrapheap. Then there are the Special ones, The 2 pairs of Hope big un hubs with full downhill spec rims that did cost about $600 a pair. Used on the Tandem and both pairs came back from the wheel builder with Nothing done to them at all. And these are all used aggressively offroad without a thought about them till They get checked for true about once a month

Fancy wheels are fine, but give me a standard wheel that I know will not cause me any problems anyday. Just in case you think these wheels are expensive- look at the years of use I get out of them and also remember that we do pay a lot more for our parts in the UK.

biker7

While I agree by and large higher spoke count wheels are more robust, Campy makes great wheelsets.
Spoke count on the Vento G3 pattern is 24, 27 front and rear respectively. They are literally bomb proof...one of the highest rated machine built wheels out there. I can't say enough about them. But the OP is a 98-99% rider in weight which makes a big difference. I believe he needs a high spoke count wheel. Me at 180#'s, I don't...if the wheels are built right and most Campy wheels are.
There is huge debate about machine versus hand built wheels. There is a guy on this board than many go to for hand built wheels who has a tremendous following here at BF. If I were 230# or more, I would have him build me a set of high spoke count wheels. His prices are reasonable. If interested, go to the road cycling forum and ask for a reference...his name will appear.
George

FarHorizon

Hi George - No need to be enigmatic - if you know the name (or e-mail), please tell us. Thanks!

FarHorizon

Agreed. I'm thinking of getting some Phil hubs with some type of deep-V rims and having a set built (or building them myself ). 36 spokes with a three or four cross pattern and proper tensioning should be good for the rest of my life.

stapfam

Weight is a factor and I am only 150lbs A riding buddy of mine is 220 and he has to go to 36 spokes on a good hub if he wants the wheels to last longer than a year
Hand built wheels are definitely the way to buy. Both my sets of tandem wheels were hand built, and they are Quality. I also had my builder make a set of wheels for the solo, XT hubs on a Mavic rims and 32 DT spokes. This is the use and abuse pair. Winter mud riding, the fast downhill, or even loan out to mates when they have a wheel problem. Bought them 2 years ago- retrued once, 2 spokes replaced when a bush went through the wheel, and still going strong. Cost of that pair was not a lot, about $120, so I think I have had my money's worth.

DnvrFox

Interestingly, I have ridden my original Mavic 32 spoke wheels on my Lemond for 6 years now with no problems, and my weight has varied between 215-240lbs - likely about 13,000 miles. (I have had it trued regularly and had it "tension released" (or whatever) upon purchase.

OTOH, my much cheaper Windsor Leeds roadie has 36 spoke wheels, I likely have about 2,000+ miles on it over a couple of years, and I have already broken a spoke.

It seems to me that the quality of the wheel build is the most significant thing, not necessarily the spoke count. Or just darn good (or bad) luck!

Same road surface.

biker7

FH...here is a BF link from another big guy looking for a strong wheelset. The builder is Mike Garcia...contact info in the thread. He comes well regarded...encyclopedic about the tradeoffs and is reasonably priced. If I were your size, I would go custom wheels without question...perhaps 36 spoke count depending on rim selection.
Here is the link and hope it helps:

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ht=mike+garcia

George

stapfam

Thats the nail that has to be hit. I have my wheels built by a wheelbuilder that I trust but the Mavic crossrides were recommended to me. Since buying them I have had no problems except for the freehub. Then the standard wheels that came with my "Cheap" Bianchi seemed to have problems from very early on. Bearings and cones needed adjusting fairly quickly, The odd spoke lost tension, and the rim went oval after about a year. They only lasted two years before getting the heaveho. The Mavics and the Handbuilt wheels are fantastic. Even the cheap ones I had built to abuse have lasted really well.

I only use 26" wheels and they are inherrantly stronger, And barring the Crossrides, I go for in excess of 32 spokes. My heavier riding buddy does have to use 36 spokes though as Even a 26" does not take his abuse unless it gets a bit of assistance from high spoke count.

webist

Mavic Open Pro, 36 DB Spokes w/Ultegra hubs.

FarHorizon

That's an option - I'm thinking Phil Wood hubs, 36 DB spokes @ 3 or 4 cross pattern with Velocity Deep V rims.

stapfam

I do not wish to run down a hub that I have not tried and have no experience of, but I ride a Tandem that obviously takes a bit more strain than a Tandem. Phil woods hubs have a good reputation but there are better hubs out there. Look at the top end Shimano (XTR) or Hope Hubs as an alternative. These are indestructable- even on the Tandem.

cyclintom

OK, you broke a spoke. Better get used to it. To PREVENT it you use only DT, Ritchey or Sapim spokes. And you have SUFFICIENT TENSION on the spokes.

They break for three reasons:

1) Spoke has a defect (this is rare). If this is the reason you can expect a long time till the next spoke break.

2) Spokes were insufficiently tensioned. This is the most common failure with "normal" wheels but probably not the case with Campy Ventos. If they are breaking due to this reason you'll get another spoke failure in another month or less. What happens is that with insufficient tension the spoke doesn't just "shrink" as it unloads AT THE BOTTOM but gets completely loose. This causes the elbow of the spoke to load and unload essentially flexing it until it fails.

3) Wheels have insufficient rigidity for your weight. This causes the same sort of failures as above.

You don't say how much you weigh but I doubt that you could weigh enough to have problems with a really good set of 32 or 36 spoke wheels. I weigh up to 210 or perhaps a little more NAKED in the winter so with clothes on I'm hitting 220. I have wheels that are 15 years old and have worn out rims that were replaced twice.

You NEVER need to get a mountain bike unless you're over 280 or so. And then the only reason is because fat tires cushion direct blows from you being too clumsy to miss the pot holes. MTB wheels are not notably stronger than road wheels.

My guess? If you're as heavy as I am and you're one of those guys that isn't careful where you ride the Campy wheels simply flex too much between spoke groups. This working of the spokes will cause failures at the elbow or just outside of the nipple threads.