Campy Bora 35 spoke broke again

[SoCal Al]

Argh! New Bora 35s since June and this is the second drive-side spoke that's broken. Returned the wheel via LBS to Campy the last time, fixed it under warranty as well as checked tension & true. No problems for about a month and then bang! yesterday.

Another LBS said previously that it's not uncommon for wheels to get built up with a bad batch of spokes every now and then but that seems like a cop-out answer to vendor/supplier QC?

Anyone else have this problem and if so how was it resolved?

FWIW I weigh 180, do not shed watts or race or anything like that but do typically ride 40-60 miles/4,000-5,000' a couple times a week in sunny SoCal.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by SoCal Al

Argh! New Bora 35s since June and this is the second drive-side spoke that's broken. Returned the wheel via LBS to Campy the last time, fixed it under warranty as well as checked tension & true. No problems for about a month and then bang! yesterday.

Another LBS said previously that it's not uncommon for wheels to get built up with a bad batch of spokes every now and then but that seems like a cop-out answer to vendor/supplier QC?

Anyone else have this problem and if so how was it resolved?

FWIW I weigh 180, do not shed watts or race or anything like that but do typically ride 40-60 miles/4,000-5,000' a couple times a week in sunny SoCal.

That's balderdash...

I'd say, unfortunately that breaking spokes mean the rim is somehow 'deformed' or 'dented' or something(I know it's carbon) that means tension is erratic, not even, mostly too low, at that spot..think metal coat hanger, and back-forth-back-forth-break...
Spokes aren't the problem but the rim is..I'd say the next step is either another spoke, true/round/dish/tension and once true/round, is the tension even? If yes, ride and see..if another breaks, new rim.

Who did you buy the wheels from?

[Mikej]

Originally Posted by SoCal Al

Argh! New Bora 35s since June and this is the second drive-side spoke that's broken. Returned the wheel via LBS to Campy the last time, fixed it under warranty as well as checked tension & true. No problems for about a month and then bang! yesterday.

Another LBS said previously that it's not uncommon for wheels to get built up with a bad batch of spokes every now and then but that seems like a cop-out answer to vendor/supplier QC?

Anyone else have this problem and if so how was it resolved?

FWIW I weigh 180, do not shed watts or race or anything like that but do typically ride 40-60 miles/4,000-5,000' a couple times a week in sunny SoCal.

I agree with the LBS's description of the account. Manufacturing processes can yield slightly. These are aluminum type spokes?

[AngryScientist]

this is why you either need to own a tension meter and have a decent understanding of wheel dynamics or have a competent bike shop/wheelbuilder.

once you break one spoke in a wheel - you really need to get to the bottom of the matter of why the spoke broke. generally it's fatigue cycles that break a spoke - and that means something was wrong to start with. simply replacing the broken spoke without checking the other variables holding the rest of the wheel together is a recipe for more broken spokes.

as peter mentioned, you should be able to get the wheel very round and true with pretty consistent, even tension across the spokes. if you cant achieve this - you're always going to have a "sick" wheel.

[zap]

edit

Originally Posted by Mikej

These are aluminum type spokes?

Steel.

I have 4 good seasons on my Boras 35............so 10K plus miles on the wheelset. Never had a problem.

Anything impact the drive side spokes?

If not, agree with oldpotatoe though I'm inclined to ask that the wheel gets rebuilt now with new rim and spokes considering it is the second time.

[rst72]

Same here...175-180 pounds and do not race, etc.

I've broken one recently since i purchased them over a year ago.

It was a pain as shops don't typically carry Bora spokes. Wanted to be prepared next time...I purchased some off ebay...one set of Front L,R and Rear L Spokes, Nipples 8 pcs & one set of Rear Right Spokes and Nipples 8-pieces. $10 or so for the LBS to fix in the future and done while i wait.

[SoCal Al]

Thanks all and since I live in San Diego and Campy HQ is up the road the LBS brought the wheel to them under warranty, all the work was done by their tech who supposedly re-torqued all the spokes when the replacement one was installed. When I got the wheel back from the LBS I had him put it up on a truing stand just to be sure it was OK and it was in spec but I didn't hav ehim check the spoke tension.

While some of our roads a quite sh*tty here (not up to the level of NE) I do my utmost to avoid any potholes and am pretty sure I didn't hit any on my last ride.

I'll ask about the deformed/bent rim when I drop the wheel off today.

[R3awak3n]

Originally Posted by SoCal Al

Thanks all and since I live in San Diego and Campy HQ is up the road the LBS brought the wheel to them under warranty, all the work was done by their tech who supposedly re-torqued all the spokes when the replacement one was installed. When I got the wheel back from the LBS I had him put it up on a truing stand just to be sure it was OK and it was in spec but I didn't hav ehim check the spoke tension.

While some of our roads a quite sh*tty here (not up to the level of NE) I do my utmost to avoid any potholes and am pretty sure I didn't hit any on my last ride.

I'll ask about the deformed/bent rim when I drop the wheel off today.

Its definitely not you but the wheel. Maybe if you were over their max weight but you are not even close.

[rain dogs]

When the first spoke goes..... unless someone very competent is repairing the wheel.... the whole wheel can be a big mess, and if that's the case it's only a matter of time until the second, third, fourth go

The old saying was: Break one, repair it, break two, rebuild it. Rims are so strong now, that's surely overkill...but..

The good thing is you have a campagnolo wheel which are if not the best, pretty darn close to the best pre-built wheels available. They are tough as heck. A friend of mine hit a pothole really hard and blew a rear driveside spoke on his Zondas. We just wrapped it up and he rode the 10ish km to the train. The wheel was nearly dead true, the tiniest wobble. Rim was perfect. Didn't even need to open the brake caliper. He's not a huge guy, but not small either at 85kg.

I wouldn't have believed it if I wasn't the one doing the securing of the spoke. Actually, I still can barely believe it two weeks later. He wasn't happy about the 25€ for four spokes though... but hey, you pay for quality.

I'm only 66kg, and my Zondas have about 15,000km on them... as true as the day I took em out of the box. Those wheels are crazy good.

[SoCal Al]

UPDATE:

LBS heard back from Campy and they're going to replace all the drive-side spoke but I won't get my wheel back until late the week AFTER Thanksgiving. Guess they're slammed.

Went to put an backup cassette on my old school wheelset (Campy Daytona Hubs, Sapin SS spokes & 32H Mavic Open Pro ceramic rims) an dof course found out I needed 2 spacers, which hopefully will arrive Saturday.

[C40_guy]

If I remember correctly, the N+1 rule was originally developed for wheelsets, then it morphed to cover complete bicycles.

Extra wheel sets take up such little space, and you can even store them on your N+1 bikes!

[SoCal Al]

ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So It's now been almost 5 weeks since my wheel have been at Campy and NO ONE seems to give a sh*t about communicating an update to my LBS. At one point the Campy contact told my guy he forgot about it (they were busy- seriously??)- what gives? If they're not going to stand behind a warranty issue then just tell me!

I'm pretty frustrated because they haven't done any work on it (partly LBS guy's fault because he's not a confronter) and will be shutting down for the holidays soon.

At this point i just want the wheel back and GLADLY pay my LBS to re-lace it even though it's a warranty issue.

Any thoughts? Anyone know someone on the inside I could call?

[DRietz]

Originally Posted by SoCal Al

ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So It's now been almost 5 weeks since my wheel have been at Campy and NO ONE seems to give a sh*t about communicating an update to my LBS. At one point the Campy contact told my guy he forgot about it (they were busy- seriously??)- what gives? If they're not going to stand behind a warranty issue then just tell me!

I'm pretty frustrated because they haven't done any work on it (partly LBS guy's fault because he's not a confronter) and will be shutting down for the holidays soon.

At this point i just want the wheel back and GLADLY pay my LBS to re-lace it even though it's a warranty issue.

Any thoughts? Anyone know someone on the inside I could call?

Why don't you just call them instead of putting it on the guy at the LBS? 760-931-0106

Tell them that you're a loyal customer and would really like to do some riding on your fancy Campy wheels over the holiday, you've waited several weeks and would appreciate that they take care of it ASAP.

Edit: I'd take some deep breaths, though, and remember that, yes, this sucks, but it's the holidays and kindness kills. Good luck.

[merckx]

Originally Posted by DRietz

Why don't you just call them instead of putting it on the guy at the LBS? 760-931-0106

Tell them that you're a loyal customer and would really like to do some riding on your fancy Campy wheels over the holiday, you've waited several weeks and would appreciate that they take care of it ASAP.

Edit: I'd take some deep breaths, though, and remember that, yes, this sucks, but it's the holidays and kindness kills. Good luck.

I agree with all of this, but would add I would also ask the Campag guy if he has the Shimano number handy.

[DRietz]

Originally Posted by merckx

I agree with all of this, but would add I would also ask the Campag guy if he has the Shimano number handy.