Repair, rebuild or buy new wheel…?

I had one spoke break at Easter, two spokes break in July, pulled bike out yesterday to two more spokes bust (all at j-bend).

It’s a 3.5 yr old Marin OEM wheel of cheapy Formula hub and good weight & durability. Rim is in almost perfect condition. I can’t seem to get spare freehub parts, a worry in the future.

I’ve a spare, pretty new, straight pull DTSwiss hub in the shed. Alas, not a posh one, but still good.

New wheel?
Rebuild rim into newer DT hub?
Rebuild all the spokes?
Just replace the two?

I guess this depends on your objectives.

Slacken all spokes, see if rim still looks almost perfect. If so, replace broken spokes and re-tension.

If you’re getting spokes break then probably they have all been stressed now. I’d wind most of the tension off and see how the rim is then. If ok I’d be tempted to respoke the wheel entirely. ACI double butted from Cyclebasket or if going cheaper either Halo straight gauge or Sapim Leaders.

Have they all broken in the same set (e.g., drive side trailing)? If so you’ve now replaced nearly half that set. I would either replace the two or possibly replace all the remaining original spokes from the set. Then thoroughly, possibly brutally, stress relieve the wheel, watching for any more that may break during that process.

Have they all broken in the same set (e.g., drive side trailing)?

One on NDS, others drive side.

We normally call it a day, and rebuild with new spokes if 4 have gone in quick succession, as more are highly likely to follow.

Decent spokes are going to cost as much as the value of the rim.
So depending on timing and other wheel availability I’d look for a good/decent rim and build it onto the DT (I’m assuming its rear wheel)
If you want to go budget you could go for a 533D … (£25) but a month or so ago there were 471’s at £35 and 511’s at £45… sadly gone when I need one. [and ebay hasn’t told me otherwise]

If you’re in no rush Amazon does a weird thing with Spank rims… last 4 I’ve bought have been £15-£20 (Race 28’s and a Spoon 32).

Decent spokes cost 50p each.

My personal experience is..

1. Attempt repair. Fail/ not be happy with results.

2. Replace.

3. Feel guilty about the wasted components and so rebuild using new parts where needed (as should have been done in step 1).

End result – N+1, which is great if you wanted a spare wheel.

Decent spokes cost 50p each.

Taking I don’t want a box of 100 of each size and a definition of decent aside what’s the old rim worth assuming it’s mostly straight and non of the spokes got pulled through?

I reckon £16 is pushing it when you can get a brand new 533D for £25

If Halo straight gauge black spokes are in stock in the sizes you need you can get them for 30p each from JE James with very cheap postage. If it’s a cheap hub / rim you’re not sure on the longevity of then wanging on some cheap spokes will get you up and running again until the time you want to spend out on a better wheel.

Alpina butted spokes are 25p each from cycle basket, plus postage so I overestimated. Various plain gauge spokes can be bought for a similar price. Spend the 50p I quoted and you can buy Sapim or DT butted spokes from Ryan in Bristol. No box of 100 required. Similarly you can sometimes find the length you need on eBay.

I’m all for weighing up the cost of repair Vs replacement and not throwing good money after bad etc, but the truth is he might get away with a repair for a couple of quid in the best case scenario, if he gets the two he needs now plus a few spares.

Formula hubs all use standard bearings and are dead easy to change, including the freehub bearings. Just done mine. You can re-build the wheel.