A loose spoke, or two

SO, today i threw my chain launching off a high curb, it locked the wheel and bust off my lock ring and my sprocket. bollox. and of course, today I left my tools at home. so after a triapse to the nearest 'LBS' i got it fixed up, minus the lock ring, but rotofixed it up good'n tight anyhow.
thing is, it seems that it when the chain flew it also mashed up a few spokes, well one in particular is really loose. another took a beating but seems ok. is it bad news to ride with a loose spoke? can i just tighten it up? bear in mind ive never built wheels nor do i have and spoke tools... any advice guys?

your chain must of be well loose,is it normaly like that?

nah just tight enough i reckon, but i landed with bit of a thud.

hey Otis,

that happened to me some time ago - and that's why im looking to buy a new wheel LOL!
i ride everyday to work with a loose spoke (on the verge of coming off), i think it aint good for the wheel - but i cant really tell cuz mine was buckled before already!! so i've been like that for 2 weeks.. but looking to get it mended soon!

a friend of mine suggested i buy a spoke and get it replaced before getting the wheel in!

a new wheel is what i feared might be in order. bugger.
i do have the near indestructable deepV's so im not to worried about the wheel giving way but given my luck of late you never know!

You don't need a new wheel unless you buggered the rim. Just take it to a bike shop, they'll tension and true the wheel properly. If they need to replace the spoke or nipple it will only be a couple of quid for either. Should cost about a tenner... cheaper than a new wheel.

a spokey is about 3 quid.

If it's just a couple of spokes it shouldn't take you longer than 30 mins to work out how to tension it up properly. Which is a darn sight quicker than traipsing to the LBS and hanging around for them to do it.

http://sheldonbrown.com/tooltips/truing.html

You really don't need to buy a new wheel.

grand. unfortunatly, i think my hub is on the way out to boot. ahhh fuck it.

like i said above, i dont think my chain was evan that slack, perhaps i should opt for a bit more tension in future? i mean, it was only just a little off being 'well tight'. just a little give, as i thought was good. hmmm

Indeed.
and as we know, one must avoid triapsing at ALL costs.

otis Indeed.
and as we know, one must avoid triapsing at ALL costs.

hah!

i've yet to find an LBS who'll do a 30mins job in anything less than 24hours.

as a general rule, i say bollox to getting the LBS do sod all. especially as if you got half a brain cell, or a helpfull friend(or forum member) you can figure it out yourself and save precious guinness money. see you at the bar.

Do you use a chaintug?

no but, i dont have track ends.
doesn't that rule em out?

Depends on your setup but you could use something like this:

Definitely sounds like you need to stop your wheel moving forward (which is what I reckon might've happened).

im with h2o do it yourself it's not that hard to learn to true a wheel and if it is 2 spokes just tighten them. truing a wheel just take a little time and savy. and once you have done it once it get easer. and you have the world of google to show you how

Hey that like my one! Will be doing a run of them in a month or so hopefully.

otis should be your first happy customer :)

If it's just one spoke, and don't want to pay a LBS to true it or don't want to learn, just tighten it up until the pitch of the spoke when you pluck it (strike it with your nail about 2 inches from the nipple) is the same as the other spokes.

I would advise you invest in a chaintug too. I had a similar problem. Theyre not too expensive and it can be painful to lock the wheel up into the frame completely. Handlebars into chest and face on tarmac painful. : )