Broken Spoke

I need to replace a broken spoke, are single spokes a stock item in most bike shops?

yes.

Yes, unless it's extremely esoteric. They'll need to see the broken spoke, or your wheel, to ascertain the correct length.

Thanks for the assistance.

When I first got my bike (2nd hand) and didn't have a clue about bicycles.
I got two broken spokes on the rear. Took it to the shop for assistance and they told me to bin it, too much work.
I understand there is a bit of time involved replacing spokes etc, but was he right to just say to throw it away and buy a new wheel?

I could of saved it if I had known you could do it yourself...

I don't know which shop that went to, but sometimes this is the case with wheels, I normally draw the line at three broken.

It's not the cost of the spokes (80p each), but if it's an old wheel and the spokes have broken through normal wear and tear then their is a good chance that the rest of the spokes are either seized or weak. At the end of the day, did you want to spend £15 pounds to have your wheel usable for a matter of months, or a new wheel that will work for years that won't cost much more than £30?

It's true that often a broken spoke on a certain age wheel can indicate that more are likely to go in the near future.

Also a lot of repairs that bike shops do don't really earn them any money. The reason that so many shops quote high costs to service and repair out of condition bikes. It can take time. It's quicker to make the mark up on new parts and earns more money for their time than spending hours working on a bike at a relativley low hourly rate. Average £25 per hour doesn't go far when you have shop overheads etc. Couple of hundred sale in 20 mins is more realistic to keep the shop running.

Edit: I don't mean this in a bad way and not having a go at bike shops. I'm just pointing out that they are often realistic with costs businesswise, otherwise they won't be in business for long.

Well, that and if I spend 40 minutes on a wheel and it my truing/spoke replacement isn't actually working, then I won't charge the customer.

I can honestly say in my case I have a hatred for bodging jobs that is more than financial, and try and direct people to whatever will work best for them/their bike. Quite often that means replaceing something when it's worn out instead of finding a costly way around it that may or may not work.

also if you try and true a wheel after you've replaced the couple of broken ones and then others break as you'e doing it and the job expands into one that isn't sensible. Best to make and educated guess and recommend new parts if it may end up that way or cost similar.