# Reynolds Assault Broken spokes



## santosjep (Jul 15, 2004)

Hi All!

I love Reynolds wheels and been lucky so far with wheels in general. However, when it rains, it pours. About 3 weeks ago, I had my first broken spoke (ever.. hard to believe in 20 years of cycling but true story). A local shop (Reynolds dealer) fixed my front Assault wheel and it was fantastic once again.

Fast forward to this past Saturday, one of the drive side rear spokes on my Assaults broke (the end towards the nipple). The same shop fixed, retentioned and trued the wheel and Sunday another one of the rear drive side spokes broke. Had to call the wife to give me a ride home. 

I've had these Assaults for 2.5 years and it probably has <1K miles on it. This is in fact my 2nd pair of Assualts. I have another one for my another bike equipped with a different type of group which has more miles. No problems there yet.

So, I decided to call Reynolds cycling regarding broken spokes and their policy. I just learned 2 things.
1) They charge $200 for relacing
2) They don't cover broken spokes in the waranty. 

My question is, for Assault/Attack owners, have you had broken spokes and what did you do to fix it. I'm toying with the thought of having a builder rebuild the wheelset with new spokes and hubs (why not, right?). If you went that way, what would you choose and why?

Thanks in advance!

Ride safely!

Joe


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## alexworthy (Sep 15, 2011)

I have had three broken spokes on my rear DV3K. I have had the wheels for 1 year or 2500 miles. I am 6'1" and 155lbs.

The first broken spoke happened when I was out of the saddle climbing. An audible "ping" and immediate wheel wobble afterwards. I noticed the spoke broke right where the spoke threads into the internal nipple. I had the spoke replaced, trued etc. about $15 at a non reynolds dealer.

The second happened shortly after under normal riding conditions, I took it to a Reynolds dealer and had them fix, took a while because they didn't have the right spokes and nipple (proprietary stuff :mad2 $30

On the third happened almost immediately after I got the wheel back. Took it back to the same Reynolds dealer and they recommended we send it back to Reynolds so that they could retention the whole wheel. Picking it up today $55.

Hopefully this wheel will cooperate! I'm doing six gap on Sunday, and I'd like my wheels to stay intact doing 60mph down Hogpen! 

If they keep breaking, honestly I'll just hang them up. Not worth it to me to have them rebuilt. I've already bought another "tried and true" wheel design to avoid the potential delays with the DV3Ks.


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## stevesbike (Jun 3, 2002)

Reynolds doesn't use proprietary spokes - they are DT revolution/comp (areolites on higher end wheels).


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## alexworthy (Sep 15, 2011)

Right, well isn't the nipple proprietary? Its like a large aluminum hex nut. either way the design / setup is proprietary, not normal and not easily serviceable, which was the point I was frustrated over.


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## santosjep (Jul 15, 2004)

Alexworthy, Good luck on your ride. I am now less confident on my Reynolds wheelsets as a result. Since my post, I've had a wheel builder relace my wheels. Nothing's wrong with the hubs, so I kept them. Haven't been on my Assults since. I've been putting some quality time on my Cosmic Carbones.


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## mussomusso (Oct 2, 2012)

I need some advice on how to adjust the spokes on the Reynolds Assault carbon wheelset.

The spokes are adjusted directly through the rim after removing the rim tape and using a 5mm spoke socket tool.

When I try and turn the nut on the spoke the whole spoke starts to turn...how do I keep the spoke from turning?

Do I need to spray a little WD40 on the threaded part?

Thanks :wink:


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## porterhouse (Jan 27, 2009)

I have a set of DV3K also, broke a drive side spoke just below the nipple at probably 4k miles. Can't remember the size now but had the wheel relaced with a little thicker spoke 2x on both sides. After hearing of other people with broken spokes I did not really want to chance it. Probably have a couple thousand miles on them now, so far they are ok.


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## MoPho (Jan 17, 2011)

Sorry to bump an older thread, turned up on a search as I broke a spoke on my Assualts the other day. Just to add another data point, I have put almost 9k miles on mine in just over a year and I am pretty hard on them ( I'm around 170lbs, drop off curbs, catch air, have hit potholes, etc) and they have been great up until now. I had a spoke on the front wheel break right in the middle of the spoke, it appears that corrosion was the cause ( I frequently ride along the beach). Unfortunaltey the LBS needs a week to fix this because of the holiday so this ruined my riding plans, guess I will have to mountain bike.
Seems I may be faced with having to re-lace the whole wheel now as many of the spokes are showing signs of corrosion too :mad2:


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