Spokes come in different lengths, and the simplest method of obtaining a replacement is to take the wheel to your local bike shop, where the existing spokes can be measured, or a replacement ‘offered’ against it.

Examine the orientation of the unbroken spokes. The wheel in our demonstration follows an alternating pattern of ‘in-bound’ and ‘out-bound’ spokes. The spoke head is visible on the outer edge of the hub flange on ‘in-bound’ spokes; the spoke elbow is visible on the outer edge of the hub flange on ‘out-bound’ spokes.

Thread the spoke through the hub flange. Examine the existing spokes for the lacing pattern and follow it. The wheel used in our demonstration has a three-cross lacing typical on low to mid-range wheels.

Feed the spoke through the rim and carefully drop the nipple over the spoke, ensuring that you do not allow it to fall inside the rim. Tighten the nipple with a screwdriver.

Jon is uses a ‘nipple driver’. “It’s not an essential tool for a single spoke, but if you’re doing 32, it will be much quicker,” he says.