Great comment! Everything you said is bang on, and so I went and took a closer look at the wheel. When the spoke failed I noted it was in the middle and near where the spokes cross. I saw some abrasion on the spoke, facing into the wheel, and just assumed it was from spoke to spoke contact. I WAS WRONG. The spokes are all miles apart and no other spokes have any abrasion. The portion of the spoke with the abrasion mark is free to rotate because it's straight pull. Closer inspection reveals a damage area to the spoke that must have been caused by a rock strike, crash or shuttle damage. No marks on any of the other spokes. The damage must have created a stress riser in the spoke, and it failed in fatigue. Classic case of miss diagnosed failure. I've requested to have that paragraph updated.
As for the crash. It was nasty. I just missed the tree with my head, but went right shoulder into the trunk. I don't think I've ever stopped that suddenly before. As I hit the ground I was certain I had broken everything in my shoulder. I picked my bike up expecting my shoulder to fall apart, but it surprisingly stayed together. It was sore, thumbs tweaked, but everything still moved, so I rode out the stage. I'm still bewildered I didn't break my shoulder in that crash.
Sept. 25, 2019, 9:29 p.m. - Tim Coleman
Great comment! Everything you said is bang on, and so I went and took a closer look at the wheel. When the spoke failed I noted it was in the middle and near where the spokes cross. I saw some abrasion on the spoke, facing into the wheel, and just assumed it was from spoke to spoke contact. I WAS WRONG. The spokes are all miles apart and no other spokes have any abrasion. The portion of the spoke with the abrasion mark is free to rotate because it's straight pull. Closer inspection reveals a damage area to the spoke that must have been caused by a rock strike, crash or shuttle damage. No marks on any of the other spokes. The damage must have created a stress riser in the spoke, and it failed in fatigue. Classic case of miss diagnosed failure. I've requested to have that paragraph updated. As for the crash. It was nasty. I just missed the tree with my head, but went right shoulder into the trunk. I don't think I've ever stopped that suddenly before. As I hit the ground I was certain I had broken everything in my shoulder. I picked my bike up expecting my shoulder to fall apart, but it surprisingly stayed together. It was sore, thumbs tweaked, but everything still moved, so I rode out the stage. I'm still bewildered I didn't break my shoulder in that crash.