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I broke a spoke on my rear wheel the other day. When I took it to my LBS they recommended replacing the wheel all together; stating that it could no longer be trued effectively because the spokes were "frozen" (basically they were difficult unscrew the spoke & nipple). My wheels are original, as are the spokes and hub (except for the one replaced spoke). They also mentioned that my rear cassette and chain was about to wear out and brakes needed to be removed and cleaned because they are sticking.

The stock rims are bontrager nebula 6000 series (622x15).

In the land of replacement wheels what would be and equivalent wheel? Should I consider getting a new hub as well?

Is it worth (I know subjective) having all this work done simultaneously?

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    I'd probably be looking for a new bike shop. Bontrager stuff is decent, so all you likely need to do is apply a little oil and fiddle around with a spoke wrench. You can check the cassette visually, check the chain with a chain checker and adjust brakes on your own -- checking/adjusting/replacing these are short jobs at home, when necessary. – Batman Jul 3 '16 at 18:59
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    I suggest you check and see if there is a wheel builder in your area to give you a second opinion. If you do decide to buy a new wheel, the follow up support offered by a local wheel builder can be a substantial benefit. – Craig Hicks Jul 3 '16 at 19:47
  • If your brakes are sticking at the pivot, use wd40 while strategically placing paper towels to prevent wd40 getting on the pads or rim. However, if the brakes are sticking because the pads are not centered on the rim and an uneven wear ledge has developed on the pads which now gets stuck on the rim edge - then you probably need to replace and adjust the pads. – Craig Hicks Jul 3 '16 at 19:50
  • The wheels on the Trek 7.3 FX are at the level where you would get factory built wheels and if you decide to replace them, you would replace the entire thing, including rims, spokes, and hubs. – Kibbee Jul 4 '16 at 12:53
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Some of the answer depends on what kind of riding and how much riding you do and how much money you want to spend. As a previous responder indicated some of the stock factory wheelsets are fairly inexpensive. Check Nashbar and elsewhere on the Web. But if you want to buy some time replace the spoke and put some liquid wrench on the spoke nipples and wait till they loosen up. Mostly brakes tend to stick because of old cables/housing. Replace the cables first. An easy way to check the chain is with a simple ruler. Any rivet to a given rivet should be at or no more than 12 1/8 in. If it is more, throw the chain away and get a new cluster. As an aged ex bike mechanic, I have noticed a tendency for these days for shops not to fix stuff but rather to replace and sell new stuff. Thus their eagerness to sell you a new wheel.

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