Looking hard at a '16 Heritage and the idea of spokes has me a little worried, mainly because of some of the threads I've read here. I guess my question(s) is/are...should I let spokes deter me from buying a bike I really like? How likely are they to break and how expensive are they to replace?

Sorry for the ignorance...I've never owned a bike with spokes. Thanks in advance for the feedback.

 

You should be fine. If spokes were that terrible they wouldn't still be using them after all these years.

I should say unless you plan on jumping and such.

 

I've done 40,000 miles on spoked tires and until last week I've never had a problem. I found a leak in the inner tube when adding air to the tire. Fortunately it was in my garage and the dealer towed it to fix it.

No spoke issues.

 

Just watch a few videos on how to tune them by sound and you will be fine. I loved my Heritage and rode it for 40k miles with no wheel issues.

 

Been "spoking" for years ...

 

Get what ever bike you want, there have been millions of bikes on the road overt the past 100+ years with spoked wheels.

 

Spokes are all I've ever run....38 years. Might sound crazy to some but NOT having spokes might keep me from buying a bike, lol.

 

They rarely break if ever but are a pain in the *** to clean. That's the short and sweet of it.

 

Flat repair is more involved with spokes. Can't use tire plugs.

 

at some point and time, when the HD spokes start to look so bad, you can't stand them, get them (the spokes) replaced, with stainless steel ones. They keep their looks forever, and are "slightly easier" to clean. For myself, I think spokes look very nostalgic, and on certain bike, like the Heritage, they are a must. Don't be leery of spokes!!