my latest problem is that i have broken 5 spokes on my rear wheel and its all crooked, do you guys upgrade these to a thicker gauge?
Spokes break because the wheel was not correctly built at the outset (which is very common), because the spokes have been notched, scraped, or otherwise damaged (which is also common), or because the spokes are defective (which is uncommon).
Spokes need to undergo an operation sometimes called "stress relieving" at the time the wheel is built. There are different methods to accomplish this, but the end result is that the spoke elbows are bent into a slightly different angle, and are under less localized stress when the bike is ridden. If you have already broken a mess of spokes, chances are good that cracking is underway on many or most of the rest of your spokes. This is what's happening if your spokes break at the elbow and do not have any obvious damage other than the break itself.
If the spokes enter the rim at an extreme angle, such that the nipples do not sit in line with the spokes, then those spokes are likely to break at the threaded end. Usually this is a result of a large hub used with too many spoke crossings in its lacing pattern-- it's an uncommon problem but very likely to result in chronic spoke breakage.
If the chain has ever derailed off the inside of your freewheel at some point and raked or jammed in the spokes, then the outer spokes on that side could be notched and predisposed to later breakage. It's easy to prevent this problem-- simply use a spoke protector plate behind the freewheel or cassette. If you use a single speed bike, it's very unlikely you will have this problem.
The quality of wheels that come with reputable brand bikes can sometimes be pretty bad. It is customary for the bike shop to add tension, correct flatness and roundness, and stress relieve new wheels before they are sold. Department store bikes come with worse wheels, and the seller does not give them the preventive service they need to be reliable. Typically the buyer does nothing for them until after major problems arise.
Extra-thick spokes can be more resistant to breakage, but they are more likely to cause reliability problems. They are not elastic enough to match the "give" in bicycle rims, so they chronically become loose over time. That means even if they don't break, you'll be doing frequent service on your wheels to tighten them back up.
All the problems of spoke breakage and loosening are foreseeable and preventable. For a motorized bicycle, observe these practices and you will not have undue wheel reliability issues:
- Use DT-Swiss, Sapim, or Wheelsmith stainless steel spokes and brass nipples
- Use 14ga (2.0mm) spokes. Thinner is unnecessary for MB use; thicker won't stay tight.
- Use a sturdy aluminum rim with double-walled construction.
- Lubricate the spoke threads and the nipple seats in the rim when building or truing.
- Tension the spokes to at least 100 kgf on the tighter side of the wheel (bike shops have a gauge to measure this).
- Stress relieve the spokes in new or newish wheels. See Sheldon Brown's website or Jobst Brandt's book _The Bicycle Wheel_ for specific instructions.
- Use a spoke protector on any derailleur-equipped bike, and keep the rear derailleur and shifter properly adjusted.
That's about it. Some things are subject to change according to the bike you use; for instance, steel rims often can't withstand 100 kgf of spoke tension, so you may have to use less tension and apply some kind of low strength threadlocker to keep the nipples from backing off.
But keep this in mind: if you have to use threadlocker to keep spokes from loosening, you're doing something wrong. And if you have to use thicker than normal spokes to prevent breakage, you're doing something wrong.
Chalo