A customer brought in a Racing Zero (high-end wheel set) for service.

They wanted truing work done, but
there was a nipple that felt seized—very stiff to turn—
and with an odd runout only in that area, so I loosened it and


found a bent spoke.
To be precise, loosening it didn't reveal the bend directly—
the runout was unnatural, so I palpated the spokes in that phase area and found it.


Replaced it.


Actually, I checked the rear wheel first and it had the same kind of issue, but


↑replaced spoke

the bent spoke on the rear wheel had such a stiff nipple that
I figured it'd snap—bang!—when I turned it, and sure enough, it snapped with a bang.


Next up, a rear wheel from another Racing Zero of the same era.
The front and rear wheels from before belonged to an acquaintance of the customer,
but this one is the customer's own wheel.


The last two crossing spokes on the freewheel side are bent, but

this one is particularly pronounced.


Fixed.


↑replaced spokes


There are impact marks at roughly the same height, but if the wheel bent from rotation,
the second impact would have caused greater damage.
Alternatively, a side-load force might have been applied.
But the way that second spoke bent makes me think rotation was involved.