Is replacing the spokes on bike wheels something you can learn to do yourself?
I'm a heavy guy and regularly have spokes break on my back wheel. Getting a bicycle repair guy to fix it is a pain in the ass and kind of pricey. Ideally I would like to have a couple of spokes lying around so I could fix the wheel myself.
I'm not a complete idiot with tools but I'm still very much an amateur. Can I learn to do it myself?
If spokes are breaking regularly, whoever is fixing your wheel is a hack or your wheel is done for. Most likely, your spokes have too much tension or the tension is severely misbalanced. You can pluck the spokes that originate from the same side flange and they should have the same tone. Think like a guitar string. The more you tighten the string the more higher pitch the string will sound. If spokes are too far off in tone from one another they break as force moves through the wheel as that force isn't distributed evenly. Too high of a tone and your wheel is too tight, this leads to premature fatigue. There is a balance. A tensiometer helps this process but they are an expensive.
I always recommend to Clydesdales that they should run a higher spoke count out back with a thicker gauge spoke. In the long run a solid wheel will be cheaper once you factor in downtime. You can swap over the gears, tires, brake rotor if applicable, and skewers. Summer is coming and bike shop service lead time is only going to take longer. You can get a solid wheel for $250, your local bike shop should be able to get one in.
I build 4k+ wheels per year at one of the most fanciest wheel manufactures in amerikkka. I've been building wheels my entire life as BMX killed them often. Yes I registered for just this post. Good luck.
If you do want to fix it yourself, it's kind of a steep learning curve if you don't have someone there to hold your hand your first couple of times, bring in a six pack of beer to your local bike shop and ask if they can show you the basics, I always loved doing that when I worked a shop. YouTube can teach you a lot, but since it sounds like you're rough on wheels, I recommend prebuilt ready to run for the least hassle. If you've got time to learn, I recommend going to a thrift store, getting a really cheap wheel, and take it apart and put it back together a couple of times, paying attention to what spokes go where. Again, super steep learning curve, but you can mess it up as you don't need this wheel to get by.
I can get a grandma from zero knowledge to pro in about 80 hours. I wish I was joking but my areas disenfranchised population wants to work in this factory for the benefits and chill atmosphere that comes with a bicycle company.
I do hate these fucking dentists I build wheels for. Don't get me started about triathletes. But holy fuck do I love bicycles. I'm grateful for them being a healthy outlet for my rough childhood.