You may recall that a while ago I posted about a complete overhaul of my trials uni wheel. I finally got the money to get a new rim and bearings, all I need are new nipples. I don’t trust my LBS, so I was wondering what to get.
Also, how safe is it to use the old spokes. I know they’d have to be in the exact same position, and since the hub is the same and the rim is the same it should be okay, but what do I know?
Many of you were already helpful enough to tell me how to rebuild the wheel in the other post, so I’ll just go find that. Thanks.
At the bike shop I worked at we never used old nipples. New nipples are always more exciting. Seriously though the nipples do get stressed and you should use new ones when building a new wheel…go the extra step.
ALWAYS use new nips, they are cheap enough. What shape are the spokes in? Bent? Chewed up? How old was the last wheel? Are they Good quality spokes such as Sapim,DT, or wheelsmith? If not, just get new ones. There is nothing worse than to rebuild a wheel and break a spoke shortly after, because if one does others will soon follow. It is good to be anal when building wheels. Use spoke prep when building or green (290) locktite when done. Make sure to replace the spokes just like they came out of the hub (when reusing a hub). You want to follow the stretch makes in the hub. Less of a chance that you will crack an already stressed flange. HAVE FUN!! Wheel building (to me) is the most gratifing thing to do for a bike or uni. I`ve been in a shop for going on 12 years and this about the only thing left I still love about my job.
Are you using the same model rim as on your current wheel?
Monty, Alex, and Arrow Racing trials rims have different inside diameters. so if you have changed the rim, you need a new set of spokes to compensate. I am thinking that if you have found it nescessary to replace the rim, your spokes must be in pretty bad shape.
bam,
What do you think of DT Swiss black coated spokes? I think that the black coating makes a stiffer wheel, because the spokes don’t slide against each other like silver spokes do. Am I wrong?
onetrack,
I dont know. I have never noticed a difference in stiffness between coatings. I have built several sets of road wheels for myself using same hubs and rims but with different colored spokes. I feel wheel stiffness has more to do with spoke gauge and butting, combined with the rim design (deep rim = stiffer, wider and heavier = stiffer, light gauge spokes = flex) If you want a really stiff trials wheel just try the Arrow Racing rim. It has no give. The awesome thing about wheeling building is that there are sooooo many possible combinations and they continue to grow each year. As for the sliding of spokes on each other. I have noticed that on silver spokes I do sometimes have to oil/clean where they contact each other to get rid of noises that customers report. But these same wheels are the least mantained/cared for and always dirty. I dont remember ever doing this for a black spoked wheel. I will say I like the look of black rims,black spokes, with silver nips. I detest alloy nipples thou. No matter what, seizing is always a problem. It is a shame that brass nips only come in black or silver.
Well the new rim is that same as the old, Alex DX32. I’m going to get some brass nipples. If spokes aren’t too much I may just buy new ones, because I’m not sure I trust myself to get everything exactly right on a new wheel.