Any tips on adjusting old spokes that the nipple is kinda seized against the spoke thread?
The bladed spoke holder tool is nice for newly installed spokes that still turn nicely but useless for these - the thin blades overcome and push through the holder.
I upgraded to holding the spoke blade a multi grip wrench. This is strong enough to grip the blade but now the spoke just twists before the thread bond breaks.
So I’m kind of stumped. People who build and sell wheels would tend to give the obvious advice but as someone who doesn’t sell them - any tips for salvaging them?
Have you tried lube at the spike to nipple and nipple to rim junctures, and from the end of the nipple (nipple to rim bed)? Also, I’ve never tried it, but I’ve heard that vinegar can cut through the corrosion. It was hearing that that prompted me to try vinegar on some poorly stored kit where sweat and winter road crud had corroded a zipper to where it would not budge one iota (gross - I know!) and a vinegar soak did the trick.
I never found a solution for this. You can replace those rather tasty rims with generic spokes of the right length. But before doing that, check the rim isn’t worn out as mine didn’t last all that long. However the hubs are still going strong in my time trial training wheels with generic Chinese rims, plus a bit of filing of the cassette to allow them to take 11 and 12 speed cassettes
Lube up baby! Vinegar cleans things up but being acidic will ultimately lead to more corrosion and damage to metal parts. The only way is lube and tape 3 or 4 spoke holders together spaced along a piece of dowel from the hardware store. You can get wide aero spoke holder on Aliexpress but my tape together bodge has never let me down so haven’t had to investigate if they work or not. Triflow is a penetrating lube which is best but big on PFAS so a drop of any lube will eventually penetrate over a few days. Be patient and gentle. Once lubed the nipples should be able to be spun from inside the rim (unless they are blank drilled) with a screwdriver or spoke hex socket or square driver depending on what spokes are used. When rebuilding use a thread locker to protect against corrosion and this won’t be so bad next time. Good luck and please put the stilsons down
thanks for these tips. a few to try. it does become a question of how much I want to save these old wheels, despite my initial request around that objective!
Yep. You can definitely get better bladed spoke holders that will help a bit. DT Swiss make nice ones that aren’t terrifyingly expensive.
The reason they get super seized though is that they’re aluminium nipples with steel spokes. Galvanic corrosion is a pain. I’d strongly recommend brass nipples on any wheel set you want to last without rebuilding.
Triflow is a good option. But for really stuck ones, WD40 might penetrate better. Mechanics like to spin up the wheel to help the lube penetrate. Pretty hard to prove it does anything, but I doubt it hurts!
