Stripped nipple in new wheel build
05-02-18, 05:13 AM
#1
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Stripped nipple in new wheel build
As I was truing a newly built wheel I stripped a nipple and can’t back it out (the spoke end prevents putting a screwdriver to it). The spokes are all pretty damn tight at this point. Is it time to grab the wire cutters and sacrifice the stainless steel spoke? FYI: I built the wheel with used spokes, anyway.
05-02-18, 05:20 AM
#2
Steel is real
no
once i stripped a nipple, but i needed to tighten it one more small turn.. so i grabbed a pair of small lock jaw clamp pliers
you could use such a tool to unscrew & remove the nipple
once i stripped a nipple, but i needed to tighten it one more small turn.. so i grabbed a pair of small lock jaw clamp pliers
you could use such a tool to unscrew & remove the nipple
Last edited by le mans; 05-02-18 at 05:25 AM.
05-02-18, 10:15 AM
#5
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You can put a notch in the center of a screwdriver blade. I've done this when I had to remove a rounded off nipple.
John
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05-02-18, 03:04 PM
#7
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Are they aluminum nipples or brass? If the latter, perhaps the universe is trying to tell you that the spokes are too tight already. 
05-02-18, 03:08 PM
#8
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And you might also want to verify that you are using the correct size spoke wrench - it is easy to round off a nipple when it is really tight and your wrench is too large.
05-02-18, 04:03 PM
#10
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Ditto on the vice grips.
Then use splined spokes...solves the rounding off problem. They come in a bunch of nifty colors as well for when you have a color scheme goin'
DSCN0370 by Stuart Black, on Flickr
Matches the decals
DSCN0465 by Stuart Black, on Flickr
Then use splined spokes...solves the rounding off problem. They come in a bunch of nifty colors as well for when you have a color scheme goin'
DSCN0370 by Stuart Black, on Flickr
Matches the decals
DSCN0465 by Stuart Black, on Flickr
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05-02-18, 06:12 PM
#11
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As I was truing a newly built wheel I stripped a nipple and can’t back it out (the spoke end prevents putting a screwdriver to it). The spokes are all pretty damn tight at this point. Is it time to grab the wire cutters and sacrifice the stainless steel spoke? FYI: I built the wheel with used spokes, anyway.
I also agree w/ the suggestions of using vice-grips and checking to make sure that you've got the right size spoke wrench for the nipples you're using. Good luck and let us know what method worked for future reference!
05-02-18, 08:28 PM
#12
I strongly recommend the Cyclus type spoke wrench which grabs 4 sides of the nipple over the slotted Park style wrench. A great $6 investment.
05-02-18, 11:35 PM
#13
Steel is real
Vice grips, that's right, i forgot the name. google came up with - lock jaw clamp pliers
05-03-18, 06:37 AM
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I agree that 4 sided spoke wrenches are better than the slotted wrench. However, Park also makes a 4 sided wreck in two sizes, the SW-40 and SW-42.
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Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
05-03-18, 07:14 AM
#16
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05-03-18, 07:25 AM
#17
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One other thing to consider once you get this nipple off is, are the spokes so long that the nipple is trying to thread up beyond the top of the spoke's threads? If this happens, it becomes really hard to turn the nipple and might be a reason that the spoke wrench flats got rounded in the first place.
05-03-18, 07:58 AM
#18
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No, if the spoke is protruding beyond the end of the nipple, it means the spoke is too long. Changing the nipple length will not fix this.
05-03-18, 11:20 AM
#19
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The spoke is not protruding, just coming close to. The spoke calc suggested 298.2mm; I grabbed 298s. I suppose 296s would have done as well.
05-04-18, 12:56 AM
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Should have used double square or squorx nipples. Tension from the top. And lube your threads. The slotted head nipples are 1800s technology.
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