le mans

I got this Scott speedster s 40 i'm going to do up that has a Mavic front wheel 20 steel flat spokes, when I turn a nipple the spoke turns on the hub, WTF?

le mans

OK the spokes have surface rust, so the nipples must be seized, but geez strange design, there has to be hardly any resistance by the looks - well lubricated nipples

canklecat

That's pretty common. We just don't notice it so much with round spokes unless we're holding the spoke and can feel it twisting. If the entire spoke twists instead of just the nipple, it'll probably return to the out-of-true position after a couple of rides.

If I'm tweaking more than two or three spokes to quickly tune out a slight wobble, I'll take off the tire, tube and rim tape, dribble a droplet of Boeshield T9 or penetrating lube, wait awhile and then adjust the spokes. Usually this frees up sticky spokes and nipples.

le mans

Yeah i usually use a acetone and tranny oil mix a drop on each nipple before doing any truing especially if i see some corrosion
I just think it's an unusual design.. the spoke end turns on the hub flange, never come across that before.

_ForceD_

A couple of my wheelsets have bladed ("flat") spokes. I agree that it is a PITA to replace a spoke, and true the wheel with them. There is tool available by Park Tool (and probably others) for holding the spoke in place, to keep it from twisting, as you adjust the nipple. I just use a small 3" adjustable wrench to hold the spoke in place. This is frustrating too...but if you wait to untwist all the spokes until AFTER you have the wheel true...you'll be twisting the true right out of it.

Dan

le mans

So what i have here are straight pull spokes

cpach

Get something to hold the spoke. There are specific tools for this but a small adjustable wrench will do in a pinch. The DT holder is my favorite if I'm doing a full wheel build

le mans

Yep. I used a small adjustable wrench to hold them to un-do, broke about 4 spokes, so going to salvage the rim for another build i think.

davidad

Go a quarter turn past where you want and go back. If there is some lube in the threads this will work.

berner

From my tennis days, I have a home restringing machine. The machine came with customized small vice grips with aluminum jaws to hold strings temporarily as they are tensioned. These work well to grip round spokes and wold grip flat spokes also. It seems to me ordinary small vice grips would work if something semi-soft like a strip of leather or hardwood were hot melt over the steel jaws.

Cyclist03516

The Cresent (sorry adjustable) wrench idea works but if the wrench has any mileage on it, it needs constant thumb wheel work. I just cut a slot in a 2" x 3" x 3/8" thick piece of HDPE plastic board. A little easier than the Cresent wrench and easier on the spoke paint.

terrymorse 

That's good for j-bend spokes, but not for straight-pull spokes. They'll just keep spinning.

You need to hold the spoke with something to keep it from spinning. If it's a bladed spoke, an adjustable wrench will do, or you can take a piece of scrap metal and cut a slot slightly wider than the thickness of the spoke.

More difficult if the spoke has a round cross section. Then you need a tool that will clamp onto the spoke.

davidad

I have used that technic on both types with no real problems.