Originally Posted by
MyRedTrek
After lacing up my 700c wheel with a 3-cross pattern, I've concluded the 296mm spokes are too long - actually my Park Tool spoke length gauge shows them to be around 294 - 295mm but they were ordered as 296. With the nipples all threaded to the point where the threads just disappear into the shaft of the nipple the spokes are still way too loose, the nipple heads aren't even seated onto the grommets and there's only another 3 mm or so before the unthreaded part of the spoke runs into the nipple threads - I feel like there needs to be some thread headroom to allow for truing and dishing. I imagine they could stand to be 2 - 3 mm shorter.
Rather than hunt down and pay for another set of these DT Swiss Alpine 3 spokes and have a bunch of spokes I can't use and maybe try to sell them on eBay for less than I paid, I'm looking at these Cyclo spoke threaders so I can use the spokes I have.
Do you see a problem with adding additional thread length to an already threaded spoke? As I understand it you roll the threads in stages with the threading head - so lets say I grind or cut 2 mm off a spoke, do you think it would be problematic to match it up to the portion of the threads that are already there and then add additional length to the threaded area?
If you are determined to use the components you have on hand, there is a hack solution you can use. It is possible to control how tight the spiral pattern in the wheel is, by lacing the wheel in a specific way. This then allows you to accomodate a range of spoke lengths with a given hub/rim.
Assuming a 36 hole hub, place 9 spokes on one side. Then immediately after this step, rotate the hub in on direction until it cant rotate any further. Lock in the rotation of the hub by placing a spoke on the opposite side of the hub in the appropriate position. Then lace the wheel fully.
You can build a proper wheel like this. The thing that is sacrificed by doing this is the nipple-spoke angle. A nipple can only move to a small extent in a standard rim, so if the spokes come in at a steep angle to the nipple a "broken line" or kink will be formed between the nipple and spoke. Many machine built wheels come with a noticeable kink, stemming from poor rim/spoke/hub combinations. Presumably, they still last for an acceptable period of time.
If you have ever removed spokes from an old wheel, some spokes will have a noticeable kink just below the end of the thread on the spoke. This is the end result of poor spoke-nipple alignment.