Nipple Washers
12-19-21, 12:00 PM
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Nipple Washers
I see some nice cupped Sapim nipple washers on line, and I’m planning to build some wheels with rims which do not have ferruled spoke holes. Anybody tried these?
I have no problem with either stainless or brass flat washers but these Sapim look more suited to the purpose.
What do you think about these?
I have no problem with either stainless or brass flat washers but these Sapim look more suited to the purpose.
What do you think about these?
12-19-21, 01:03 PM
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As I understand it the pro's rarely use them, so that should tell you something right there. I suppose if the rims in question have a history of cracking at the spoke holes then the washers may help. What rims, how many holes, what spokes, what riding conditions, and how much do you weigh?
12-23-21, 05:55 PM
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Rims are urai, 630 mm bsd, 36 holes, no ferrules, 3x, beads not hooked. Riders are 180#, average 12 mph on MUP, hubs are large flange, original aluminum shells, OLN will be 123 mm (5 speed).
12-23-21, 08:14 PM
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Eyelets, not ferrules. On aluminum rims it can't hurt to use them. I mainly use them on carbon rims, the cupped ones fit really nicely in rims that have an aero section.
12-23-21, 08:16 PM
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I suspect these rims are from the later 1970s or early 80s, the 630 bead diameter and the lack of hook edges are the tells. If they are what I think then they were never laced with nipple washers, IME. I also suspect the spoke bed is thick enough for not needing washers for reinforcement reasons. Andy
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12-23-21, 08:56 PM
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Hard anodized rims have a brittle surface layer, that once cracked can progress to failure. Nipple washers can reduce the likelihood of a crack forming and thus prevent this type of failure, or at least prolong the service life of the rim.
12-23-21, 11:14 PM
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Nipple washers may help reduce binding when reaching full tension values. Might help with rim cracking, but maybe not. Bill Mould has a lot of experience with this stuff and his investigations have determined that rim cracking is usually due to low-tension issues usually found on traditional rear wheel non drive side spokes. Here's a great YouTube video of his:
If I were wanting to reduce the chance of this happening, I'd use butted spokes and a calibrated tension gauge and make damn sure spoke tensions were at max (usually 120kgf, but depends on rim & hubs being used).
If I were wanting to reduce the chance of this happening, I'd use butted spokes and a calibrated tension gauge and make damn sure spoke tensions were at max (usually 120kgf, but depends on rim & hubs being used).
12-24-21, 07:03 AM
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