Bicycle Mechanics - stripping nipples

i have had a problem with stripping the nipples while truing wheels in the last two wheelsets i've attempted. in both cases, the wheelsets were previously owned and were partially stripped to begin with. my question is how to true the wheel when that particular nipple is stripped? i know there are spoke wrenches that have the 3 corner grip, but i am currently using a park 3 size tool with square grips. is my only resort to remove the tire and use a flathead and go at it from the inside of the rim? should i take to shop to save the hassle?

A drop of TriFlow where the nipple meets the rim, and another drop where the nipple and spoke meet, will help reduce the friction between the nipple, spoke and rim. This makes the most of whatever torque your spoke wrench can still provide.

You might want to try out some single spoke wrenches from Park, though I guess it wouldn't make that much of a difference. You could also try one of the wrenches made for damaged nipples. Other than that, MechBgon's bot the best idea, as usual. :D

-Moab

Hmm, this thread looked good from the outside!

What nipples are you trying to adjust? Alloy or brass? I have found (for alloy) the best tool is Wrench Force. It has more contact points than the Park.
If you're stripping brass nips, I suggest rebuilding. It sounds as if the spoke threads were not treated properly in the first place.

First, allways use the right size wrench, this is how most nipples get stripped.
If you have a (or just a few) stripped nipple use a vice grip to remove it and then put a new nipple in, and tension it up. Try to get the same size flats as the other nipples.
The Spokey is a three sided wrench, but is a pain to use for regular work. If a spoke wrench won't take it loose a screwdriver will have no hope, often the spoke is sticking thru the middle of the nipple anyway.

yeah guess i will have to buy a bunch of nipples and replace all the stripped ones. is it really supposed to be this easy to strip nipples when truing? i guess it should be expected when trying to salvage some beater wheels huh? thanks for the tips guys. i definately would like the spoke wrench with the corner grip unlike Parks square grip... but i can't fathom the thought of shelling out the $$$ for a new set of wrenches.

It sounds like your using Alloy nips-is this true? If so, then switching to Brass nips will eliminate that stripping problem and you will only gain about 5 grams per wheel.

Just an idea, and I suspect it may have been done already, but an old screwdriver could be modified by cutting a recess in the centre of the blade. That way, you could adjust a nipple even if there was some spoke thread protruding into the screw slot.

Good luck,

Ed

The Park Tool SW-3 is one of the larger sizes. Always use the smallest size that fits. Try the SW-0. The SW-7 comes with three sizes. Be sure to also lubricate the nipple before truing.

See Wheel Truing (http://www.parktool.com/repair_help/howfix_truing.shtml)

i hadta ajust the rear wheel on my bran-new mongoose the other day-man, was that a *****! the ****in ajusable rench was to big, s i used the vice-grips to turn the niple.

:confused:

-Moab

Moabrider47, ditto

Originally posted by L Lortami
i hadta ajust the rear wheel on my bran-new mongoose the other day-man, was that a *****! the ****in ajusable rench was to big, s i used the vice-grips to turn the niple.

CRINGE!

Originally posted by Ed Holland
Just an idea, and I suspect it may have been done already, but an old screwdriver could be modified by cutting a recess in the centre of the blade. That way, you could adjust a nipple even if there was some spoke thread protruding into the screw slot.

Good luck,

Ed

That's a great idea for long spokes!

I did the opposite for a bit for my cordless screwdriver. I ground down the edges and left a small "nib" in the middle to fit into the spoke nipple hole Its great for the initial assembly of the wheel as you can imagine it speeds up the process. I'm sure some one already thought of that one though. Actually I think I stole the idea from Sheldon Brown (http://www.sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html). :D

Reference to the electric screwdriver is a little over halfway down the page under Initial Spoke Adjustment.

Buy a good quality round spoke wrench that can accomodate different size nipples. Use an opening that is too small for the rounded nipple. Take a hammer and bang on the nipple, thus creationg a flat spot in which to turn nipple. Remove all rounded nipples. Replace with new ones.