Bicycle Mechanics - Spoke cutter recommendations?

I have a hub that I want to free from a damaged rim and my LBS charges $5 to cut it out so I thought I would just clip them off myself. However, seems like the only "Spoke clippers" I have seen run $40-$50, but that seems a little much for what are little more than heavy duty cable cutters that sell for half that much. I have even seen bolt cutters selling for $10, but that seems unwieldy. And I would prefer not to damage my cable/housing cutters. Any recommendations?

Thanks.

- Jeff

I have a hub that I want to free from a damaged rim and my LBS charges $5 to cut it out so I thought I would just clip them off myself. However, seems like the only "Spoke clippers" I have seen run $40-$50, but that seems a little much for what are little more than heavy duty cable cutters that sell for half that much. I have even seen bolt cutters selling for $10, but that seems unwieldy. And I would prefer not to damage my cable/housing cutters. Any recommendations?

Thanks.

- Jeff

Fine hacksaw

Are you unable to loosen the spoke nipples and dis-assemble the wheel without cutting? Even if the square section of the nipple is damaged preventing use of a spoke key, you (should) be able to turn them using a screwdriver from inside the rim. An old screwdriver can be modified by cutting a slot in the blade if there is interference from the top of the spoke into the slot in the nipple.

Hope that helps,

Ed

Wirecutters do wonders.

Diagonol wire cutters work well, a Dremel tool will work also, (just make sure you wear eye and ear protection).

Semper Fi

If this is a rear wheel with a freewheel, STOP RIGHT NOW! You'll probably never get the freewheel off without the torque/leverage of the rim ("driving the bus") to remove it. You'll end up sacrificing either the freewheel or the hub, or both, and doing a buttload of work. Even with a cassette, take mechanical advantage of the fully built wheel and remove the cogs before proceeding.

If it's a front wheel, then, as Emily Litella used to say, "Never mind!"

Just an ordinary 400 yen pair of wire cutters contained in most any household tool box should do just fine..... Oops....you're back in LA... try your local 99 cent store instead.

George

I agree with the fixer. Get a CHEAP pair of diagonal cutters. The stainless spokes will be harsh on them, so this is one of the very few times when I would recommend a cheap tool.

If possible, try loosening all the nipples first. If you start cutting spokes under tension, the rim can deform or taco. Hope it works for you...

Cool. Dis-assembling the wheel had actually occurred to me, but I figured I should save most of my patience for the building part. :)

So I guess I will pop into my local hardware store and see if they have any reasonable cutters. Short of that, it is off the hundred-yen, oop, 99 cent store.

Thanks.

Fencing pliers. They're used for cutting fencing wire whenyou're, eh, fencing? Work a treat and get through barbed/razor wire too if you need it...

I have a hub that I want to free from a damaged rim and my LBS charges $5 to cut it out so I thought I would just clip them off myself. However, seems like the only "Spoke clippers" I have seen run $40-$50, but that seems a little much for what are little more than heavy duty cable cutters that sell for half that much. I have even seen bolt cutters selling for $10, but that seems unwieldy. And I would prefer not to damage my cable/housing cutters. Any recommendations?

Thanks.

- Jeff

I have a small pair of bolt cutters and I have also used a "linesmen's pliers," a heavy duty pair of pliers with a cutting surface close to the pivot. You have to squeeze pretty hard. For what it's worth, I don't worry about the rim. Just last week I cut the rims off of two different hubs in oder to combine them into one useable wheel. You can just disassemble the wheel, but that takes longer to do than I'm comfortable with.

You can just disassemble the wheel, but that takes longer to do than I'm comfortable with.

I ended up disassembling the wheel since I needed an activity that would let me wind down from a bad day at work. It was not so bad, but since the rim was bent, a couple of the spokes were under a lot of tension and hard to unscrew. Like I said, it was a good meditative exercise, but if I had a couple of them to do, I would certainly need a pair of cutters.

- Jeff