Originally Posted by
Drew Eckhardt
If the rim is unbent you don't need new spokes and nipples, just uniform high tension. Loose spokes between tight spokes on the same side can be tightened and their neighbors loosened or vise versa.
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Don't use thread locker (unless you're kludging around a bent rim that you can't straighten, using stupid light 360g rims that won't take a lot of tension and have significant drops when you install a set of tubeless tires, etc.) It'll make the wheel harder to service in the future and isn't need.
Anti-seize is the preferred choice (it'll stay in place with rain and snow and prevent galvanic corrosion).
I was assuming that his wheel was 25+ years old, in which case I'd imagine the spoke elbows are pretty much fatigued/shot (if the wheel has been ridden over the years). It is quite possible this isn't the case.
I shouldn't have used the term "thread locker" - bad nomenclature for what I was intending to convey - I use the wheelsmith "spoke dope" powder, others use the DT Swiss Spoke Freeze - regardless - use something that prevents the nipples from turning on their own, yet allows you to turn them with a spoke wrench if need be.