A story for reference.

I'm somewhat of a heavy rider so I check my rims regularly. I've been riding on a set of Mavic Ksyrium SL since 2007 with no problems. But checking them is helping with the longevity. Recently, I detected the sound of something loose rattling inside the gap between the inside face of the rear rim and the tube wall. This is the space the spoke and nipples reside without touching the tube. When I turned the wheel slowly I could here a metallic sound tumbling along inside.

I immediately fear the worst case, one of the nipples was fractured inside and the rim was about to fail.

I removed the rim, tire and tube. Fortunately, where the valve stem passes through there is an opening in the gap area. By slowly turning the wheel I was able to get the noise maker(s) to fall out.



At the top is a spare spoke. You can see the spoke ball, nipple and threads. The two small pieces are what fell out as well as some smaller particles. Comparing them it appears to be a shaving from the tap-and-die work that was not removed (curled piece) and possibly a burr from the extrusion process (thin V). They don't appear to me to be related to the example hardware above. Speaking with a knowledgable friend he concurred.

So I submit this as a story for those who might find themselves in a similar situation. If there are any other observations I might consider I am happy to read them.