Banzai

The last (and first) wheelset I built I used DT Competition spokes. They come, apparently, stock with Aluminum spoke nipples. I was pretty careful, but I ended up rounding off about 2 per wheel and having to replace them. The wheel expert at my LBS who was checking my work asked if I had had any issues with rounding off spoke nipples. When I said yes, he said that was something that happened with Aluminum nipples, and that brass was far preferred.

Do Competitions come with brass? I checked the website, but it doesn't say. Maybe my next build I'll try Wheelsmith with brass.

FlatFender

I wasnt aware that spokes came with nipples
I love DT Competitions, and I always use brass nipples

urbanknight

I thought they were supposed to come with brass as well. If you got aluminum, you got a free "upgrade" and saved a whopping 20 grams for the pair. If you rounded off brass nipples, you overtightened the spokes WAAAAYYY too much.

Nessism

Brass is stock unless you get Revolutions.

Banzai

I was told the ones I had were aluminum. I tried to be pretty careful about tightening...I made it a point to never "death grip" the spoke wrench to allow myself that kind of leverage. The fella at the LBS pronounced my work to be quite good, but he was the one that said the nipples were aluminum. I didn't know better.

The ones I rounded off I didn't turn very hard...the spoke wrench just wasn't 100% "seated" if you will, and it didn't have a good grip. Perhaps in that case brass can be affected as well?

FlatFender

you can definately round a brass nipple doing that.

Rev.Chuck

What color was the rounded part of the nipple? The brass will show thru the plating if you round one off. Alluminum nipples have no plating(unless color anodised)

Banzai

I don't remember the color being different...but then, I stopped before it REALLY rounded. So it just got a bit of a twist to it before I went "d@mn it!" and extracted the offending nipple.

urbanknight

You probably had aluminum, and it's very easy to round them off. It seems to me that they start to round off right about the proper tension for the spokes. How convenient

Al1943

Nothing at all wrong with DT aluminum nipples, that's what I prefer. I routinely run them up as high as 160 kgf. If you're rounding them off you need a new spoke wrench. I use "Spokey" wrenches, usually the red coded.

Al

urbanknight

^ Are those better than the black Park ones? I don't round mine off but they start to tweak the sides right around the end of the job.

Al1943

Yes, I did round off a couple of nipples using a black Park wrench. Have had no rounded nipples with Spokey wrenches. In all fairness to Park, I believe their newer wrenches hold all four sides of the nipples and if you have the correct size they should not round the nipples.

Al

urbanknight

Ah yes, I suppose my spoke wrench being 11 years old isn't helping either.

Banzai

I'm using a black Pedro's wrench, the one with two different "grips" if you will, one diamond shaped and one square shaped.

Rev.Chuck

Spokeys are my favorite, but there are quite a few companies that make three sided wrenches now.