Ok, I screwed up. I lost three nipples in a Zipp 404 rim. I've shaken it for hours but they don't want to come out. Magnets arn't an option b/c they are aluminium nipples.

It's tough because there's all this excess carbon/plastic crap in the rim--it's not like an open section in there.

Any ideas? I'm going insane.

Take some tape and roll it into a tube shape with the sticky side out and stick it in the spoke holes and then shake the rim. You might be able to get the nipples to stick to the tape.

Maybe if you have a derailler cable around. Put some sticky material on it and slide it inside the rim. With some luck the nipples may stick to the cable and come off the wheel when pulling it out...

Good luck

if u have a acesses to a air compressor .. blow compressed air to the hole an shake .. just wear goggles..

Lace it and ride it like that. It's the next hip thing to do!

After you fish these out, use something good to install new nipples as you build your wheel. Another spoke works, but I like a fat round toothpick for box rims and a bamboo skewer (type you use for grilling) for deep section rims.

They also have a specific tool for threading nipples in deep rims - it holds the nipple until the spoke gets up to a certain point then it lets go.

I have one but forgot where I got it.

However, after using that, a spoke (thread nipple onto it, line up nipple with the actual spoke, use spoke wrench to pass nipple to actual spoke), and some other things to build a myriad of Zipp wheels (perhaps total 20-30 wheels), I found myself going to the spoke most often. Always have a bunch around, you can verify that the nipple you picked up wasn't a random incorrect size nipple (1.8 mm vs 2.0 mm) before you get it in the rim and threaded onto the spoke.

When I unlaced Zipps I'd do the same but in reverse - unscrew the nipple a bit then allow it to thread onto a second spoke I'm holding. Then I pull it out like the game Operation.

For getting rid of the 3 nipples in there, the sticky thing idea works. I'd use a spoke, maybe dab some grease on it (sticky) or tire glue (stickier) and go after those SOBs.

good luck,
cdr