ok quick question, i'm thinking about a wheel build. I have a decent wheelset on one of my bikes already, but i'm thinking about changing out hubs.

Considering the fact that i've never had an issue with the spokes and they're in good condition and being transferred from a 32h to 32h hub.

Would you guys reuse spokes when relacing a wheel, or is that a No-No.

This local wheelbuilder was telling me to buy new spokes when i ran the situaton past him. Just trying to figure out if it's a "scam" like buying insurance for your credit card or as legit and crucial as milk for your oreo cookie.

Whoa. Milk and oreos is a touchy subject. Far more critical than reusing spokes. The question I would ask is if the hubs have the same measurements, therefore requiring the same spoke lengths. Why are you changing out the hub anyways?

If I were building a wheel for someone else, esp. if for pay, then I'd insist on new spokes. No way of knowing what stresses they may have seen before and I wouldn't want to have to later fix any problems that may have been due to existing spoke issues.

But if I'm building a wheel for myself I have no problem reusing spokes that I think are in good shape and are the proper length. This is more common with a replacement of the rim since they wear out from brake wear and then I can leave the spokes in their original position in the hub as I move them over to the new rim. What happened to your hub?

i want to upgrade from my 105 SC hubs to Dura Ace hubs. Nothing wrong with them, i'm just trying to be fancy...

my pinarello was upgraded last year to Dura ace 7410, one of the last components i need to switch over are the hubs. I need to have it matching hahah...yes i'm a little bit of a bike nerd... 105 sc hubs just don't cut it for the gruppo

I have done this without any problems, until recently when I did it, and the threads on some of the spokes started to slip and strip as I did final tightening. Kind of freaked me out on the concept now. Just rebuilt that wheel with brand new spokes.

For a wheel I was rebuilding for my own use I would re-use the spokes in the new hub, and do. Keep track of out-bound vs. in-bound spokes and lace them the same way. The elbows will have been bent differently as the wheel was laced and tensioned the first time and you should try to re-create this in the new wheel rather than re-bending elbows randomly to take the opposite orientation. The elbow is where a fatigued spoke will break. Put a tiny dab of nail polish on the spoke heads of the in-bound spokes before you take the wheel apart. For a front wheel I don't think it matters about left vs. right but if you are taking the trouble, you might as well try to respect that too.

My feelings exactly. The mechanic is not scamming you. And he might have a belief that old spokes are a bad idea, and he's wrong, but he's also right to insist on new spokes. It's the only way he can be sure that the wheel is built right with good materials.

+1 on the "I do it for myself, but not others"

+2
It would also depend on the type of spoke too. I know aluminum/alloy nipples are basically a one shot deal, plated brass can be used over and over.

Aaron

This is always a bit of a "should I or shouldn't I" scenario. I use used spokes all the time, however; I select which used spokes to re-use very carefully.

If a wheel has seen little use, is not badly out of true "as found" and the spokes are stainless steel, then I have no issue using the used spokes. The spokes are carefully removed, measured, cleaned, visually inspected and then packaged and set aside as a matched set.

Do I sell others a wheel set with used spokes installed? Yes, but only with their permission.

I have used used spokes for years and with little problem. Put another way, I have tested their use many times. These days, when people ask me to build them a wheel set, I offer the new spoke or used spoke option. Used spokes set the customer back about five bucks per wheel. New spokes set them back close to $60.00 for the set. Guess which ones most people choose?

Do it. i've been dping it for years and nothing bad will come of it.

The hub dimensions dont need to be exact either....a mm here or there is OK

I need some education on spokes, can someone give me a brake down? i know there's crappy galvanized ones that i would never touch, then there stainless ones and aluminum ones? as far as pricing on each one what should i expect and what are my options. thanks

I only use and recomend stainless (and usually used DB ones) with brass nipples. last set of wheels I had built they gave me a deal on spokes at $1 ea.

On my personal wheels if they are fairly low milage and no spoke issues I would certainly reuse them.


Not to hijack your thread but I am trying to do something similar, but I am trying to figure out how find a hub to match the one I am removing from the wheel. Is there a website I can possibly find some measurements on hubs or do I have to ask seller/vendor to measure?

I buy Sapim stainless spokes from a BMX outfit called DansComp. Straight gauge stainless are just a quarter each, and DB 0.40 ea, with brass nipples. You have to order over the phone, and they max out at like 302mm, but they ship quick and you can't beat the price:
https://www.danscomp.com/products-PAR...14G_Spoke.html
https://www.danscomp.com/products-PAR...ted_Spoke.html

Send me a PM. Tell me exactly what hub you want measured. If I have one tucked away, I will measure it up for you. How does that sound?

I don't seem to think there is anything wrong with reusing better grade stainless spokes with brass nipples. For me the main issue would be cost $5 to replace a few nipples and a couple of spokes or $60-65 for all new spokes. I for one would rather use used DT stainless than cheap new spokes.

When I first read this I saw it as I've been doping it for years....no problems
and was both surprised and refreshed by your candor.

But +whatever on if it's for me, they are high quality SS spokes
with brass nipples (DT, Wheelsmith, Sapim, etc) and no known
problems, I reuse those of usable lengths.

I didn't do it until the price of spokes started to go stratospheric.
Now, sometimes I almost have to, if I want to build myself a
wheel set and not impoverish the family.

On this subject of spokes, how much do bike shops usually charge to trim spokes using their spoke machine? I need 36 spokes at 301mm but I only have access to zinc plated 301mm spokes but can get a pile of cheap 304mm SS spokes. I wonder if its possible to get the 304mm spokes trimmed to 301mm cheaply.

Will 3mm make a difference? Will they poke past the nipple into the area of the tube?

All (well almost almost all) low flange hubs will interhcange. A smidge difference in flange postion or any other dimension will not make a difference. Shimano, Campy, Suntour....126, 130, 6,7,8,9,10....it doesnt matter.

There is the concept of cumulative damage. About all of the comments on this thread have been reasonable. The thing to be aware of is that a highly stressed structural element such as a spoke may not have an infinite life. An individual spoke's actual life will be highly dependend on its individual history, which comes down to a complex synthesis of the peak stresses it has been subjected to, the amplitude of the stress variation from min to max, and the number of cycles it has undergone for various min to max stress levels. If you're confident that a given spoke has had an easy life in these terms, then it is a good candidate for re-use. If you're not confident, then you take your own risk.

MJ talked me into it a few years back, been doing it ever since. Now if I was building a wheel for someone for $$, I would follow Randy's guidance and give them a choice.

+1 Only bother with stainless spokes.

Not all galvanized (zinc plated) spokes are crappy. DT used to make them, and they were as reliable and durable as stainless. They just don't look good for very long. I built a wheel set with them 30 years ago, and it's still good.

Nowadays, I think all good spokes are made of stainless steel. Aluminum spokes are a big no-no in my book. Aluminum isn't ductile enough. I don't even know if you can get these spokes any more.

You definitely want brass nipples, not steel or aluminum.

That was easy, wasn't it?

I've never heard of aluminum spokes, and I certainly wouldn't recommend aluminum as a spoke material except as as disposable item for extreme competition.
Ductility is not the issue at all, to be sure. The issue is fatigue strength. The concepts are difficult to impart, outside of a university level materials curriculum. What is needed for spokes is both very high yield strength, and high fatigue strength, which tend to go together. Piano wire, and springs of all types, have the same requirements. I.e. the ability to withstand stretching elastically over a very large number of cycles. "Stretching elastically" means returning to the same original length when the stress is removed. "Withstand" means without fracturing due to fatigue, i.e. after N+1 cycles.

https://sheldonbrown.com/rinard/spocalc.htm