Wheel Un-building...

Had a go at unbuilding my broken rim from the hub and spokes, but it
seems that any attempt to twist the brass flat-headed part while the
spoke is engaged by a wrench results in the brass shearing off before
enough torque can be applied to loosen it at all. Is this because the
wheel was built by a machine? Still, I can hardly believe how weak these
brass peices are. How am I supposed to be able to re-use the spokes if
they seem to be cemented into the nipples???
The way things are going it seems like i'll have to cut them in half to
get them off the hub... :-( Anyone ever done this before?


--
recycled - Muni Novice

Nimbus Muni 24x3
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recycled wrote:
*Had a go at unbuilding my broken rim from the hub and spokes, but it
seems that any attempt to twist the brass flat-headed part while the
spoke is engaged by a wrench results in the brass shearing off before
enough torque can be applied to loosen it at all. Is this because the
wheel was built by a machine? Still, I can hardly believe how weak
these brass peices are. How am I supposed to be able to re-use the
spokes if they seem to be cemented into the nipples???
The way things are going it seems like i'll have to cut them in half
to get them off the hub... :-( Anyone ever done this before? *
Often the nipples on low- to medium-quality wheels will distort like
that. Often they are installed with a liquid locker which makes it easy
to put them on, but difficult to adjust them later on.

In general, you shouldn't expect to re-use spokes except when replacing
a rim with the identical rim, which happens to be your case. However,
without high-quality components to start with, you do best to just cut
them off and buy a new set. Be sure to unwind them as best as possible
beforehand to avoid injury, and wear hand and eye protection.

Post-build maintenance is one place that high-quality wheels really
shine, and demonstrate the owner's investment wisdom.


--
U-Turn - As long as my feet keep movin'...

Weep in the dojo... laugh on the battlefield.
'LiveWire Unicycles' (http://www.livewireunicycles.com)
'Strongest Coker Wheel in the World'
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-- Dave Stockton
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try adding a screw driver to the slot in the back of the nipple and then
twisting with a spoke wrench. maybe a squirt of wd-40 a few minutes
before would help too.


--
markf - movie nerd

stuck in iowa and unemployed.
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Remove the tire,tube ,and rim strip and apply a drop of reg. or
penetrating oil on each nipple.Sometimes tightening slightly first will
break the seal and allow you untighten something, ask any plumber!


--
cheech
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What do you mean, engaging the spokes with a wrench? You can't
physically hold the spokes, a spoke wrench engages with the nipples,
same as a nipple screwdriver. All you need to do is take off the rim
tape, and unscrew the nipples from the rim side. You shouldn't need to
hold the spokes in any way. Also WD40 might help, but if you want to re
use the spokes make sure its all cleared off, or the spokes will loosen
as you use them.

Loose.


--
Loosemoose - HA! Sod You Gilby, I HAVE DAMMIT!

Dave: "I had a particularly bad UPD & found I'd lost a shoe"
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Well yeah, that's what I meant by the 'spoke' not 100% on the
terminology :-) The problem is in that the brass part on the tire side
and the squarish 'nipple' or whatever you call it on the spoke side all
seem to have become as one, and that they can't be undone, almost like
they were loctited or something :-( I guess since this is the case, I
can rebuild with really cool black colored spokes this time...


--
recycled - Muni Novice

Nimbus Muni 24x3
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a derrr. it seems like it's one peice because it IS. HAHA.

i'm such a deuschebag.

The spokes are actually quite free to move...


--
recycled - Muni Novice

Nimbus Muni 24x3
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U-Turn wrote:
*Post-build maintenance is one place that high-quality wheels really
shine, and demonstrate the owner's investment wisdom. *

Since when does one have to "invest" to get a high-quality wheel? All
it takes is a little research, some patience and a bit of elbow grease
and one has the capability to make their own wheel that'll stand up to
the rigors of heavy usage while still being fully maintainable. I get
the impression that you're trying to mislead novice riders into
believing they need to spend money in order to have decent equipment.
Bad U-Spurn, bad!!!


--
maestro8 - Mad Scientists for World Domination

Those are my principles. If you don't like those, I have others. --
Groucho Marx
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well there's something to be said for being able to build/maintain your
own wheels. my wheel buliding friend can build/tension a wheel in about
an hour if there are no snags. every single spoke ends with the exact
same tension and "pings" the same note when plucked. doing that one your
first wheel build without a tension meter, particularly on a larger
wheel, would be very hard. not that it isn't a useful skill to learn,
but it's also one the hardest mechanical skills to learn. i still don't
feel 100% comfortable building a wheel from scratch. i can replace
spokes and true things up on an size wheel and do a good job with it,
but the building from parts is still a little hard/time consuming/i need
to learn it/maddening at this point. maybe my next wheel.


--
markf - movie nerd

stuck in iowa and unemployed.
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maestro8 wrote:
*Since when does one have to "invest" to get a high-quality wheel?
All it takes is a little research, some patience and a bit of elbow
grease and one has the capability to make their own wheel that'll
stand up to the rigors of heavy usage while still being fully
maintainable. I get the impression that you're trying to mislead
novice riders into believing they need to spend money in order to have
decent equipment. Bad U-Spurn, bad!!! *
I'm sorry that you have that impression, maestro8, but that is not the
case. I've reworked a number of brand-new brand-name "off-road"
unicycle wheels that have come way out of true after just two weeks of
riding.

Recycled stated that he could not "believe how weak" his wheel parts
were, and I can confirm that from experience. By describing the
difference that a high-quality wheel makes, I am attempting to place
Recycled's experience in perspective and answer his question.

Often for a wheel like that, even attempting to true it will result in
several stripped nipples and the need to replace them. The customer has
to pay for that extra time and hardware. In most cases, as well, there
are low limits on the wheel strength and trueness that spring from the
low quality of the wheel's components.

Perhaps my standards are higher, but yes, it is necessary to spend money
to have decent equipment. Each rider/owner has economic and performance
tradeoffs to make, including me. I have a low-to-medium-quality Trek
mountain bike, and that is plenty for me.

For some riders, spending $500 on a wheel is a wise decision. For
others, spending $500 on a unicycle is a wise decision. In all cases,
people have to spend money for equipment. The actual price/performance
tradeoffs are different for each rider. An active rider who is spending
lots of travel money to go to uni events is wise to invest in good
equipment, because it results in less downtime and better use of that
travel money. A novice rider who is unsure of his or her commitment to
the sport might do better with less expensive "exploratory" gear,
however often the best approach in that case is to attend a club and
borrow unis as much as possible until that person's choices narrow. A
rapidly advancing rider who is riding hard and breaking gear might do
well to look ahead and put a little more into better gear.

As far as "trying to mislead", that is patently not true. Many of my
customers will attest to my tendency to try to talk them down, rather
than up in price, and my forthrightness about the "bang for buck" that
each decision they make gives.

Anyhow, Recycled, good luck with your rebuild, and good riding!


--
U-Turn - As long as my feet keep movin'...

Weep in the dojo... laugh on the battlefield.
'LiveWire Unicycles' (http://www.livewireunicycles.com)
'Strongest Coker Wheel in the World'
(http://www.unicyclist.com/gallery/albup39)
'29er Tire Study' (http://u-turn.unicyclist.com/29erTireStudy/)
'New York Unicycle Club' (http://www.newyorkunicycle.com)
-- Dave Stockton
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