locking spoke nipple?

"Chuck Huffstetler" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I am building my first wheel set and am looking for
suggestions to lock

the

Quoted message said:

nipples after truing without spending a fortune.
Thanks Chuck

No need to lock them with anything. Just ensure the wheel is
properly tensioned and they will not come undone. It's
actually best to lubricate them with a drop of oil as you
build them. This will help you attain the proper tension.

Cheers,

Scott..

Quoted message said:

I am building my first wheel set and am looking for
suggestions to lock the nipples after truing without
spending a fortune. Thanks Chuck

They don't need locking. A properly built wheel has enough
tension to prevent the spokes from being detensioned
enough to turn.

Old wheelbuilding instructions included destructive and
unnecessary measure such as crimping the nipples, which
prevents later removal, to replace the rim for instance.
Wheelsmith's so-called spoke prep is touted as a solution to
loosening spokes as well as a lubricant for making
tensioning easier, but it serves no purpose that grease or
oil on the spoke threads would not accomplish. Use some oil
at the nipple/rim interface as well.

Where did you learn about locking nipples? You would do well
to ignore that source, and to consult a better one, such as
Sheldon Brown's excellent pages or Jobst Brandt's book.

Do let us know how you get on. Wheel building is a highly
satisfying and useful skill, and it isn't difficult. Take
your time for your first wheels and be analytical about what
you're doing.

--
Ted Bennett Portland OR

Not needed. I've never used anything but oil on the spoke
threads. If the spokes are sufficiently tensioned the
nipples won't come loose.

Nick

Chuck Huffstetler said:

I am building my first wheel set and am looking for
suggestions to lock the nipples after truing without
spending a fortune.

Ted Bennett said:

Where did you learn about locking nipples? You would do
well to ignore that source, and to consult a better one,
such as Sheldon Brown's excellent pages or Jobst
Brandt's book.

I just used Mr. Brown's site after I ripped a spoke out of
my back rim on my cruiser. I found it to be extremely
helpful. I have built wheels before, but it had been a
long time.

Thank you, Mr. Sheldon Brown!

PS, I really like you first name.

Sincerely,

Sheldon

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Chuck Huffstetl
I am building my first wheel set and am looking for
suggestions to lock the nipples after truing without
spending a fortune. Thanks Chuck

Dear Chuck,

While your question has scandalized others,
there really are such things as locking spoke
nipples.

The question last came up in December and
Dianne_1234 nailed things down:

Quoted message said:

Try http://www.alpinaraggi.it/, English, Window, ABS.

"NIPPLES A.B.S.
The A.B.S. (Alpina Block System) nipple can eliminate
wheel bending and failure caused by loose spokes. The
A.B.S. nipple eliminates the use of messy thread glues by
using a perforated nylon ball in the nipple head. The
assembly is identical to the traditional wheel building method
but prevents the nipple from vibrating loose by creating
friction between the nylon ball and spokes.
Spokes tensioning truing and straightening can be done
usual without having to reapply thread glues. Wheels can
even be trued at any time without risk of spoke nipples
vibrating loose during extreme stress or when used on
rough roads.
Each A.B.S. nipples is thoroughly checked for
manufacturing accuracy by a unique artificial viewing
machine.
Brass or aluminum 2030 A.B.S. nipples are available in
1,8mm and 2,0mm gauge in 13,5mm and 16,00mm lengths."

http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&selm=8bbde8fc.0312041922.162f2818%40posting.google.com

Most of the world gets along fine without these
locking spoke nipples, but it's fun to learn things
like this.

Carl Fogel

Forgive me if this is anathema to anyone, but the guy at my
LBS told me I could use plumber's waterproofing paste (not
the teflon tape type) in place of spokeprep - something he
learnt in mechanic school. Cheap - $2 for a lifetime's
supply at Home Depot - and essentially acts as a lube
viscous enough to 'lock'. Built my singlespeed wheel with
that - no problems at all. Going touring from Friday on with
the second wheel I just built... keeping fingers crossed...

song

So "Song" <[email hidden]> says:

Quoted message said:

Forgive me if this is anathema to anyone, but the guy at my
LBS told me I could use plumber's waterproofing paste (not
the teflon tape type) in place of spokeprep - something he
learnt in mechanic school. Cheap - $2 for a lifetime's
supply at Home Depot - and essentially acts as a lube
viscous enough to 'lock'. Built my singlespeed wheel with
that - no problems at all. Going touring from Friday on
with the second wheel I just built... keeping fingers
crossed...

song

Wheelsmith makes spoke prep and some people use boiled
linseed oil as it drys gummy and has locking/dampening
qualities but as just about everyone else has said light
weight oil and correct tension work best.

jeffb

"Chuck Huffstetler" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I am building my first wheel set and am looking for
suggestions to lock the nipples after truing without
spending a fortune. Thanks Chuck

Not long ago I put a new rim on a wheel that had been built
with Locktite on the nipples. It was a bit of a nuisance to
unscrew (& reuse). None of my other (several) wheels were
built with any kind of locking compound, and I haven't had
problems (I weigh 235). I'd highly recommend against using
any locking compounds.

chhuff-<< I am building my first wheel set and am looking
for suggestions to lock the nipples after truing without
spending a fortune. >><BR><BR>

It's easy, use proper tension on the spokes and they don't
loosen. Threadlock nipps are not necessary.

Adequate tension doesn't cost a bit more.

Peter Chisholm Vecchio's Bicicletteria 1833 Pearl St.
Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535 vecchios.comvecchios.comOpen ↗ "Ruote convenzionali
costruite eccezionalmente bene"

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

I am building my first wheel set and am looking for
suggestions to lock the nipples after truing without
spending a fortune. Thanks Chuck

Build your wheels properly and you don't need to lock them
with anything. I just saved you a fortune. 🙂
-------------
Alex

As I follow this thread I sense that the reason for spoke
nipples unscrewing may have been overlooked by some. A spoke
nipple cannot "vibrate" loose unless the spoke becomes
completely slack under load. That being so, insufficient
spoke tension is the cause. This comes from the wheel having
been built with insufficient tension or a wheel with so much
dish that the left spokes are already loose when sitting on
the bicycle.

I recall when Wheelsmith, just down the street from my
house, got their Holland-Mechanics wheel building machine
and had trouble in achieving throughput. Attempting to
produce wheels as tight as those built by hand, the machine
would approach an infinite loop of tweaking spokes back and
forth, mostly within the range of spoke twist which produced
little change in alignment.

The way the machine works is that all adjustments are made
at previously noted spoke locations from a previous once-
around scan before rotating the wheel again to reassess its
alignment. The machine had no memory last alignment check
and the next, so it could not realize that little or no
change occurred.

The solution was to work to a lower tension which, as it
developed, is what many machine built wheels are. When these
wheels came back from use with complaints, they often had
several completely loose spokes, for which SpokePrep was
developed. I suppose the linseed oil method may have
preceded it considering that in the past failures were often
attributed to excess tension something that also supported
the practice of building wheels with insufficient tension.

Jobst Brandt [email hidden]

Quoted message said:

Forgive me if this is anathema to anyone, but the guy at
my LBS told me I could use plumber's waterproofing paste
(not the teflon tape type) in place of spokeprep -
something he learnt in mechanic school. Cheap - $2 for a
lifetime's supply at Home Depot - and essentially acts as
a lube viscous enough to 'lock'. Built my singlespeed
wheel with that - no problems at all. Going touring from
Friday on with the second wheel I just built... keeping
fingers crossed...

song

Glad you had "no problems at all" but I'm not surprised. But
the fact remains that it would have worked just as well to
use any lubricant.

As everyone else seems to agree, there is no reason for a
nipple lock in a well built wheel.

--
Ted Bennett Portland OR

You don't want to do this as you'll never be able to true
the wheel if you hit something and make it go out of round.

-Dion

"Chuck Huffstetler" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I am building my first wheel set and am looking for
suggestions to lock

the

Quoted message said:

nipples after truing without spending a fortune.
Thanks Chuck