Wheels should be built right

Last week a customer brought in a wheel for repair because his alloy nipples were breaking. I recommended rebuilding the wheel with all new spokes and nipples. I assumed the nipples were corroding and breaking to to exposure to ammonia-based sealant – but this time I was wrong.

The wheel in question consisted of a carbon rim laced to a premium-quality hub – clearly a custom-built wheel. Not a cheap one, at that.

Upon closer inspection I noticed 2 things, as pictured:

1. Some nipple holes were cracking and were deformed.
2. The spoke threads were exposed at the nipple – indicating that the spokes used in the original build were all too short.

Spokes that are too short do not thread all the way into the nipples, and this causes the nipple heads to pop off when under tension or during a hard impact. The cracking and deformed spoke holes in the rim tell me that at some point there had been way too much tension on the spokes – even though when I measured the spoke tensions they were all much lower than spec.

Cyclists spend a lot of time and money on their hobby/sport and as customers, deserve fair value for money. As a professional wheel builder, my priorities are firstly to provide my clients with strong, safe wheels and secondly to build wheels which are reliable and durable.

It’s a great pity when situations like this arise, as I believe a wheel, built properly, and not damaged in a crash, should last a lifetime.

Your time spent riding, training and away from your family is precious and should not be tainted by someone else’s ineptitude, laziness or lack of care.

Know your wheel builder, and choose one who cares about providing you with the best wheels you can afford.