Hot nipples (wheel truing)
 

I note my non-drive side spokes are looser than I'd like and plan to give them a 1/4 turn.

I don't think it should affect my centering much, but, anyway,
since it's been a long time I'm planning to put a drop of transmission fluid on each nipple then heat it briefly w/ a propane torch, or maybe vice-versa, heat then oil, just so I can make sure they are not too bound up.

Good idea? Bad idea?
I'll hold off a day until some opinions roll in.

ph in Aptos

Hot nipples (wheel truing)
 

pH wrote:
I note my non-drive side spokes are looser than I'd like and plan to give them a 1/4 turn.

I don't think it should affect my centering much, but, anyway,
since it's been a long time I'm planning to put a drop of transmission
fluid on each nipple then heat it briefly w/ a propane torch, or maybe
vice-versa, heat then oil, just so I can make sure they are not too bound up.

Good idea? Bad idea?
I'll hold off a day until some opinions roll in.

ph in Aptos


I’d skip the S&M treatments until I had determined that I actually couldn’t
just give every second spoke nipple a 1/4 turn. Maybe use a soft faced
clamp/pliers to prevent the spoke from turning while you turn the spoke
wrench.

Hot nipples (wheel truing)
 

On 2/8/2020 1:00 PM, pH wrote:
I note my non-drive side spokes are looser than I'd like and plan to give them a 1/4 turn.

I don't think it should affect my centering much, but, anyway,
since it's been a long time I'm planning to put a drop of transmission fluid on each nipple then heat it briefly w/ a propane torch, or maybe vice-versa, heat then oil, just so I can make sure they are not too bound up.

Good idea? Bad idea?
I'll hold off a day until some opinions roll in.

ph in Aptos


That will move your rim off center to the left so if that's
what you need, go right ahead.

Also, what did you use to lubricate the nipples when you
built it? Do you know that they do not turn easily now?

Heat seems a poor choice. Here, we detension the whole
wheel, lubricate with fresh linseed oil and then bring it
back to correct tension. Fighting sticky threads a few at a
time seems a poor use of time to me.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

Hot nipples (wheel truing)
 

On Saturday, February 8, 2020 at 12:46:15 PM UTC-8, AMuzi wrote:
On 2/8/2020 1:00 PM, pH wrote:
I note my non-drive side spokes are looser than I'd like and plan to give them a 1/4 turn.

I don't think it should affect my centering much, but, anyway,
since it's been a long time I'm planning to put a drop of transmission fluid on each nipple then heat it briefly w/ a propane torch, or maybe vice-versa, heat then oil, just so I can make sure they are not too bound up.

Good idea? Bad idea?
I'll hold off a day until some opinions roll in.

ph in Aptos


That will move your rim off center to the left so if that's
what you need, go right ahead.

I was hoping it would not be enough to be noticeable. The drive side are plenty tight enough.


Also, what did you use to lubricate the nipples when you
built it? Do you know that they do not turn easily now?

It was some sort of blue gunk in a small 'vaseline' style container that had an ammonia
odor to it and dried to a powdery solid. I forget what it's called w/o going out to my garage.

Heat seems a poor choice. Here, we detension the whole
wheel, lubricate with fresh linseed oil and then bring it
back to correct tension. Fighting sticky threads a few at a
time seems a poor use of time to me.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

Okay, thanks for the comments, everybody. I often have the "If it's not broken, fix it until it is." experience when I get these ideas in my head. (Ask me about the time I decided I should clean the points in my Morris Minor's voltage regulator.)

pH

Hot nipples (wheel truing)
 

On Sat, 8 Feb 2020 15:58:52 -0800 (PST), pH wrote:

On Saturday, February 8, 2020 at 12:46:15 PM UTC-8, AMuzi wrote:
On 2/8/2020 1:00 PM, pH wrote:
I note my non-drive side spokes are looser than I'd like and plan to give them a 1/4 turn.

I don't think it should affect my centering much, but, anyway,
since it's been a long time I'm planning to put a drop of transmission fluid on each nipple then heat it briefly w/ a propane torch, or maybe vice-versa, heat then oil, just so I can make sure they are not too bound up.

Good idea? Bad idea?
I'll hold off a day until some opinions roll in.

ph in Aptos


That will move your rim off center to the left so if that's
what you need, go right ahead.

I was hoping it would not be enough to be noticeable. The drive side are plenty tight enough.


Also, what did you use to lubricate the nipples when you
built it? Do you know that they do not turn easily now?

It was some sort of blue gunk in a small 'vaseline' style container that had an ammonia
odor to it and dried to a powdery solid. I forget what it's called w/o going out to my garage.

Heat seems a poor choice. Here, we detension the whole
wheel, lubricate with fresh linseed oil and then bring it
back to correct tension. Fighting sticky threads a few at a
time seems a poor use of time to me.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

Okay, thanks for the comments, everybody. I often have the "If it's not broken, fix it until it is." experience when I get these ideas in my head. (Ask me about the time I decided I should clean the points in my Morris Minor's voltage regulator.)

pH

One might question, is the wheel straight? is the wheel centered? does
the rim move laterally when you corner?
--
cheers,

John B.

Hot nipples (wheel truing)
 

On Saturday, February 8, 2020 at 3:58:54 PM UTC-8, pH wrote:
On Saturday, February 8, 2020 at 12:46:15 PM UTC-8, AMuzi wrote:
On 2/8/2020 1:00 PM, pH wrote:
I note my non-drive side spokes are looser than I'd like and plan to give them a 1/4 turn.

I don't think it should affect my centering much, but, anyway,
since it's been a long time I'm planning to put a drop of transmission fluid on each nipple then heat it briefly w/ a propane torch, or maybe vice-versa, heat then oil, just so I can make sure they are not too bound up.

Good idea? Bad idea?
I'll hold off a day until some opinions roll in.

ph in Aptos


That will move your rim off center to the left so if that's
what you need, go right ahead.

I was hoping it would not be enough to be noticeable. The drive side are plenty tight enough.


Also, what did you use to lubricate the nipples when you
built it? Do you know that they do not turn easily now?

It was some sort of blue gunk in a small 'vaseline' style container that had an ammonia
odor to it and dried to a powdery solid. I forget what it's called w/o going out to my garage.

Heat seems a poor choice. Here, we detension the whole
wheel, lubricate with fresh linseed oil and then bring it
back to correct tension. Fighting sticky threads a few at a
time seems a poor use of time to me.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

Okay, thanks for the comments, everybody. I often have the "If it's not broken, fix it until it is." experience when I get these ideas in my head. (Ask me about the time I decided I should clean the points in my Morris Minor's voltage regulator.)

pH

It is easy enough to tight one side a little and loosen the other side a little and maintain a centered wheel. If you have the wheel stand and a spoke wrench it is easy enough to play with until you have it correct. The wheels I get from China invariably have the spokes far too loose. So I have to tighten everything up. The nice thing about their newer wheels is that the nipples are fully enclose in the wheel and you have a special square nutdriver rather than a spoke wrench (though I assume you call them both spoke wrenches) Those "aero" spokes are so rigid that they cannot show their true tightness using a spoke tensiometer I think.

In any case you really do want to have the rim centered and especially so with box rims since they can flex a bit. If you're using the "normal" 25 mm tires few bikes allow much additional room.

Hot nipples (wheel truing)
 

On 2/9/2020 11:45 AM, Tom Kunich wrote:


It is easy enough to tight one side a little and loosen the other side a little and maintain a centered wheel.

?? If you tighten one side and loosen the other, the rim will shift
toward the side you tightened.

How much it shifts depends on various factors. I guess you may still
call it "a centered wheel" if your tolerance regarding "centered" is
generous enough. But it's very unlikely to be centered better than before.

--
- Frank Krygowski

Hot nipples (wheel truing)
 

On Sunday, February 9, 2020 at 10:33:26 AM UTC-8, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 2/9/2020 11:45 AM, Tom Kunich wrote:


It is easy enough to tight one side a little and loosen the other side a little and maintain a centered wheel.

?? If you tighten one side and loosen the other, the rim will shift
toward the side you tightened.

How much it shifts depends on various factors. I guess you may still
call it "a centered wheel" if your tolerance regarding "centered" is
generous enough. But it's very unlikely to be centered better than before.

--
- Frank Krygowski

Tell me all about wheel building Frank. I really need to know about that.

Hot nipples (wheel truing)
 

On 08/02/2020 20:00, pH wrote:
I note my non-drive side spokes are looser than I'd like and plan to
give them a 1/4 turn.

I don't think it should affect my centering much, but, anyway, since
it's been a long time I'm planning to put a drop of transmission
fluid on each nipple then heat it briefly w/ a propane torch, or
maybe vice-versa, heat then oil, just so I can make sure they are not
too bound up.

Good idea? Bad idea? I'll hold off a day until some opinions roll
in.

ph in Aptos

I've done this once or twice and never bothered with such stuff. 1/2
on, 1/4 off and forget it. deep breath I use WD40 when assembling the
wheel as I find it evaporates well, isn't a lubricant, but spokes never
bind. Even wheels I've been handed which have had no lubricant on
assembly come apart well enough, and the odd rounded nipple phnaar
phnaar is simply replaced.

While I'm here, not for my commuters, but other higher end bikes, I'm a
*big* fan of bladed spokes as you can see the twist and a slot in a bit
of hardwood stops it just nicely.

Hot nipples (wheel truing)
 

On 09/02/2020 19:33, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 2/9/2020 11:45 AM, Tom Kunich wrote:


It is easy enough to tight one side a little and loosen the other side
a little and maintain a centered wheel.

?? If you tighten one side and loosen the other, the rim will shift
toward the side you tightened.

How much it shifts depends on various factors. I guess you may still
call it "a centered wheel" if your tolerance regarding "centered" is
generous enough. But it's very unlikely to be centered better than before.

If it goes around it's centered :-)