Spoke repair ?

[GrinningGSer]

Tried to post this question in the font section, but not allowed

I have two slightly bent spokes, next to each other. The wheel is not exactly perfectly true and never has been.

Can I unscrew one at a time and carry out a simple res straightening job.

Anything that I need to watch out for ?

 

[GrinningGSer]

Oh dear, have I asked a dumb question

 

[Wapping]

To replace just one or two spokes, you can do it yourself.

To redo the whole lot is a long job, probably best left to someone who knows how to do it. Several companies / individuals offer the service. I know that UKGSer threads on the subject are out there.

Here you go I dug out Hagon Shocks, who I know are good people.

http://www.hagon-shocks.co.uk/main1st.htm

http://www.hagon-shocks.co.uk/HagWheelPr.htm

£60 plus postage with your own spokes and rim.

Here's another, who I know have appeared in UKGSer threads:

http://www.devonrimcompany.com/#

http://www.devonrimcompany.com/bmw.htm

Here is a pretty good little video clip on how to make a basic check on an off-road bike's spokes' tightness. OK, it's a different wheel but quite good just the same.

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===

But, if you want to learn the dark art, here is a very good how to do it yourself guide: http://www.webbikeworld.com/motorcycle-wheels/spoke-wheels/

If you ever learn how to it well, well done!

It's something I thought I might try to learn if I ever retire. Get an old wheel and spend a happy week or two learning.

 

[GrinningGSer]

Thanks Wapping. Devon rim company looks interesting if things go pete tong

 

[Wapping]

Thanks Wapping. Devon rim company looks interesting WHEN things go pete tong

Never fight the inevitable

 

[GrinningGSer]

I have just learned, same as many others on AdvRider, that the spoke head is pressed extremely hard into the rim, or corroded in. Either way, these spokes will not come out easily.

You cannot tap them out, because they are very soft and will bend.

The only way of removing them is to cut them very short and then tap or drill them out.

I am not ready to do this yet, so I pulled them as straight as my eye can see, then tweeked them tight again. They only need gentle forces

Wheel is as true as it ever was......

 

[patboy]

I Have to say I have never really checked mine! The guy in the video suggests checking before every ride. I'm sure he means well

 

[GrinningGSer]

This is proving to be an unexpected barsteward of a job and I am not even talking about alligning the wheel !!!

The spokes are virtually welded into the rims and the bike is only 3 yrs old and non corroded for sure.
I have soaked the heads in dismantling fluid

Removed the tightening nut and central grub screw. This screw is very tiny and you wouldnt know that it was there unless someone tells you:

First I tried tapping the spokes from the top end, and as per AdvRider, this is a waste of time because the spokes are too flexible.

Then I managed a fantastic grip with mole grips, but they still wouldn't budge.

I did as per instruction, cut the spokes very short and tried to tap them out:

As I said, they are a basteward, but with great difficulty eventually moved. Trouble is that tapping, widens the tapped end and they will not tap through! AArgh !

I have got as far as the heads protruding:

but am completely unable to tap then further out!

Tomorrow morning, I will take the wheel to work and carefully cut the heads off and tap them back the other way.

Not an easy job and when I asked my dealer, he said that he couldn't remember ever having done any spoke jobs.

So new spokes arrive tomorrow and hopefully it'll be back together again.

If you are out in Kazakhstan, and you damage a spoke, just leave it there because no way will you get it out, trust me !

Now, does anyone know what the grub screw does, because I am unable to understand it's function?

 

[Wapping]

It must I guess lock the spoke in place. Several sites refer to grub / locking screws. I suppose it is needed as there is quite a lot of tension in the spoke, you are after all stretching it to a degree. More to the dark art than meets the eye.

Torque to 1nm apparently.

Tripped over this guy on ADVR... who seems to be the font of all.....

http://www.woodyswheelworks.com/

http://www.woodyswheelworks.com/wisdom.shtml

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=145899&page=2

 

[GrinningGSer]

You can remove the big spoke pulling bolt, easily by backing it off.
You torque the spoke pulling bolt, very lightly, perhaps only 4-5Nm,also listening to the tone as you tap it, which pulls the rim towards the hub. The grub screw then further pulls the spoke into a tighter relationship to the bolt. Perhaps it is a means of stopping it moving

 

[GrinningGSer]

Job done
More info from Woody's Wheels

I had to cut the spoke head off then tap inwards towards the hub
Then, surprise surpirise, the new spokes will not slide in!

I had to enlarge the spoke hole to 4mm and in went the new spoke. Tap it in firm, torque gently until a ting ting, when tapped, just like the neighbours. Tighten the 2mm grub screw.

I had problems and if I were doing this job again, I'd carefully drill the head off the spoke (4mm should do it) and then tap the spoke towards the hub.

I touched up the scuffed rim with Halfords black bumper spray and it looks good.

Parts:
Spoke 36317664594 77p
Nipple 36311452727 £1.24
Grub stud 07119904003 18p +VAT

If spokes are slightly bent, just pull them straight but check the rim for deviation

A new 07 GSA spokes wheel, with TPS sensor is approx £580=VAT

 

[Wapping]

Excellent and a good thread

It was a clever bloke who made the first one, I always think.

 

[Spout]

As I said, they are a basteward, but with great difficulty eventually moved. Trouble is that tapping, widens the tapped end and they will not tap through! AArgh !

Currently living the nightmare

I'm in the process of replacing two broken spokes, and after about 8hrs of sweating/cursing have what is basically two stainless steel rivets wedged in badly (drill) damaged rims.

Going to sleep on it. Then search ebay for a new wheel.

 

[Pukmeister]

Glad to own a Dremel for jobs such as this.

 

[Number 6]

...if I were doing this job again, I'd carefully drill the head off the spoke (4mm should do it) and then tap the spoke towards the hub.

Don't do this! The spokes (stainless steel) are harder than the wheel rim (aluminium) and the drill bit will wander off into the softer metal and make a right mess.

To remove a spoke without any damage firstly remove the locking grub screw and then slacken the nipple a couple of turns. Then tap the end of the nipple to drive the spoke away from the hub. If the spoke moves then unscrew the nipple another couple of turns and tap it out some more. Spray some WD40 or similar on the bit of spoke that is now protruding from the rim and tap it back in again. Then tap it out again. Repeat as necessary until the spoke is sliding freely.

The spokes are butted, ie the shank is a slightly smaller diameter than the thread, which is M4 (4 mm) The threaded portion will probably not pass through the hole in the rim without more tapping backwards and forwards with plenty of lubricant.

If you can't move the spoke using the above method then you need to cut it as descibed in previous posts. The problem then, as others have found, is that you rivet over the end of the cut spoke and it won't then go through the rim To avoid this, use a pair of mole-grips, clamped very tightly on the spoke, close to the rim and use a hammer on the mole-grips to drive the spoke out.

When the spoke is out, clean out the hole in the rim with a 4mm drill, the white powder is corroded aluminium and this is what causes the spokes to seize in the rim.

Have fun

 

[Barry G]

Talk to Doug at Devon Rim, Top man and very helpful

 

[dakarDude]

Tried to post this question in the font section, but not allowed

I have two slightly bent spokes, next to each other. The wheel is not exactly perfectly true and never has been.

Can I unscrew one at a time and carry out a simple res straightening job.

Anything that I need to watch out for ?

Hi mate,

I had to have two sorted recently. For me it was the rear wheel on my GSA. I thought it would be pretty easy - just a case of undoing the Alun keys at the hub, then pushing the offending spokes out and putting the new ones in.

The spokes I got at my local BuMW dealer, pretty cheap. Got a pack of 5 to be safe. Just a few quid IIRC.

I then tried to get the two duff ones out and found that the spokes after undoing the Alun keys were solid. Tried hammering them out, WD40 on the "heads" and nothing would shift them.

In the end, I went to Jono at Adventure Bike Warehouse and he worked his magic. It took a bit of doing, even Jono (RudieMoto) had to faff a fair bit. In the end the knackered spokes were cut near the rim, the back tyre was deflated and g-clamped (to get the spokes through, you need the clearance and this avoids taking the tyre off), then the spoke stumps hammered out.

..after all the above, a good wellying out got the 2 spokes out but a lot more to it that you would first imagine.

So it was all down to Jono, cheers mate! Good as new.

 

[Spout]

The spokes (stainless steel) are harder than the wheel rim (aluminium) and the drill bit will wander off into the softer metal and make a right mess.

Oh don't I know it

But that was the only way they were coming out.

 

[GrinningGSer]

Those that have tried this will understand that this is not as all simple as it should be.You can tap till the cows come home, but mine would not tap put. Trust me, I tried everything, mole grips etc.. My rims were not corroded at all and were young with only a few thou miles.The new spokes are securely pressed/pulled in, probably with some sort of big machine force IMHO. These wheels were bullt surely as a one-off, with no intention of conventional adjustments,allignments.

As I said in my earlier post, I would carefully (perhaps with a Dremmell) drill the head off. You dont have to drill far. Then tap the spoke towards the hub.This way, you can easily get the tap at a correct angle. Doing it the other way makes it diffucult to get the angle correct so as to hammer the tap. I cannot see any need to deflate the tyre.

When the spoke is finally out, you'll find that the next task is to get the replacement in.

Spokes should be an easy job, but my experience was contrary.

 

[Number 6]

.... My rims were not corroded at all and were young with only a few thou miles.The new spokes are securely pressed/pulled in, probably with some sort of big machine force IMHO.

You might not be able to see the corrosion but it's there. It's Galvanic corrosion caused by the dissimilar metals. From Google :-

An apparent contradiction of the area effect on Galvanic Corrosion occurs when the component comprised of the two metals is only partly wetted. Consider for instance a stainless steel bolt in an aluminium plate; if water collects in the corner at the edge of the bolt but the remainder of the plate remains dry, the effective area of the less noble aluminium is only the wetted region, which may be only a similar size to that section of the bolt that is wetted .... thus it is quite possible for the aluminium plate to be galvanically attacked in the region immediately surrounding the bolt.

New spokes are very easy to fit, they just pull into place when tightening up the nipple, no need for 'big machine force'