I'm building some wheels for a new bike and found that the DT Swiss EX471 rims I bought came with alu squorx nipples with the pro-lock thread treatment.
Normally I lace up my wheels and give them to my LBS to tension and true them. If I do the same with these will the nipple be locked by the time the mechanic gets to them?
Will he hate me for asking him to tension spokes via locked nipples?
Should I use brass nipples anyway?
No - they still move. Its not a threadlocker that sets rigid. Its similar to what Shimano put on their brake system hardware if you re familiar with that. I really like the DT 'squorx' nipples, they make it really nice and easy to build and work well.
As an aside - if you can assemble and lace the wheels, just learn to finish the build yourself. Its not voodoo - you've done the tricky bit!
Thanks, maybe I should just finish the wheels myself. I've done a few wheels for beater bikes that have held up but these wheels are for a nice bike. Although the wheels I've made have been true (enough), the spoke tension is complete guesswork and I used a frame/fork instead of a jig.
Should I use brass nipples anyway?
I think unless you're commuting daily throughout the winter on salty wet roads there's no reason to avoid high quality, modern aluminium nipples. I certainly haven't and I've had more (Sapim) spokes fail than I've had (Sapim) aluminium nipples fail!
I still go the other way, I'm just retruing a wheel for boost just now and the bastard looked absolutely fine but a few of the nipples have just crumbled into dust. That was sapim alu that I built I think 5 years ago, I don't do much road riding at all, just occasional links for trails so it's pretty poor tbh. I wonder if it's maybe tubeless related sometimes, you have a very nearly sealed rim that can occasionally get moisture in it that doesn't get out easily... That said, I'll probably end up using alu next time I build because I am an idiot and it's like 7 grams lighter.
(incidentally, and quite OT, but Squorx nipples can **** off. IMO designed to be better for wheelbuilding machines but worse for owners. I built my DT wheels with the DT washers but traditional Sapim nipples, which are pretty much the same profile, and it works just fine.)
For building I don't have a jig (I just cable tie it in the frame/fork) or tensiometer (I listen, spoke goes pong, too slack, spoke goes ping, about right, spoke goes teeeeeng, too tight, you can compare to a wheel you trust and then just "tune" the whole wheel off that). I have a good musical ear but tbh you don't really need it, as long as you're not basically tone deaf.
The one special tool I do have, and would absolutely recommend even though it's expensive, is a depth-adjustable nipple driver. These are expensive for Squorx unfortunately, normal nipples are cheaper. But the difference it makes to build speed is incredible. Set your depth, stick it in a cordless screwdriver, bzzz. With a new rim and spokes you can genuinely get to a rideable wheel without ever adjusting a nipple (though, an uneven and poor one, so don't do that). But it gets you straight into the finetuning stage. It's not just a labour saver or speeder-upper, it makes the actual build far easier because every spoke starts out the same.
In simple terms it's a two part epoxy. The threadlock stays soft until you build a wheel with it. The twisting motion of the nipple on the spoke mixes the two parts of the threadlock together and hardens. Sure it doesn't harden solid and you can still turn the nipples, but you are defeating the object of the threadlock if you loosely lace a wheel up, let the threadlock harden and pass it off to a mechanic to tension.
I don't know why people lace wheels, then pass them off to a shop to just tension / true them. You've done the most complicated part! And shops don't love it either as often people have got the spoke lengths wrong, not got even thread insertion, or laced incorrectly. May as well either do nothing or everything.
Just get the jig and tensionmeter from Ali Express 😀
Any recommendations?
I don't know why people lace wheels, then pass them off to a shop to just tension / true them. You've done the most complicated part!
When lacing I can see if it's right or wrong but tensioning a wheel feels like a dark art (maybe because I don't have the tools to measure it). I have used the plink plunk method before but it doesn't feel like the right method for building a nice bike.
