Broken spoke - what sort of nipples do others use?

[pn_day]

Hi all,
Much to my annoyance I wheeled the bike out after a lazy winter and discovered a broken spoke on the rear wheel (Bafang CST). It broke just at the elbow.
I did order spare spokes so that is OK, but am a bit suspicious of the alloy nipples that came from BMS battery.
In the original order they say they have brass nipples, but they seem to have got a bit stiff and feel more like an aluminium based alloy.

Has anyone else had issues and ordered better spoke nipples, or do I just need to apply my force and not worry about them breaking?

Oh, and any tips on truing a wheel after replacing a spoke? I've been just doing it by eye on the bike, with tiny adjustments each time. Tension is assessed by me squeezing with my fingers. Highly scientific!

Thanks,
Phil

 

[Chainring]

I had one spoke break in the rear wheel of my Santana, at about 1000 miles. I slackened them all off, replaced the broken one and lubricated both ends of every spoke, so that anything that was supposed to move could move. I had to take the tyre and tube off to do this, and learned the hard way about twin-walled rims and rim tapes. Make sure the rim tape is properly back in place, or the tube will squeeze into the holes! My truing was done just like you, and it seems okay after another 3000 miles. There are good videos on YouTube for truing/wheelbuilding.

 

[pn_day]

Thanks Chainring. Good tip on the rim tape. I've also managed to pop a tube by not having the tape seated properly! Good to hear that the "feels about right" method of truing works for others too.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

All the BMSB nipples I've had have been nickel plated brass. You need the correct size spoke key otherwise they round off when you tighten them.

 

[Nealh]

You can true rims/wheels on the bike, attach a cable tie each side and nip off a bit and manually adjust so that it barely touches the rim. As you true the wheel a little just adust the cable tie and so on. To relieve stress in the spokes I just squeeze pairs together, tension wise I pluck each spoke to get a nice ping.

 

[Martin@e-bikeshop]

We often have to do custom builds, offering a mix of different materials / colours. The most popular is anodised red.

Pop red nipples into Google image search to get an idea.

 

[mike killay]

We often have to do custom builds, offering a mix of different materials / colours. The most popular is anodised red.

Pop red nipples into Google image search to get an idea.

Yeah!

 

[Cyclezee]

In my previous profession I used to custom make them from silicone elastomer...medical grade of course

 

[EddieH]

Pop red nipples into Google image search to get an idea.

I tried that, shocked and stunned, I don't think any of those ladies knew anything about bikes.

 

[jerrysimon]

type nipples into google, oh my

 

[pn_day]

Thanks for all the helpful comments about nipples.

After fixing the wheels and retruing, I've had a month and now just had another 3 spokes go. I didn't even hit any big potholes this time.

My spokes were 12g ones from BMS battery. I've now got 36 14g ones instead (DT Swiss)

Is there anything else I am missing to reduce the chance of further breakages? Is one particular lacing pattern better than another? I'm tempted to get the wheel built by somebody else in case my 'fix' the last time made it worse! Anyone know of any good builders in Fife, Scotland?

I have 36 spoke wheels (700c 42mm wide tyres), battery and controller in frame bag so weight is not all over the back wheel. However, I'm not the lightest (15 st, 6'4") and am just worrying that maybe I'm on to a hiding to nothing and should revert to unpowered rear wheel.

Or am I just making an error in how I put the power down? I'm running a CST motor with S12S at approx 26A. The vast majority of the time I pedal as well as having the motor running. Should I not do this and either pedal of have motor?

Yours depressed and confused,
Phil

 

[awol]

My spokes were 12g ones from BMS battery. I've now got 36 14g ones instead (DT Swiss)

I built a wheel with BMSB 12g spokes and that only last a few hundred miles as they kept snapping. I quickly switched to some 14g ones and have done many thousands miles with no problem, so your problem may just be your current 12g spokes.

 

[pn_day]

Thanks awol - that puts me slightly more at ease.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Your weight and power is not the problem. New spokes will fix it.

 

[pn_day]

Thanks d8veh. Much appreciated. I shall stop panicking!