What spoke wrench for these spokes?
- Thread starter FrankR
- Start date
tomjasz
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Minnesnowta
I prefer the correct size for my wheels. I ALWAYS keep an inexpensive digital caliper in my kit. It sorts sizes of many parts. EXTREMELY useful. I'm not a fan of inexpensive tools with more choices than I'll ever use and low quality...
www.perennialcycle.com
Or,
www.rei.com
Park Tool Spoke Wrench [SW-0 to SW-3]
Quality Spoke tool with vinyl-coated handle.SW-0 (Black): nipples size 0.127in (3.23mm)SW-1 (Green): nipples size 0.130in (3.30mm)SW-2 (Red): nipples size 0.136in (3.45mm)SW-3 (Blue): nipples size 0.156in (3.96mm)
www.perennialcycle.com
Or,
Park Tool Triple Spoke Wrench SW-7.2 | REI Co-op
This professional-quality, precision-sized, triple spoke wrench fits the 3 most common spoke nipple sizes.
AHicks
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Snow Bird - Summer S.E. Michigan, Winter Gulf Coast North Central Fl.
I built a wheel using one of those wrenches. I had a replacement on order before I even finished it. That particular wrench is very difficult to keep track of which slot to use. Works OK from that point, but wasted a lot of time figuring which to use every time you pick it up.
PedalUma
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Petaluma, CA
The flux capacitor wrench is good. I have a drawer filled with touch up paints. I mark the 14 red so it corresponds with the SW wrenches above. It wasn't explicitly stated by @tomjasz, but there was no way to scale your photo. If you put the edge of a dime on one side of a nipple and a nickel on the other, that would have helped.
fooferdoggie
Well-Known Member
yep it can often be faster.
tomjasz
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Minnesnowta
But still helpful for someone on a tight budget?!
tomjasz
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Minnesnowta
I need to be honest here. I keep a spoke wrench for emergency service but leave truing snd replacements as well as builds to a talented LBS. actually pretty cheap to have them sort it. My local does not support kit bike eBike components but happily does basic repairs. At fair prices.
Last edited:
Yes it's a cheap wrench, but the OP could get it fast, figure out which size he has, and order a better one. Better, IMHO, than having a set of individual wrenches where only one will be used, the rest probably lost. These multi-sized units are good to keep around when you might be dealing with a variety of bikes, and only needing to do minor adjustments on a spoke or two.
Building a wheel? You knew in advance what size you needed, yet you still cheaped out?
Building a wheel? You knew in advance what size you needed, yet you still cheaped out?
AHicks
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Snow Bird - Summer S.E. Michigan, Winter Gulf Coast North Central Fl.
That wrench was more like a learning experience - as in purchased because I didn't know any better. I do admit, it WILL get the job done, it's just a PIA to use on the scale I was using it at. Agree as well, it's not a bad shot in the dark, something to get you going....
fooferdoggie
Well-Known Member
I should but my wheelbuilder is really good so I doubt the wheel will die on me.
AHicks
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Snow Bird - Summer S.E. Michigan, Winter Gulf Coast North Central Fl.
You guys are both lucky to have local wheel builders willing to work for you. That's NOT the case here. I looked everywhere locally, and sending it out was not an option I wanted to consider. In the end, I was forced to learn how to do it myself. That experience under my belt, I'm glad I went that way. There's darn sure a learning curve, but I don't think the skill is that far out of reach for those wanting to and having the time to learn...
tomjasz
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Minnesnowta
Sadly arthritis has ended my desire to learn. But 50 years ago I tried but had none of the resources we have today. That’s real cool that you learned to do your own. These days I have more $$ then ability. You rock Al!
tomjasz
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Minnesnowta
My uncle the master machinist slapped me in 1965 and explained that crescent wrenches were a last resort. Many a home mechanic has trashed a project with a crescent wrench. Good on you for being the odd man out.
fooferdoggie
Well-Known Member
It is and it is not. You can build a wheel and make it work. But you can’t build a fantastic wheel that will last for the life of the spokes. That takes years of dedicated experience just like Amy other occupation that needs to be mastered. Plus I know I would f*ck it up.
harryS
Well-Known Member
When building on a wheel with this particular wrench. I just tape up the slots that aren't used. The individual ones are nicer, fit better, and I have those, somewhere.
tomjasz
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Minnesnowta
harrys master of sorting practical solutions. You rock!
AHicks
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Snow Bird - Summer S.E. Michigan, Winter Gulf Coast North Central Fl.
Here you go assuming again. You have no idea what you're talking about, so I'll share that if a tension meter is used, you can get a pretty accurate tension on EVERY spoke, assuring a long life for each. This, using quality parts and some patience, should result in a wheel I shouldn't have to be concerned with for a very long time. No, I can't build as fast as some guys can, but if I thought my wheel was somehow inferior, I'd likely still be working on it.
If you don't believe that an amateur can build a wheel accurately, maybe you should look into it further so you know what you're talking about.....
Similar threads
