07-13-2015, 01:50 PM
Recently the front wheel on my 2012 Specialized Sirrus Sport became wobbly. I'm the kind of guy who would normally just take this to the shop to get trued by a professional, but I'm planning a long bike trip this Fall and decided I need to learn how to keep my wheels true myself. I went down to the bicycle dealer and bought two things: a triangle-shaped spoke wrench that fits three size nipples (0, 1, 2), and a $100 truing stand. I wanted to do this right.
I was not expecting the problem I ran into: I could fit the wrench (size 2) onto about 2/3rds of the spoke nipples, but for the life of me the wrench just doesn't fit on the other nipples. I can't be the first person to run into this challenge. It appears the nipples were cheaply shaped by a quick-and-dirty stamp process. Some of the nipples have two opposite sides that are parallel, and the wrench fits on snugly. Other nipples are a little bit bigger and seem round most of the way around, and I just can't get the wrench onto it.
I can't be the only person to run into this. What is the solution? A size 3 wrench? Trying to reshape the nipples with pliers? WD-40? A hammer?
I was not expecting the problem I ran into: I could fit the wrench (size 2) onto about 2/3rds of the spoke nipples, but for the life of me the wrench just doesn't fit on the other nipples. I can't be the first person to run into this challenge. It appears the nipples were cheaply shaped by a quick-and-dirty stamp process. Some of the nipples have two opposite sides that are parallel, and the wrench fits on snugly. Other nipples are a little bit bigger and seem round most of the way around, and I just can't get the wrench onto it.
I can't be the only person to run into this. What is the solution? A size 3 wrench? Trying to reshape the nipples with pliers? WD-40? A hammer?