Spokes-One by One

[Eldrick]

Planning for the winter here, I want to replace the spokes on both wheels.
Is it possible to literally remove an old spoke and repace it with the new one and repeat the process to the end?
My train of thought on this is to make sure I lace the wheels up properly.
Thanks.

[DomP]

Nope it's a full disassemble, reassemble job. Very satisfying to do though and not as difficult as you might think, take photos of your wheel as it is now so you have a reference

[Eldrick]

OK, I can get on board with that.

Any reccomemndations on spoke wrenches to use? Or any other useful tools for the job?I don't think I even have a tyre lever.

[DomP]

I bought Motion Pro rim protectors and some nice long tyre levers can't remember the brand but they make the job easy.  Initially thread the nipples on loosely otherwise you'll never get the last few spokes in.  Torque and true up on an old swing arm or even on the bike, lots of YouTube videos to give you a good guide.  Remember to measure the offset before you disassemble!

[Nurse Julie]

No offset on CB SOHC/4's.

[Orcade-Ian]

As Dom says, very satisfying doing it yourself but can only be done with full strip.  Take really good detailed pics before stripping.  You will probably want to clean and polish the hubs too.  I usually leave the 'witness marks' alone on the outer flange of the hubs where the spokes have rubbed, which helps when reassembling.  Remember too that there are 'inside' and 'outside' spokes

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This shot shows the difference between spokes - although both are the same length, the top one is for fitting to the inside of the flange (with the head on the outside)  The lower one is to be fitted on the outside of the flange with the head on the inside.

Most of us usually put only half of the spokes in the hub - the ones that go from the outside in as those can't be fitted afterwards.  Then lay the rim over the hub with 3 or 4 blocks of scrap wood so that the rim centre is in about the right place relative to the hub flanges.

Now line up a spoke with a witness mark and rotate the rim to find an upward facing hole pointing back to the spoke. Loosely fit the nipple.  Next spoke goes to a hole missing 3 holes away from the first. Keep going!

Turn the whole lot over and repeat. Curse because some of the spokes have ended up pointing the wrong way when you first put them in!  The other 18 spokes (350 & 400) can be fitted through from one side to the other and you will soon figure which hole is correct.

Shout if you need more explanation

Ian

[Athame57]

No offset on CB SOHC/4's.

I can't say I'm sure I know what you mean Julie?

[Orcade-Ian]

No offset on CB SOHC/4's.

I can't say I'm sure I know what you mean Julie?

If you lay a straight edge across the rim and measure to the spoke flanges, they are the same both sides - therefore NO OFFSET as Julie says.  The central well of the rim is exactly in the centre of the two spoke flanges on our machines.   Yes, the brake drum sticks out and so does the sprocket face but that is not a measure of the offset.
Many other bikes DO have an offset and spokes of different lengths to achieve that.

Hope that helps,
Ian

[Athame57]

Hope that helps,
Ian

Now I understand, thanks Ian!

[Oddjob]

If you ever look at an old car wheel George you'll see the marking saying what size it is. The offset is normally marked as ET40 for example, there is also the holes for the bolt spacing which is called PCD. To fit aftermarket alloys to an old car for instance you need to know both of those or they won't fit or they'll rub on the body etc.

Luckily we don't have so much of that on bikes, makes them a lot simpler.