Replacing rusted spokes

ckahleer

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The spokes on the front wheel of my bike are very rusted. I would like to replace them, but have never attempted this before. I'm scared of getting the wheel out of round or out of true (run out).
Would it be best to replace them one by one, alternating 180 on the wheel each spoke?
Are the spokes a precise length so that you can't screw up.
 
Known as re-lacing, after removing the tire & tube (and the old spokes), it's not hard to do. It is a labor intensive job, however. You can buy a truing stand for cheap, or make one for cheaper, and by attaching a dial indicator, test, measure, and adjust for run-out and any out-of-round condition. By taking your time, and tightening each spoke the same amount, you can get your wheels very nearly perfect. And with a little more time, better than when they left the factory. Several how-to videos are available... Good luck, and best wishes! Let us know how it turns out (we're nosy! :wink2: ).
 
The spokes are all the same length, but the "mushroom" ends of the spokes have two different angles. One goes outside-in, the other goes inside-out. That would be the only way to screw them up, and you'd know it before you even started tightening them.
 
Unfortunately, you can't replace the spokes one at a time. The outers get in the way of the inners so all the inners must go in 1st. I suppose you could remove all the outers then replace the inners one at a time. That might keep the wheel reasonably true as you go. But usually when you tackle this job, there's some rim and hub cleaning that needs to be done. That goes a whole lot easier with all the spokes out.
 
Lace'n… Aaaarg… " over four cross two "..is the rule of thumb.. I've done many.. never attempted.. nor do l plan too. .the 82'-83' Specials.
over four cross two....note each spoke at the rim is " over four " from each other and " crosses " two neighboring spokes.. near the base and top.... after you've pulled yer hair out the first couple of wheels.. it's easy.
As I screw on the nipples..with ani't seize .. I count the number of turns.. start with four..all the way around..and continue evenly until they are firm... and true'n stand can be fab'd up with a old swing arm... use a proper spoke wrench.
Also.. there are inner and outer spokes….(observed angle of the portion that inserts into the hub) order a replacement set... and just... do it. I install the inners first.... over four... then the outers. Take photos..notes….
 
Now I'm really scared, and it just doesn't seem worth the effort. I'll look for something used on E-Bay.
My bike is an 81 Special, would a mag wheel work, even if from another year bike?
 
Now I'm really scared
No reason to be scared. There are several good threads on wheel lacing in the Tech section. Also do a search on wheel lacing. There are a couple more that are not in the Tech section. I had never re-laced a rim until last winter. Mine turned out just fine. Actually it was kind of fun. It's also neat to be able to tell people you did it yourself. Read the threads. Also spend the extra for stainless, they look a lot nicer and will stay that way.
A few to read, I'm sure there is more.
http://www.xs650.com/threads/wheel-lacing-101-it-looks-so-easy.27731/
http://www.xs650.com/threads/how-to-wheel-lacing.52594/
http://www.xs650.com/threads/is-there-a-good-video-tutorial-on-truing-a-wheel.26184/
 
Lace'n… Aaaarg… " over four cross two "..is the rule of thumb.. I've done many.. never attempted.. nor do l plan too. .the 82'-83' Specials.
over four cross two....note each spoke at the rim is " over four " from each other and " crosses " two neighboring spokes.. near the base and top.... after you've pulled yer hair out the first couple of wheels.. it's easy.
As I screw on the nipples..with ani't seize .. I count the number of turns.. start with four..all the way around..and continue evenly until they are firm... and true'n stand can be fab'd up with a old swing arm... use a proper spoke wrench.
Also.. there are inner and outer spokes….(observed angle of the portion that inserts into the hub) order a replacement set... and just... do it. I install the inners first.... over four... then the outers. Take photos..notes….
My first re-lacing adventure was replacing the 16" dia stock 48-spoke rear rim on my '82 Heritage Special with 18" rim and new longer spokes then available from Mike's XS (dunno if they still are). Let's just call it a learning experience! Later swapped the 64-spoke, 19" stock front rim for a 21"; then later on back to 19" cuz 21" looked out of proportion. The single most important lesson I learned is that if I tried doing this for a living, I'd starve to death!
 
Hint; don't polish out all the "spoke dents" on the hub, they act as a guide to correct spoke installation and the new spokes completely cover the dents anyways.
 
If the wheel is straight, If the spokes are not loose, If the spokes are strong...............….remove the loose rust, paint the rust with Rustoleum Rust Reformer, paint the spokes any color that you want with a brush.
 
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