I know in theory they’re not as strong as Brass nipples, but I’ve got tonnes of the bloody things, and I wanna build my new wheels up now! I’ve not got any brass ones left…

I’ve built probably 100 or so wheels now, but have never used ally nipples before. Am I likely to regret using them, or is it just a case of being careful not to round them as I’m truing them, and that’s it?

Just be careful with a good quality spoke key and make sure you oil them really well to help reduce binding. They also need more detensioning to correct for the increased wind up.

I also find that spoke length is more critical with alloy nipples too, as if the head of the nipple inside the rim isn’t supported properly, they’ve got a tendency to shear them off.

Properly lubed, and with the correct spoke key, I’ve never found building to be any tricker.

It’s truing them up a year or 2 later, if they’ve been ridden in the wet, that’s tricky/impossible.

OK cool

Always lube me nips up properly when building, and got a Park spoke key (an essential IMO, every other one I’ve ever tried has been poo!) of the right dimensions, so all sounds good.

Spoke lengths not a problem, managed to get within 0.8mm of optimum all round which is pretty good if you ask me. Also, got tonnes of spare ally nips, like 200 of the things when I only need 64, so not too worried about them at least.

Best get cracking then…

All sounds good to me then. Nice one

You’ll be able to impress girls with your lightweight wheels…

haha, only the rear hub and the nipples al… Mavic EN521 rims on these wheels for a bit of AM/Enduro/Freeride-lite/Gnarly XC on wider tyres for me on these wheels I’m afraid! 😉

Bit OT but what do you use to lube em up when wheel building? and do you / can you add a drop of lube to them at “service time” Cheers

With alloy nipples, I squirt them full of copaslip.

I use Finish Line wet chain lube myself. There’s all sorts of special things you can buy, but was told by someone who’s built wheels for donkeys that wet chain lube is ideal.

And I’m presuming come a year or so down the line I’ll just drop a bit more in, or use something penetrating like GT85 or WD40 just to ease them up.

I’d use a thick grease, on both nipples and on the spoke threads, for obvious reasons.

Chain lube = seized alu nipples

With alloy nipples, I squirt them full of copaslip.

Sounds like Tinman porn 😯

i am new to wheel building, built a set a while back and didn’t lube : now they nipples are bloody hard to move to true the wheel – say after me “I am a muppett”

I had grief recently due to alloy nips. One spoke out and slight buckle on three year old wheels. My local wheel builder takes one look and says alloy Niple has corroded and snapped but the rest will also have bound to the tread so when you go to adjust they just snap, the result is you end up needing a full rebuild. I would avoid.

The above usually occurs because a/ the spoke threads weren’t coated with copper grease, or similar, b/ riding on salted roads regularly, without washing the bike afterwards, c/ the bike’s been left in the shed, festering under a pile of mud after riding. Been using alloy nipples on my bikes for at least ten years, the only problem i’ve had on mine was loaning an old bike to a mate, who kept it unused in a shed where his dog regularly pee’d on it, destroyed the nipples, and the chain too.

Lightest wheels I ever built used alloy nipples and DT revolution spokes. After three years of abuse a couple of nipples sheared and then the spokes started breaking. In the grand scheme of things for a lightweight race weight wheel that was pretty good going… unfortunately I was skint when it started breaking so at the time I was a bit pissed off.

I’ve had to rebuild 3 wheels in the last week thanks to Ali nipples (bloomin specialized). Keeps me occupied.

It’s truing them up a year or 2 later, if they’ve been ridden in the wet, that’s tricky/impossible.

This

Coatsey is right, any lube is better than no lube, but copper slip (coppaslip) when building will keep them adjustable for years.