Just kind of asking as i’m not sure if what i was thinking was correct.

So i’ve got a Mavic Crossride 29er wheel as my mud wheel on the Parkwood. I noticed one of the spokes is a bit loose, it’s not a wheel i’ve used much as it’s lived on the turbo for 18 months.

So i decided to whip the tape off and see if i could tighten it as when i used the spoke tool it wasn’t getting any tighter. What i found was what i expected, the head in the rim is rusted and seized to the end of the spoke, so you’re only rotating the whole thing, not the nipple.
First part of the issue is that on the rim side it looks like a normal hex socket, but none of mine will fit, is there a common size ? they seem close, but i think it may be 6mm, but my 6mm is too fat to go through the rim hole.

So i was thinking the best method is to just snip the spoke and replace with a new one ? Which may in itself be an issue as they’re straight pull and i don’t think i have any straight pull spokes to hand. But that’s not impossible to resolve of course.

Soak with plus gas first

It ain’t moving mate, not unless i can get a proper grip on the nut, which i can’t do. I’ve got needle nosed pliers but they’re not giving enough grip.

You probably need a 5.5mm socket with thin walls to drive the nipple.

Soak with plenty of plus gas or similar.

Mmmm thin walled 5.5 i’ll go in search

If you’re getting spares and don’t mind he trying brutal can you get mole grips on the nipple where your spoke key is slipping?

If so I’d be tempted to plus gas / other release fluid soak it overnight then open a can of whup ass on it.

Note I’ve never worked with straight pull spokes so I’m not sure if this is feasible.

You could also buy a proper 5.5mm nipple driver tool of course, they’re still available. Obviously with the screwdriver type drivers you can’t get as high torque as you could with a socket and bar but the t-handle type might work e.g. icetoolz. A socket is cheaper but there’s a chance it won’t fit unless it is slim and deep. Maybe the seller could tell you that the outside diameter is.

Cut it out and fit a new one. It’s not worth the extra effort to recover

Thanks guys. I’ve bought a 5.5mm spoke driver. I’ll see how we go.

I’ve also used a hefty soldering iron to heat and expand seized nipples in the past. I wouldn’t recommend it if you have access to replacements, but it’s got me out of a jam a few times.