Wheel building… with the DT Swiss nipple/washer combo

Any tips for working with those nasty little washers?! I wish I’d paid Bike Wheels Direct for this build (tip 1: pay for the build) as building with these shitty little bastards drove me nuts. I made a couple of mistakes (tip 2: Don’t make mistakes) and removing the nipple and washer means you have to have the one you’re removing at the 6 o’clock position every time and shake the wheel so the washer drops out with the nipple ARGH!

There’s one rattling about in the wheel now, with all spokes installed. Gawd knows how I’ll get it out.

So tips 3 – 10 please!

(it’s These, if you’re wondering)

There’s one rattling about in the wheel now, with all spokes installed. Gawd knows how I’ll get it out.

It’ll come out – you just have to do the shaky-shaky dance for a bit. The valve hole is usually slightly bigger than internal spoke holes so aim for that.

tip 2: Don’t make mistakes

This is what I did and it all went fine! {insert smug bastard emoji}

I have another pair to start at some point though, so now I’ve been smug, I’ll end up with a wheel that sounds like a **** rain stick!!…

Smartarse! 🙂

Put a dab of grease on the nipple and then stick the washer on.

Built loads of these, my tips are.

Build from the back, using a t25 socket and clamping the spoke so it can’t twist (you should do that on any wheel build anyway but going in from the back of the nipple makes it easier. )  If you can get you hands on a drill bit with this fitting it speeds things up even more.

Prepare all the nipples in advance, the interface between the nipple and washer is supposed to be greased and, as stated above, you can use that to ‘stick’ the washers onto the nipples in advance which makes it much lrss likely that the washer will fall off during installation.

The PHR dome shaped nipple and washer arrangement is one of the reasons the DT high end alloy rims build up so nicely and way the washers spread the load is why their rims tend to be pretty resistant to cracking around the spoke holes, so it’s worth persevering with as you do get a better wheel in the end.

If you make a mistake push the spoke through the rim a little then shake, the washer should drop onto the nipple allowing you to remove both at once.

Buy the proper tool to work from the outside (assuming squorx nipples), makes it so much easier.

Make sure you’ve put the washers the right way up.  You did check didn’t you?

I bought a tool for the nipples this time instead of threading a spare  spoke.

Almost none lost in the rims- this time.

I didn’t grease the washers, will I die?

I bought a tool for the nipples this time instead of threading a spare  spoke.

Which tool? I’ve got one on order, hopefully right thing. Don’t think they are the Squorx nips as they have a square end.

If you make a mistake push the spoke through the rim a little then shake, the washer should drop onto the nipple allowing you to remove both at once.

Yep, did that, but always has to be at the 6 o’clock position, which is a pain (well, compared to removing standard old nips)

Torx rotor bolt with the edge filed off works great, can be put in a drill bit to start the build.

I use dt Swiss tool on the squorx nipples and use a dab of waterproof grease to stick the washer to the nipple. Generally works – although if you lose on it’ll come out if you generally shake the wheel with the valve hole at the bottom. Sometimes you can fish it out with a spoke if the shaky thing doesn’t work

My tips:

Tip 1: but the appropriate t handle took from DT. Double squares need the red handle.

Tip 2: lace your wheels 1 spoke at a time, with a fully spokes hub to start. Do all your inner spokes first with the wheel upright, then lay down the wheel and do the outers.

That is all you need to do. you might screw one up and have to do the nipple jiggle dance to get it out, but hopefully  not. Save time by oiling all your nupples at once with a bottle of whatever oil you have to hand and a strainer.

Bonus tip: buy a double square bit for a drill and use that to add a small amount of tension to every spoke. From there true and finish is just a few laps of the wheel with even tension added each time.

Dab of grease as said above. DT swiss squorx T Handle is worth the money while doing it and/or made a tool out an old spoke as well.

I use an old spoke and put several wraps of electrical tape around the thread 5mm or so down. Put the nipples on that, dab of grease, and it usually stays. But I share your pain, I had one that just wouldn’t come out. Took about half an hour as the sodding grease meant it kept getting stuck!

Or you can buy a long female Torqx socket for a 1/4″ drive screwdriver, I think it’s T25?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/264237321106?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=7tXMU0vzTIK&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=a9M6NJdMTVq&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

It’s a wera driver for sapim brass nipples with a hex end.

The squarkle nipples came with the rim, but I went with brass for longevity.

It made it much easier to build. About 3 or 4 hours and it’s all true now. Much faster than previous builds. I’ll never be a pro at these speeds, but I’m cheaper than a bike shop building them for me

The DT Swiss nipple tool is great, and hold the nipple solidly helping to thread onto the spoke with the washer on. If you want the washer to stick to the nipple then use a dab of thick grease. The shakey shakey dance might still need to employed though, just put some tunes on and embrace it.

Grease to stick the washer to the nipple, easy. I fit em into the rim using a cocktail stick because I am sophisticated.

I sacked off the squorx nipples though. IMO they were obviously designed for the benefit of wheel building machines not for us. Luckily Sapim nipples are pretty much exactly the same shape and work perfectly well in the DT washers. Careless of DT, they should have made them a funky shape that was incompatible with anything, that’s the proper way to do a new standard. So I can carry on using all my existing tools rather than paying for super expensive DT ones that just do the same job.

(this is slightly less of a thing now that you can get a depth-adjustable nipple driver for squorx, I cannot live without depth-adjustable drivers. But they are £60, whereas my current one was £15)

i assemble my washers on sqorx with an earbud to apply the grease to the nipple shoulder.
Many of the assembled nip’shers can be threaded on a couple of turns by hand as the spokes will come far enough out before you’re fully laced.
As i get further into the build, I’ll switch to preloading a nip’sher into the DT t-handle and put the nipple through the rim and put the threaded end into the nipple as I’m lacing each spoke and put a couple of turns on it for safekeeping.
Once they’ve all been installed a couple of turns, I’ll use an E-5 socket (female torx) on an extension in my little bosch 12v driver and spin them all on till the thread just disappears. Its probably only about a total 4 more turns after that with the t-handle and tension gauge to completion.
at least one dropped washer and the old shakey shakey retrieval and I’m happy enough