My latest bike purchase - a 2010 Kona Major Jake 'cross bike - came with a pair of these on it. The back wheel is out of true, and truing it was next to impossible as the spoke nipples were very hard to turn without twisting the flat spokes. I've dismantled the rear wheel entirely now and was wondering... Is it possible to rebuild these wheels with normal double butted round 14g spokes? Or should I view this as an opportunity to upgrade to some better wheels?
Flat bar of the same cross sectional area as round bar, is far less resistant to torsion. In other words, plat spokes twist easily. However, that doesn't mean that you won't experience wind-up with round spokes either, if the wheel has very few spokes. Anything under 28 spokes becomes difficult to get up to tension whilst avoiding wind-up.
Yes, you can rebuild those wheels but use new brass nipples and oil them with EP (extreme pressure) gear oil. Just dip the spoke threads in the oil before screwing on the nipple. Also drop a bit of oil into the spoke hole to lubricate the nipple - rim interface.
If using round spokes, mark your spokes with little masking tape flags so you can spot wind-up. Eliminate the latter by overshooting the turning point and then returning until the flat returns to its starting position.
If using flat spokes, get a flat spoke holder. Even then, you may still twist the spoke.
Flat spokes are crap, as are stupid wheels with just a few spokes.
