My nipples come off!

[Jezston]

Noticed a rattling sound in my front wheel when I got home yesterday, like there was something inside my rim - when the wheel would stop turning you'd hear it roll down inside a bit like a rainmaker. Thought maybe some grit had got in there somehow and if it hadn't worked it's way out by the time I got home today I'd have a proper look at it.

However it appears the source of the problem is a spoke nipple has detached at the rim and fallen inside - see attached image.



Lack the tools and knowledge to do anything about it myself, and won't be able to get to the lbs until Saturday.

Is it safe to ride until then d'you reckon?

 

[accountantpete]

I'm not sure if it has broken or simply unthreaded itself.

If it is the later then you just need to take the tyre and rim tape off, get a screwdriver and tighten the nipple back up until it becomes difficult to turn.

You could ride as is but that puts strain on the spokes either side.

 

[Herzog]

You're likely to create a buckle in the rim if you ride it, I wouldn't ride it. Replacing a nipple is easy; this could be a good opportunity to learn how to re-true a wheel.

 

[Red Light]

Should be fine to ride for a day or two till you can fix it. As for getting it out, assuming its got inside the rim section, you can either hold the rim up and try and shake and cajole it out or the simple way is to use a strong magnet to draw it round and out. The rim is aluminium and the nipple steel.

If its just the one, refit it and do it up till the spoke tone when you pluck it is the same as the adjacent one. That should be get it true enough but check against the brake blocks and adjust slightly if necessary.

 

[fossyant]

The nipple may be brass (quality ones are).

 

[HLaB]

If the wheel is true I think you'll be OK in short term but I'm no expert and wouldn't recommend anything other than a ride to a lbs. I snapped a spoke nipple the other week and it was rolling about inside my wheel. I took the front wheel to a lbs just 1/2 a mile away to see if I could get a new spoke, en route with the wheel on my back without the tube/tyre the nipple fell out :-) However, when putting the new spoke nipple in I dropped it inside the rim! surprisingly it came out the valve hole easily :-)