Rusting Spoke Nipples

[andsaw]

I have a 2.5 month old Triban 3 and the nipple/nuts on the end of the spokes are starting to go rusty, is there a cure for this, i dry down after washing and is this normal on such a newish bike.

 

[amaferanga]

The nipples will be made from brass so they won't rust.

 

[andsaw]

Defo got rust on them, i will have to wait till tomorrow and take a photo, camera didnt like conditions.

 

[02GF74]

hmmm, steel spoke nipples, most unusal but googling shows this is a £ 299 bike i.e. lower end (polite way of saying cheap) with alu frame and carbon forks, so it may be they save money on using cheap components.

not much you can do about the rust - either replace nipples by brass or aluminium.

 

[Mark Grant]

It could be that the nipples are cheaply chrome plated and it's that cheap chrome thats rusting. If so, and they are brass, don't worry too much. You could try to clean them with a bit of green scourer and some chrome polish then wipe over with an oily rag.
If they're steel and rusting I wouldn't rush to rebuild them, use them and think about a new better pair later. Apart from which I think they have a 2 year waranty on parts and 5 on frame so you could always ask at your Decathlon.

 

[amaferanga]

Do steel spoke nipples even exist? I can't see why they'd be cheaper than brass anyway since brass nipples only cost pennies.

I wonder if the OP is seeing corrosion which is not unusual once the roads get salted, but calling it rust.

 

[Cycleops]

Do steel spoke nipples even exist? I can't see why they'd be cheaper than brass anyway since brass nipples only cost pennies.

If you are making x thousand bikes a year, especially if it is a budget model then the saving could be significant. Best to wait until you want to upgrade the wheels as someone else suggested.

 

[amaferanga]

I've still never heard of steel spoke nipples. Can anyone confirm that they even exist?

 

[fossyant]

I'd be surprised. Could be the eyelets in the rim - these are often steel.

 

[mrandmrspoves]

As I was intrigued I though I would go out to the garage and check my nipples.....but it was too cold to take my shirt off.

 

[mrandmrspoves]

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/front-wheel-700-id_8005017.html

Can't tell from the pictures/info but at £25 it's a cheap wheel.

 

[Sheffield_Tiger]

"Strong and durable"

I can tell you from experience that this wheel is neither

The hub is okay. The rim is okay. Nothing more than okay..but for the price, not bad.

However the build is abysmal, "upgraded" my streetfinder rear with one of these and after 6 weeks was breaking spokes every few days. It's okay now I bought 36 quality spokes at a greater cost than the whole wheel and rebuilt it. I scrapped the remaining old spokes but don't recall the nipples being unusual

So from experience, I would actually rebuild them if you are able to DIY - had no issues with rust on rim eyelets or anywhere else

 

[02GF74]

I've still never heard of steel spoke nipples. Can anyone confirm that they even exist?

I've never come across steel nipples either but OP said they were going rusty - what other metal could you sugges tthey are?

maybe some photos would help.

 

[totallyfixed]

Get a bmw X5, oops wrong forum.

 

[andsaw]

Hope you can see the rust