re-building a wheel, use the old spokes and/or nipples?

[Zed43]

The brake track of the front wheel is pretty much worn through and I'm about to rebuild it.

Any problems or (dis)advantages in using the spokes and/or nipples of the current wheel? These are Sapim D-Light spokes and brass Polyax nipples; I used linseed oil on the threads as a lubricant and locking agent (this oil is air hardening).

[LittleWheelsandBig]

If the new rim’s ERD matches the old and your nipples are not munched, go ahead.

Egg-sucking advice: Just tape the new rim to the old wheel and shift each spoke across to the new. No need to completely disassemble and rebuild the wheel.

[BFC]

I prefer to completely strip the old wheel rather than the shifting one spoke at a time method.

It is the only opportunity to give the hub a proper clean and polish without the spokes getting in the way, check the bearings out at the same time. Spoke lacing pattern must exactly match the previos build to avoid stress risers on the hub flanges, the witness marks on the flanges will indicate which way the spokes should go.

Clean each spoke and inspect threads - running a standard nipple the wrong way (screw slot first) on the threads will clean them up, best to use a spare nipple and bin it afterwards. The feel of the spokes when cleaning will tell you if any are damaged. If there is a strong hint of stripped brass and dried up linseed oil on the threads you may want to get new nipples.

I don't know what dissolves linseed oil but you really want to get all of the dried stuff out of the nipples to let then give good tactile feedback during the rebuild.

The final decision depends a lot on the feel during dismantling and cleaning.

[rogerzilla]

Old spokes, new nipples.  They are so cheap that you might as well make life easier for yourself.

[quixoticgeek]

Old spokes, new nipples.  They are so cheap that you might as well make life easier for yourself.

This, also the chances of not dropping one into the ether during the process are so low, you're going to have to replace some even if you try to reuse the old ones. Easier to just go with new.

J

[Zed43]

New nipples all around and replaced four (out of 28) spokes with new ones; two were stuck in the nipples, one had a sharp bend and one a very obvious nick. Shifting the spokes over one by one did appeal but I ended up removing all spokes, putting them in four piles and then, after cleaning / checking, lacing them as I am used to.

Just cut through the old rim, there was 0.3mm of rimwall left... New rim is 25mm wide, the old one was 23mm at the brake track flaring to 26mm. First time I've worn out a rim, after "only" 22000km.

[BFC]

A tool that can measure the rim thickness of an intact rim is an iwanson gauge, dirt cheap, reasonably accurate. Can only measure the accessible bit between bead and well of the rim though.
A DTI with contact point mounted on the arm of some wheel jig designs can be swept across the rim surface to give another indicator of rim wear and distortion, with and without a tyre. I prefer the digital type for this use, I use analogue type with roller contact for wheel trueing.

Cutting through dead rims to see whats left is an informative excercise but somewhat irreversible!