Yet Another Cycling Forum
Random Musings => DIY => Skip Bike and Bodge It => Topic started by: Psychler on 24 May, 2013, 12:12:54 pm
-
I read somewhere recently [an old bike maintenance book from the 50's] that soldering wheel spokes together where they cross can make a wheel a lot stronger without adding any real weight.
Any idea if this is so?
-
The technique as far as I know was to wrap a length of copper wire around the crossing spokes and solder that. I did have a pair of track wheels this was done on and I don't think it made any difference.
Possible spokes were more cheese like in the olden days
-
It's bollox.
http://yarchive.net/bike/tying-and-soldering.html
-
I had a rear wheel mended by John Jones of http://jonesprecisionwheels.com/jpw/about/ who did the wrapping around the crossing spokes with wire trick, he use to do that when building wheels for track racing. In hope to get me a stronger wheel, since the Harry Rowland build wheel snapped 11 spokes in a row (9 on the non drive side).
(http://www.woollypigs.com/gallery/cache/usa/California-Coast/2012-07-18--08.23.31_P1030143_630.jpg)
Sadly I broke before I really got to test this wheel build, only put 1000 or so miles into it.
-
I know nothing about this other than it being one of cycling's great holy wars.
My uninformed opinion on the matter (always the best kind) is that if motion at the crossings were a problem, there would be signs of wear on well-used wheels. There may be an argument for the side-effect of restraining a broken spoke, but if you're going to solder them then replacing spokes becomes significantly more difficult.
Actually, I know more about solder than I do about wheels. It tends to suffer brittle failure and plastic deformation. I can't imagine it lasting very long in this application if it were actually needed.
-
Remember, Stainless steel does not solder - the method is to wrap a wire around the crossing of the spokes and solder that.
-
Remember, Stainless steel does not solder - the method is to wrap a wire around the crossing of the spokes and solder that.
That's why I couldn't understand that it would work.
-
That's why I couldn't understand that it would work.
Jobst Brandt is very clear that it doesn't ...
Like Kim says, a holy war ...
-
If you take apart a venerable wheel, sometimes you do see a little paired notching between the spokes, indicating that there is some rub over time. But that's a wheel with years of service, and not generally built "bastard tight", which is how I'd build a race wheel.
-
And spokes don't break in the middle even when notched. (Rare exceptions excepted). (Not that that's related to the main aim of tying and soldering).