Latest Custom Builds — Wheel Repairs

Neil had a 24h DT Swiss 350 hub lurking in a drawer, and a new Specialized Axis alloy rim, also 24h. He got in contact thinking these two should be mated for a spare rear wheel for his disc road bike. Being a bigger guy, we advised that a plain gauge spoke would be the best solution on this rear wheel, in order to control lateral felxure of the wheel under load (both pedalling and cornering). So Sapim Leader in black it was. He's a sucker for the all black aesthetic, so we used Sapim black 12mm brass nipples for...

Michael is a local rider that we've ridden with over the years. He's certainly handy on the bike and uses his equipment hard. He contacted us when the alloy nipples started cracking on his Spank Oozy Trail 395 wheelset (supplied as original equipment on his bike). This is not uncommon, especially with the lower quality alloy nipples used as OEM (Original Equipment of Manufacture). It is certainly exacerbated when the nipples and spokes are not prepared correctly, nor the threads sealed following the build process. Keen for a pragmatic solution, that ensures better long term reliability, we suggested plain gauge Sapim...

We heard from Dylan after an unfortunate accident where he managed to bend the IS 6 bolt rotor mounts on his front hub of his Polygon Bend gravel rig. Polygon were unable to supply a new hub, but we came to the rescue with a quality Bitex BX201FG Centrelock replacement. A step up in quality, and a handy reduction in weight. He chose Centrelock for the replacement as he already had a spare rotor to suit that standard. We laced his original rim onto this new hub with Sapim Race spokes and Dylan was riding again in no time.

Kurt found us via our website, as we carry lots of spares for Easton and Zipp wheels . He was keen to replace some bent spokes and broken nipples in his rear Zipp wheel, as a result of an accident. A local bike shop had attempted a repair, but had not had the appropriate parts on hand. As a result, the wheel was temporarily fixed with silver nipples and the affected spokes reused. We disassembled the wheel, and reassembled with Sapim Polyax brass nipples, in black of course. This wheel should be good to go for another few years (until...

Back in the late 00s, DT Swiss opened a new manufacturing facility in Taiwan. All of the best machinery from their Switzerland operation was replicated. However, there were a few teething problems (which are now 100% sorted), particularly with the quality of some raw materials. The R1900 wheelset was an example of this. The DT Swiss Champion plain gauge spokes used were substandard, and micro pitting of the spoke surface would always lead to early spoke breakage. Always. Yes, always. We strongly doubt that many of these fine wheelsets are still rolling in their original state! These wheels were provided...