A bicycle wheelset with flat or oval-section spokes can be beautiful and elegant. It also gives an aerodynamic advantage, which shaves seconds off a rider’s personal best. Bladed spokes cut through the air more efficiently than round-section double-butted spokes.
The bad news is that flat spokes can get twisted during normal use, and present their broad side to the oncoming air stream. This twist acts as a handicap which slows the bike to varying degrees, depending on the number of affected spokes. So what’s a cyclist to do, when he or she discovers twisted aero spokes?
Here’s what you should never do – grab a spoke key and start twisting nipples. The inevitable results of this rash and impatient action will be a bob and a wobble in the rim. Such damage can only be undone by a professional wheel builder, which costs money. But there is another way to rectify twisted spokes – which suits a patient amateur with a cool head and firm but gentle hands.
1.Remove the tire, inner tube and rim tape
The first step is to remove the tire, inner tube and rim tape. This allows you to reach deep into the rim with a long nipple wrench – and reach the nipples from above. Park Tool supplies such a wrench, but a well-furnished home workshop may have a similar implement to do the same job.
2.Acquire the Park Tool BSH-4 Bladed Spoke Holder
Step number two is to acquire the Park Tool BSH-4 Bladed Spoke Holder. It has four slots, to accommodate blades of different thicknesses. Push the best-fitting slot onto a spoke, then slide it up toward the rim as far as possible. If the BSH-4 tool is parallel to the hub axle, the aero spoke is not twisted. If it angles forward or back, corrective action will have to be taken.
3.Make your own bladed spoke holder from an old plastic tire lever
Step Three is optional: Make your own bladed spoke holder from an old plastic tire lever. Cut a slot across it at right angles with a hacksaw, fit over a spoke and slide it up as far as possible. If the tire lever is parallel to the hub axle, well and good. If not, move onto the next step.
4.Move the spoke bracket until it is parallel to the hub
Step Four is the big secret. Do two things at once, with gentle yet firm hands. Move the spoke holder gently until it is parallel with the hub. AT PRECISELY THE SAME TIME, use the internal wrench to make the nipple take up the same angle. Use your dominant hand for this job, and don’t overdo the pressure on the nipple. Remember – it’s made of soft alloy, not steel like a spoke. The nipple MUST move in concert with the spoke. So that the steel spoke threads that mesh the inside of the alloy nipple are NOT affected, and there is no danger of wobbles or bobs. Spoke and nipple swivel as one combined unit. Take care – turning the nipple alone will create a bob in the rim; turning the spoke alone will add a wobble. THEY MUST BE ROTATED SIMULTANEOUSLY THROUGH THE EXACT SAME ANGLES.
5.Check and trial rotations
Step Five. After a couple of trial rotations, when the holding tool handle seems to be parallel with the hub, feel the spoke with a finger all the way down, to check that the broad side is at a right angle to the hub. That spoke is now untwisted – its narrow penetrating edge is facing in the direction of travel.
6. Repeat until every spoke on both wheels has been restored to the aerodynamic rotation. Tackle spokes on one side of the wheel, then move on to the other. The job becomes much easier if you have access to a wheel truing stand. If you don’t, the bike will have to be turned upside down.
If you think it is difficult to understand how to fixing bladed spoke twist through the text. Then you can refer to the video below, you will understand what we are talking about.
