[Sanchofula]

Hot swapping or reusing spokes by lacing a new rim in place of an old rim. It’s a great way to save money and time.

I trashed a wheel a few weeks ago, normally I get a replacement rim and relace, but I was unable to find a replacement rim for a WTB Asym i29 27.5

Instead of springing for new spokes, I looked up asymmetrical rims by ERD, found one that was similar to the WTB Asym i29: Race Face Arc 30 Asym.

I Rebuilt the wheel this morning using the spokes from the WTB Asym i29, and it built up perfect 👍

I’ve got another rim swap brewing for the weekend: WTB i45 Scrapers 27.5 -> WTB KOM Tough i30 27.5

So how about starting a informal database for rim swaps:

WTB Asym i29 27.5 = Race Face Arc 30 Asym27.5
WTB i45 Scrapers 27.5 = WTB KOM Tough i30 27.5 (pending)

If this is interesting to folks, maybe we can make it a Sticky.

 

[David Mackintosh]

I've often swapped rims without changing spokes, usually the same rim, but others with the same ERD (or within about 2mm) works as well. I normally will use new nipples anyway, and if the new ERD is smaller then longer nipples could be used. I don't think it saves time, if I'm changing spokes I just cut the old ones rather than unthreading each nipple (and potentially having to shake some out of the rim if it's being reused).

Having a database of rims in a spreadsheet, so they can be sorted by ERD, isn't a bad idea. If I have time, I'll normally measure the ERD of any new rim myself before ordering spokes.

 

[Sanchofula]

Yeah, new nips always, cutting spokes saves time but it’s always seemed kinda wasteful to me.

I hear about folks breaking spokes, but I’ve never had that problem, perhaps it’s because I run straight gauge.

Anyway, for folks who haven’t got the experience for building wheels, hot swapping rims is a great start.

 

[stripes]

Yeah, new nips always, cutting spokes saves time but it’s always seemed kinda wasteful to me.

I hear about folks breaking spokes, but I’ve never had that problem, perhaps it’s because I run straight gauge.

Anyway, for folks who haven’t got the experience for building wheels, hot swapping rims is a great start.

I recently switched rim on my Tilt from 35mm to 40mm. The shop was able to reuse all the spokes, saving me a bunch of coin.

They built up new DH wheels with the 35mm since the rims were barely used.

35mm rim DT Swiss M542
40mm rim Race Face Arc 40

 

[David Mackintosh]

Yeah, new nips always, cutting spokes saves time but it’s always seemed kinda wasteful to me.

I hear about folks breaking spokes, but I’ve never had that problem, perhaps it’s because I run straight gauge.

Anyway, for folks who haven’t got the experience for building wheels, hot swapping rims is a great start.

Well, that does take out the lacing step, which I suppose can be tricky if you're new to it. I enjoy doing the whole process in front of the tv.

Very close to all spoke breakage I've seen occurs at the elbows. In theory, you're less likely to break butted spokes, their elasticity makes them less likely to go slack during rim impacts. If whatever you're using works for you, then you're doing fine!

 

[Sanchofula]

Update:

Swapped WTB Scraper i45 for WTB KOM Tough i30, no issues, perfect spoke length.