Campagnolo Shamal Spoke Twist

[r_mutt]

anyone ever experience this? is this terminal? i think i only have 1K or slightly more on these wheels.

i have a set of Zondas fwith possibly 10K on them and they have been absolutely bulletproof. One would think that the Shamal would be the same, only better.

[truebeliever]

It happens, I would replace the spoke. Chances are the nipple and spoke are stuck together because of road grime

[sante pollastri]

This happens when you strip off the brand labels

[merckx]

That spoke should be replaced. Aluminum does not like to be tweaked in that manner. If you unwind it, it will be difficult to iron out the twist and the alloy will be fatigued.

[oldpotatoe]

anyone ever experience this? is this terminal? i think i only have 1K or slightly more on these wheels.

i have a set of Zondas fwith possibly 10K on them and they have been absolutely bulletproof. One would think that the Shamal would be the same, only better.

Not uncommon..might try something that holds the spoke secure while turning the nipple..before that, some Boeshield or Liquid Wrench in case the 2 are bonded together. Seen this with other aluminum spoke wheels, like the Mavic ones, also.

[AngryScientist]

i've been riding a shamal with a spoke twisted like that for several thousand miles, no signs of cracking or fatigue. if you try and straighten it out though, you'll likely fatigue and stress crack the spoke.

[r_mutt]

Thanks gents. Probably right about it being a seized nipple. I'm going to ride it for a bit and see what happens. I think I'd eventually want to replace the 3/4 that have twisted like this.

[thirdgenbird]

Did they need trued after 1k? I've seen campy wheelsets go basically the life of the wheel without being trued.

[r_mutt]

Did they need trued after 1k? I've seen campy wheelsets go basically the life of the wheel without being trued.

that's why i'm surprised. i had a zonda set go 5K miles's without needing one. do they need a true? no, but the 3 twisted spokes bother me.

[thirdgenbird]

The spokes twisted on their own?

[r_mutt]

The spokes twisted on their own?

yes, they did. very odd, but apparently, i'm not the only one.

[thirdgenbird]

Crazy.

I sorta prefer my steel spoke eurus wheels anyway. Maybe this is another reason.

[Black Dog]

How could they possibly twist on their own?

[chomeo]

interesting. and i just bought a pair of the fulcrum equivalent on cc.

was deciding between the fulcrum and custom CK with H Plus Son and went with the fulcrum because of price. :confused:

[Louis]

How could they possibly twist on their own?

It often happens when you buy wheels built by Chubby Checker.

[oldpotatoe]

yes, they did. very odd, but apparently, i'm not the only one.

Seen a lot of these wheels, both new and old, plus a fair amount of mavic with aluminum spokes and I've never seen them 'barber-pole' on their own. Considering how a wheel works, I don't see how it could happen.

When truing yup, but not JRA...just what I've seen. Maybe when new, not noticed? Maybe a bike shop ham-fisted it and didn't say anything?

[Black Dog]

Seen a lot of these wheels, both new and old, plus a fair amount of mavic with aluminum spokes and I've never seen them 'barber-pole' on their own. Considering how a wheel works, I don't see how it could happen.

When truing yup, but not JRA...just what I've seen.

My thoughts exactly. There is no force other than truing that can cause that twist.

[thirdgenbird]

I can't think of any way either. That's why I asked.

[r_mutt]

Seen a lot of these wheels, both new and old, plus a fair amount of mavic with aluminum spokes and I've never seen them 'barber-pole' on their own. Considering how a wheel works, I don't see how it could happen.

When truing yup, but not JRA...just what I've seen. Maybe when new, not noticed? Maybe a bike shop ham-fisted it and didn't say anything?

i hate to point the finger at my trusty mechanic( he's actually my 2nd choice, but he's right next to where i work), but i brought them in for a truing, and not long afterwards, this happened. i was wondering if it was something he did, but others (and he) have said that it's a case of a seized spoke and nipple, not having anything to do with him. what do you gents think i should do? i know it's an expensive fix, and it's on 3-4 of the spokes. i love campagnolo wheels, and this incident has not been confidence inspiring.

[thirdgenbird]

Knowing they were in fact trued, I would saw this doesn't reflect on campy quality at all.

I'm guessing this happened when they were trued and you didn't notice it.

[Ralph]

If you lived around me, I know of two diffeent people who fix those, and usually have the spokes. Would think a real pro shop could fix easy.

[Richard]

"but others (and he) have said that it's a case of a seized spoke and nipple, not having anything to do with him"

Well, the seized spoke and nipple may have had nothing to do with him, but the ham handed twisting of the spokes did. If the mechanic had paid attention to what he was doing, he would have stopped what he was doing, used some lubricant, and held the spoke with some device (i made one with a small block of wood and a saw) and done a proper job. At the very least, he would have told you what the consequence of his work would be. If these were my wheels and the shop mechanic did this, I would expect a repair from them.

[oldpotatoe]

"but others (and he) have said that it's a case of a seized spoke and nipple, not having anything to do with him"

Well, the seized spoke and nipple may have had nothing to do with him, but the ham handed twisting of the spokes did. If the mechanic had paid attention to what he was doing, he would have stopped what he was doing, used some lubricant, and held the spoke with some device (i made one with a small block of wood and a saw) and done a proper job. At the very least, he would have told you what the consequence of his work would be. If these were my wheels and the shop mechanic did this, I would expect a repair from them.

Yup, what he said...."have said that it's a case of a seized spoke and nipple, not having anything to do with him"

Nope the siezed spoke/nipp is NOT anything to do with him..how he trued these things, w/o hanging onto the spoke and lubing before..is 'something to do with him'...

[r_mutt]

"but others (and he) have said that it's a case of a seized spoke and nipple, not having anything to do with him"

Well, the seized spoke and nipple may have had nothing to do with him, but the ham handed twisting of the spokes did. If the mechanic had paid attention to what he was doing, he would have stopped what he was doing, used some lubricant, and held the spoke with some device (i made one with a small block of wood and a saw) and done a proper job. At the very least, he would have told you what the consequence of his work would be. If these were my wheels and the shop mechanic did this, I would expect a repair from them.

when i got the wheels back from him, they didn't look twisted at all. in fact, they were perfectly fine. it was only after a few weeks i noticed that the spokes had twisted. does this make sense?

[Tony]

No, it does not. This was done by the hands of someone. The spokes can't end up like this just by riding on them. You must have overlooked the twisted spokes.

[oldpotatoe]

when i got the wheels back from him, they didn't look twisted at all. in fact, they were perfectly fine. it was only after a few weeks i noticed that the spokes had twisted. does this make sense?

nope..these spokes do not twist like that while riding..Truing these, turning the nipple while holding the spoke takes a fair amount of force..if the nipp/spoke are indeed siezed, and begin to twist, far more force than found when riding these..

[iatoolie]

I've had the same thing happen on my Eurus wheels. I had a crash one year and my LBS checked my bike over after. A couple months later a friend noticed the twisted spokes -had 5 of them on the front wheel, some only slightly twisted one or two more like the one in your image.

I'm still not sure if the crash was the cause or someone at the LBS...at any rate my wheels were true and I rode them with the twisted spokes for over a year before finding a discounted Campy spoke replacement kit. I think I paid $50 for the kit (this was for a front wheel) and had them replaced earlier this year.