Re-Using Spokes?

[Nooch]

The transition to 11 speed -- man, it ain't easy.

I currently have 6 sets of wheels, only one is 11 speed currently, one can be upgraded to 11 speed (DT350), and the other 4 are unable to be converted (105 hubs, D/A 7700 hubs, CK Classic Hubs, and first gen zipp firecrests that while I could do a campy 11 swap, is more work than it seems worthwhile).

I've got a new set of Ultegra 6800 11 speed hubs, which coincidentally enough would use the same spoke lengths as either the 105 build or the 7700 build. I was considering just breaking down one of those sets and building the wheels back up with spokes and nipples. No wheels have more than 1500 miles on them, tops, and are all in good shape, with DT Swiss Comp spokes and DT Swiss pro-lock nips.

Any reason why I shouldn't do this?

[November Dave]

No reason not to. Try to reuse them in their original orientation (heads in drive, heads out drive, etc) but spokes can be reused with no issue.

[Nooch]

Thanks Dave!

Also just realized that my xt cassette will fit on a 10spd fhb, so I can save the DT350's for an 11spd conversion and use whichever pair of the shimano hubbed wheels I don't break down for the 1x11 cx bike..

[November Dave]

Thanks Dave!

Also just realized that my xt cassette will fit on a 10spd fhb, so I can save the DT350's for an 11spd conversion and use whichever pair of the shimano hubbed wheels I don't break down for the 1x11 cx bike..

You can also fit the new 11-34 (? double check that) 11 speed Ultegra-level cassette on a 10s fhb. The new wide range cassettes give life to a lot of old 10s wheels, the rub is your derailleur might not be able to cope with the cog sizes.

[redir]

They say never to do it but I've done it on several wheels and it was fine.

FWIW you can file the cassette body end stops to make it wider to accept 11-speed cassettes. If there is enough meat on it that is. I've done this on almost all my wheelsets.

[loxx0050]

FWIW you can file the cassette body end stops to make it wider to accept 11-speed cassettes. If there is enough meat on it that is. I've done this on almost all my wheelsets.

I've done this before too. If the hub body is not aluminum it really sucks to file it by hand. Ended up using a dremel tool to as best I could file it down. You try to remove 1.85mm (or in my case enough to get the lockring to tighten all the way down). My hub body was an old 105 I believe (original wired powertap hub) and that turned out to be steel.

It actually would be easier to remove the material off the back end of the 11 speed Ultegra cassettes instead based on my experience. (or at least I'd try that if I had to do it all over again). Probably test it out in a cheaper 105 11s cassette just in case I messed up.

[oldpotatoe]

The transition to 11 speed -- man, it ain't easy.

I currently have 6 sets of wheels, only one is 11 speed currently, one can be upgraded to 11 speed (DT350), and the other 4 are unable to be converted (105 hubs, D/A 7700 hubs, CK Classic Hubs, and first gen zipp firecrests that while I could do a campy 11 swap, is more work than it seems worthwhile).

I've got a new set of Ultegra 6800 11 speed hubs, which coincidentally enough would use the same spoke lengths as either the 105 build or the 7700 build. I was considering just breaking down one of those sets and building the wheels back up with spokes and nipples. No wheels have more than 1500 miles on them, tops, and are all in good shape, with DT Swiss Comp spokes and DT Swiss pro-lock nips.

Any reason why I shouldn't do this?

Nope, stainless steel spokes and brass nipps generally outlast aluminum rims.

[Nooch]

They say never to do it but I've done it on several wheels and it was fine.

FWIW you can file the cassette body end stops to make it wider to accept 11-speed cassettes. If there is enough meat on it that is. I've done this on almost all my wheelsets.

while I'd like to do this (especially with the Chris King's I lusted after for so long) I don't think I have the mechanical skill or accuracy to file the appropriate amount off...

[redir]

while I'd like to do this (especially with the Chris King's I lusted after for so long) I don't think I have the mechanical skill or accuracy to file the appropriate amount off...

I kind of felt the same way but it went surprisingly easy. I just mounted the wheel in a vice and using a caliper measured the thickness all way round for each of the stops.

I'm not sure I'd want to do it on King hubs but I did on my Ultegra and other cheap ones..

[rohan]

If you don't want to do the work yourself, this could work!

http://www.lascoconcept.com/en/11s-cassette/

[Mark McM]

No reason not to. Try to reuse them in their original orientation (heads in drive, heads out drive, etc) but spokes can be reused with no issue.

^^^^ This is the key to re-using spokes. When a wheel is built, the spoke elbows will get bent to a slightly more acute angle to achieve a straight run from flange to rim. If you were to move a spoke into a different position (orientation) in the wheel, it may get bent back in the opposite direction. Reversing the initial bend in the spoke may create stress risers, which can result in broken spokes. Consider the example of bending a paper clip - you can easily bend it one direction, but if you try to bend it back in the other direction, it weakens the wire.

[Look585]

The transition to 11 speed -- man, it ain't easy.

I currently have 6 sets of wheels, only one is 11 speed currently, one can be upgraded to 11 speed (DT350), and the other 4 are unable to be converted (105 hubs, D/A 7700 hubs, CK Classic Hubs, and first gen zipp firecrests that while I could do a campy 11 swap, is more work than it seems worthwhile).



You can convert your Shimano 7700 (and likely 105) to 11s with the process linked below. I think I still have one complete conversion kit if you are interested. It's a non-trivial effort, but less involved than taking apart a wheel, keeping the spokes sorted (4 unique roles that should be kept consistent), and rebuilding on the new hub.

https://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=185754

[Nooch]

You can convert your Shimano 7700 (and likely 105) to 11s with the process linked below. I think I still have one complete conversion kit if you are interested. It's a non-trivial effort, but less involved than taking apart a wheel, keeping the spokes sorted (4 unique roles that should be kept consistent), and rebuilding on the new hub.

https://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=185754

interesting....

[November Dave]

The point of the Shimano 11-34 cassette (model number is CS-HG800) is that it's an 11 speed cassette that fits straight onto a 10 speed cassette body. The big diameter of the 34t cog means that the inner most cog can be closer to the hub flange, because out at the teeth the spokes have made enough travel in away from the flange that there's clearance between cassette and chain.

It's a bit tough to explain verbally. I drew some pictures that help explain it in this blog post (https://novemberbicycles.com/blogs/blog/shimano-hubs-missedconnections) from a while ago.

This is all irrelevant if you don't want to use a cassette that big, but it might be useful for someone out there.