Spoke Wrenches

[ridethewomble]

Nice spoke wrenches come in a lot of sizes. The spokes on my MTB and my cross bike fit the spoke wrench on my multi-tool perfectly. The trouble is, I have no idea what size it is, and I don't want to open blister packs and try wrenches in the store until I find the right one.

The sizes available are 80 ga./.127” nipple/3.23mm, 80 ga./.130” nipple/3.30mm, 80 ga./.136” nipple/3.45mm, and 105 ga./.156” nipple/3.96mm.

Does one of the sizes cover the vast majority of relatively new stock wheels, or is there a lot of variation?

[peter6061]

The following applies to Park tools...

Black(.127") and Green(.130") cover most 'good' wheels out on the market.

I use .127" nipples on all my wheels. (2.0mm spokes)

[Brizn]

Why not just get a multi-size spoke wrench? The Park one is heavy and feels awkward...but there are several others to choose from.. The 1st picture is probably the best one around I think. Respectively: Wrench Force, uknown, Pedros..

[ridethewomble]

That Wrench Force tool looks great. I'm going to go look for that.

[peter6061]

If you stick with Park, you can get a 'good' wrench that grabs the nipple on 4 sides. Helps prevent stripping out nipples while building / truing...

http://www.parktool.com/products/detail.asp?cat=16&item=SW%2D40

I used to swear by the Spokey wrenches for building with alloy nipples. Now Park has 'em. I'm sure others do as well.

I find it easiest to used the tool intended for the job as opposed to a multi-tool that fits all, but hey, I was a mechanic for 15 years, so I'm a bike/tool snob. The WF does look like the best out of the choices pictured above.

[saxman]

I have the "unknown" circular one. It's a useless p.o.s. I've had it strip a few of my spoke nipples. I switched over to the Park Tools spoke wrenches. I have the black one and the red one now. I like them. The grab the nipples nice and firm. There's nothing quite like the feeling of knowing that you've got a secure grip on your nipples. :p

[ridethewomble]

...so I'm a bike/tool snob.

Gosh, I'm a tool snob, too. The "four sided" Park wrenches look very compelling, especially since I have rounded nipples off with cheap wrenches before.

I think I'm leaning toward a quiver of Park wrenches. What the heck -- lugging two front wheels into a shop for a fitting is no big deal. Besides, I don't want to imperil my tool geek status! :eek:

[Brizn]

I have the WF one and a Park triple- the latter is like a paperweight. The WF is real' nice, easy to manipulate with your fingers and no problems with stripping as long as you're using the right size. good for the camelback. A quiver is a good idea, though..especially for your 'bench' at home...

[redneckp3ngu1n]

My dad has one of the old circular ones and they work well. I personally like the cheap performance wrenches that came in my tool kit.