De-Lacing a Rim

[Tallpaul]

What's the safest way to remove a rim from a wheel?

I wish to remove some beautiful M230TIB rims from an average set of LX hubs and get them rebuilt on some lovely M900 XTR ones

 

[perry]

You could either cut the spokes or remove a few turns on each nipple working your way around .

Just don't look directly at the end of a spoke . That goes for truing too .

 

[Tallpaul]

You could either cut the spokes or remove a few turns on each nipple working your way around .

Just don't look directly at the end of a spoke . That goes for truing too .

I had read that cutting was a bad idea as it unbalances the load on the rim and could buckle it.

I guess just loosening each nipple in turn is the safest way, or work in opposites?

Tried to true a wheel when I was 14, had my bike repair manual at the ready and made a right hash of it, they always go to the LBS now!

 

[tintin40]

I've cut all my rims off never had a bad affect on the rim. May be i was lucky :roll:

 

[kaiser]

I've also heard cutting the spokes can lead to the hub flange cracking.

 

[legrandefromage]

just use a good set of cable cutters on the spokes, if you are quick enough, theres no probs with the rim going wonky

 

[perry]

Never really given it that much thought , I would rarely cut as doing 36 of them leaves you with a sore hand as they twang across the room . I was always stripping wheels to save space when throwing away crappy old wheels ( it's very satisfying cutting a rim with a hacksaw then pulling it apart in a vice , feeling the alloy tear )

Better to loosen the nipples in turn . I've never noticed a problem with going around the rim .

 

[Dr S]

Work your way around loosening a half turn at a time. On rear wheels start on the non drive side first.

 

[MikeD]

If the spokes are in good shape, undo and get a handful of spare spokes into the bargain. If they're gouged or bent, might as well cut 'em and save time.

 

[Tallpaul]

If the spokes are in good shape, undo and get a handful of spare spokes into the bargain. If they're gouged or bent, might as well cut 'em and save time.

That's a fair point actually, a lot of the spokes on the M230 rims are corroded, but I think the ones on the XTR wheels are mostly ok.

Anyone know if the spoke length for M563 and M900 hubs is the same??