De-Lacing a Rim

[dyna-ti]

First thing you need to do before anything else is to spray the spoke/nipple join with gt85 or whatever,they will be tight so this will really help you

Start at the valve hole,then work your way round each spoke loosening each a 1/2 turn,keep going round till theyre all very loose but still attached.

Next tape your new rim to the old one lining up the valve and spoke holes
Then swap one spoke over at a time,best if you do one side first then the other[youll see what i mean as you start it]
once all the spokes are swapped over roughly tension it by doing up the nipples with your fingers

Take it to the wheel jig to final tension and true [Or the LBS ]

 

[Xesh]

Tallpaul, taping the rims side-by-side and moving the spokes over will work a treat.

Agreed. The only tricky part is making sure you don't scratch the new rim as you move the spokes over from the old one.

This is the best way if you're replacing a rim with an identical one. One thing I do in this case is to replace all the nipples with new ones, as I'm removing them anyway.

If you're changing the rim to a different model then I'd loosen off the nipples and then cut out the spokes.

If I de-lace a wheel I never re-use the spokes as they've been bent and stressed and will be weaker as a result.

Cutting out spokes without de-tensioning is a big no-no for me. Apart from the fact that it can warp the rim (especially lightweight rims like a 230) the spokes can fly across the room when cut. This is definitely a health hazard to anyone who happens to walk by.