Kysirium spoke question

leonlikestrees

OK, I've got the black SSC SL Ksyriums, and the black spokes are no longer black. They are black, and in places the black has chipped and bubbled, and so they are also silver in places!

I was going to polish them up and make them super shiny silver instead, so I have a couple of questions:

1/ is the black anodizing or paint. (my thought is paint, as anodizing can't flake, can it?
2/ is removing the black going to weaken the wheel (Obviously I don't want to polish them too much)
3/ I've never had to mess with these for trueness, but it would be easier to clean up the spokes if I removed them all. assuming I have the correct spoke key (will have to find one), is there anything awkward about rebuilding these (I've built plenty of normal wheels)
4/ Any good tips for removing the bearings. One of those is shot too!

Leon

mtbhenry888

errr... ok if it was annodising it wouldn't peel or bubble off. annodising can chip however

how old are the wheels as i would imagine if they are less than a year old you could consult either mavic or the shop they can from.

polishing would be the best option but you would need to take the wheel apart otherwise it would be difficult and the end product would look crap. polishing them won't affect the integrity or strength of the wheel in any way.

They should rebuild like any other wheel but take note of the spoke patterning, otherwise it's just a case of lacing, trueing and tensioning!

Can't help with the bearings though i'm afraid i've not had any experience with mavic Ksyrium bearings, however, i'm guessing they're sealed in which case they may require a special tool? just don't try and pull them out with something long like a screwdriver as a lever otherwise you could crack the hub



Hope this helps
Henry

leonlikestrees

wheel is ancient. No chance it's under warranty. It's basically got chipped from being carelssly look after, and it seemsto have allowed water to get in under the reaming black paint/anodizing.

Getting the bearing out was easy once I figurerd out how to remove the axle. A nice drift and one whack of the hammer, and it was halfway across the garden.

I guess my concern about polishing the spokes is that if they were anodized, and the anodizing was for strength (can't say I understand much about how anodizing works), then perhaps it is there for a reason. I guess if it is, I can always re-anodize myself (purple!)

Leon

JonEdwards

If they're anything like the ally spokes on my Crossmax XLs, they're powdercoated. Mine are chipped to buggery too. Mainly from chainslap.

When I'm feeling bored I occasionally touch them up with a black paint pen, which smartens then up from a distance.

Persoanlly I'd avoid stripping and polishing them. It's take a *LONG* time to do well. Being ally the spokes will tarnish pretty quickly, and if you ride in the wet/winter, they'll also corrode pretty quick (especially a problem if they seize into the nipples).

Monty Dog

My black Ksyrium spokes are powder coated. I'd get some black touch-up paint rather than trying to strip them back to bare metal and refinish.

leonlikestrees

Thanks for the replies. I will need to do some sanding anyway to get rid of all the imperfections, but that's a good point about tarnishing. I guess if I really could be bothered I could polish them, then anodize them. I haven't done anodizing before, but a friend at work assures me it's easy!

I've touched them up in the past with a black marker pen, but it looks rubbish up close. I think the answer is to tidy up with some wet and dry the roughest bits, then repaint. Perhaps I'll paint every spoke a different colour and try and palm it off on ebay as a Paul Smith special :-)