Replacing spokes

dombo6

I have just acquired a very nice 1980s Holdsworth Elan. Only problem is the spokes on the front wheel are rusty. Mavic rims and Shimano 600 hubs are fine. Rather than replace the whole wheel I thought of just replacing the spokes - there are 36. As I've never done this before my intended method was to replace each spoke in turn, so I could follow the correct lacing pattern, then true the wheel in the frame using the brakes as a guide. Is this a sensible way to do it?
Any advice would be much appreciated.
A couple of packs of spokes will only be about 20 quid so no biggy if I make a total Horlicks of it.

keezx

Yes, it is possible to do it this way...
I advise to loosen all nipples two turns (1x round one turn and 2end round one turn) before you start.

fudgey

i have just rebuilt a wheel pretty much like that. my spokes were too short so replaced the non drive side with longer ones and swapped the non drive side to the drive side and replaced all nipples with brass ones.

i slackened all nipples off first and then swapped 1 spoke at a time.
to pull nipples out the rim, and put them back in i screwed them onto a spoke inserted from the tyre side.

and i trued it how you said, using the frame/brake for reference.

Monty Dog

Study the spoking pattern, particularly to see whether it is 2 or 3 cross - older wheel is likely to be 3-cross i.e. each spoke crosses three others in an over-under-over and is critical for the strength of the wheel. I would loosen all the spokes off first, enough so that the thread is just starting to show and then replace all the leading spokes on one side, followed by the trailing ones. You can use the spoke-pattern on the other side as a guide. Pay attention to what side of the hub flange the spoke heads are and make sure they are re-laced in the same orientation - there will be witness marks on the hub to guide you. Don't rush and even if you get it wrong, you can re-lace.

keef66

Take some pics before you start in case you need to refer to them part way through

fudgey

Thinking about it, are the spokes chromed.

As using some coca cola and a scouring pad will remove rust!

Like this:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EfXQdoqg2Eg