Zipp wheel re-dish

964cup
964cup Posts: 1,362
edited March 2015 in Workshop
So, I've bought some Zipp 404s. Supposed to be 2014, turned out to be 2012. Conversion to Shimano 11-speed therefore rather tediously requires a new axle, endcaps and freehub, and a re-dish. SRAM claim that you have to send the wheel back to them; they offer the conversion as a service. You can also buy the axle etc as a kit; can anyone think of a reason why I shouldn't install it and re-dish the wheel myself? It's a bit cheaper that way (not much I have to say), a lot faster (which is the real reason to DIY) and means less postage risk. There's no warranty issue, since I'm not the first owner. Surely there's nothing peculiar to Zipps that would make dishing them especially tricky? They even have external nipples. The axle installation itself should be completely trivial, unless there's something I don't know about, Iike a need for a machining, but that seems highly unlikely.

Comments

  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,242
    It's a 20 minutes job if you have the tools. With a 20 H wheels you do need a tension meter and all the necessary paraphernalia.
    Have you considered filing off the ramps at the end of the splines to create the extra room for 11 speed?
    Nothing to lose if it doesn't work

    http://whosatthewheel.com/2015/01/29/th ... witchover/
    left the forum March 2023
  • 964cup
    964cup Posts: 1,362
    ugo.santalucia wrote:
    It's a 20 minutes job if you have the tools. With a 20 H wheels you do need a tension meter and all the necessary paraphernalia.
    Have you considered filing off the ramps at the end of the splines to create the extra room for 11 speed?
    Nothing to lose if it doesn't work

    http://whosatthewheel.com/2015/01/29/th ... witchover/

    Paolo, thanks, I've got all the bits - stand, tensiometer, dishing gauge etc. I looked at the machining option and didn't like what I saw (on Weight Weenies) - the guy that tried it on 188 freehubs had repeated hub failures after torquing the cassette down a few times. They are also, as it happens, currently Campag...

    ...and yes, I thought about buying a Campag cassette instead since the spacing is the same, but didn't fancy either a) the cost of Super Record cassettes (how much!?!) or b) being stuck with one set of ratios for that wheel. It would also mean yet another tool, and I have no other Campag kit at all.
  • agent nomad
    agent nomad Posts: 93
    Have sent you a PM
  • 964cup
    964cup Posts: 1,362
    All done. Absolutely no difference to dishing any other wheel. Spoke tensions are even, wheel is round. Changing the axle took less than a minute, dishing about 20 as Paolo suggested, mainly because I did it very gradually. Well done Zipp for using conventional external nipples in a normal size, and for using nipple washers to reduce seizing.
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,242
    964Cup wrote:
    and for using nipple washers to reduce seizing.

    you won't say the same when it comes to rebuilding it... :lol:
    left the forum March 2023
  • 964cup
    964cup Posts: 1,362
    Well, here's an interesting question, then. I have an 808 (pre-Firecrest dimpled tubular) I'm going to re-hub with a Powertap. It will have nipple washers. I'll be replacing all the spokes with new C-XRays; should I renew the washers? Should I expect the washers to rattle about in the rim as soon as I remove the old spoke and nipple, or do I have a chance of slipping a new nipple into the existing washer? I notice in another post you said it took you an afternoon to get the washers out of a 303; the 808 is almost three times as deep. How much fun am I in for?
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,242
    964Cup wrote:
    Well, here's an interesting question, then. I have an 808 (pre-Firecrest dimpled tubular) I'm going to re-hub with a Powertap. It will have nipple washers. I'll be replacing all the spokes with new C-XRays; should I renew the washers? Should I expect the washers to rattle about in the rim as soon as I remove the old spoke and nipple, or do I have a chance of slipping a new nipple into the existing washer? I notice in another post you said it took you an afternoon to get the washers out of a 303; the 808 is almost three times as deep. How much fun am I in for?

    At the time it was my first re-Zipp, so I took advice from another builder in south London who had done it before. He suggested to replace the washers, as they end up being bent and he was right. If you cut the spoke near the hub, you stand a chance of removing the washer using the spoke as a skewer... that doesn't mean it's easy as the buggers are quite wide and struggle to get through the hole. A magnet helps. That generation of Zipp and up to 2014 use the Sapim Oval washers. The insertion is somewhat less problematic but still time consuming... I suggest you use a guide spoke to avoid losing the thing inside the rim.
    They are tedious jobs, that one doesn't look forward to doing, but hey oh...
    left the forum March 2023
  • 964cup
    964cup Posts: 1,362
    Thanks, I'll add nipple washers to the spoke order, then. Are the Sapim washers steel, then?
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,242
    964Cup wrote:
    Thanks, I'll add nipple washers to the spoke order, then. Are the Sapim washers steel, then?

    Steel... they should be stainless
    left the forum March 2023

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