angelaellis•3d agoMost Upvoted

I tried the Park Tool spoke prep and it messed up my wheel build

I rebuilt my old touring wheelset last weekend and used Park Tool's spoke prep for the first time instead of plain oil. The nipples got so gunky and stiff that I couldn't even get the final tension right on half the spokes. Had to take the wheel apart, clean everything with degreaser, and start over with Tri-Flow. Anyone else had this problem with that formula?

1 comments

1 Comment

felix_coleman873d ago

Oh man, that stuff is terrible. I used it once on a rear wheel build and ended up with the same gummy mess you describe. The compound hardens up way too fast and just locks the nipples in place before you can get the tension right. Plain old oil or even a light grease works so much better for me. I stick with Tri-Flow too now, or sometimes just a drop of chainsaw bar oil if I'm in a pinch. Live and learn, right? That Park Tool stuff is going straight in the trash.