Found a $5 tool that fixes stripped spoke nipples

Been fighting a stuck spoke nipple on a customer's old Schwinn for 20 minutes, tried all my usual tricks with no luck. Grabbed a cheap spoke nipple driver from the bottom of my toolbox that I never use, and it grabbed the rounded nipple on the first try. Anyone else hold onto random tools that end up saving you hours?

2 comments

2 Comments

vera_robinson362d ago

Man that cheap spoke nipple driver has saved my bacon more times than I want to admit. I've got a whole drawer of random tools I bought on clearance or from garage sales that nobody else would touch. The one I always grab is this beat up plastic spoke wrench that's somehow perfect for tight nipples on old rims. It's got that slight flex that grips better than metal ones when things get rounded. You never know when the junky tool in the bottom of the box is gonna be the hero.

michaeld481d ago

Yeah I feel that SO hard. @vera_robinson36 you're spot on about those cheap plastic spoke wrenches. I've got this little spoke driver that cost maybe $3 at a flea market and it's beat to hell but it grabs those old rounded nipples like nothing else. I've got a whole collection of "junk" tools that I thought were a waste of money but they keep proving me wrong. That ONE tool that sits in the bottom of your box for years and then saves a half hour job is WORTH every penny. It's like the universe rewards you for holding onto stuff nobody else wants.