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Pro tip: My old shop manager swore by using a spoke wrench to true carbon rims
Tried it on my Zipp 303s last weekend and it worked perfectly no cracking or anything, has anyone else gotten away with that trick?
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brianreed1mo agoTop Commenter
Man, that's wild. I'm genuinely curious though - did you actually check the spoke tension after you were done? Like with a gauge or even just by feel? Because on those higher-end carbon rims, the whole structure is so specific that even a tiny shift in tension can mess with the ride quality or make the wheel go out of true again way faster than alloy. I keep hearing about people getting away with this but nobody ever talks about whether the wheel stays true for more than a few rides after. Was it still holding up a month later?
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mark_ward1mo ago
Ha, living dangerously I see! I tried that exact trick on a set of Reynolds a few years back and I swear I heard the rim whisper "don't do this" at me. Got away with it though, no cracks or anything, but I was sweating bullets the whole time. Honestly, it feels like using a butter knife to open a package - it works until it really doesn't. Would I recommend it to a stranger? No way, I'd rather just buy the right plastic Park Tool nipple driver. You got lucky, but that's a gamble I'm not taking twice!
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