Tied and soldered wheels stay true longer? When having to true a t and s wheel, presumably you must first remove the ties where you are altering the spoke tension?
I like the looks of t and s wheels too, but a little and very unofficial survey that I have made over the years, indicates that most who have used them, seem to agree that the jury is still out on whether t and s wheels are any stronger.
Match the color of the painted solder to the painted solder on the cable ends...that's high stylin'!
Dennis Young Hotaka, Japan
> I've done a fair amount of tying and soldering. The solder seems to stick to
> stainless spokes just fine. I use very fine copper wire. I think it is 28
> gauge, 50/50 solder, tinners' flux and a large electric iron.
>
> It looks best if you use only three turns of wire with the ends hidden under
> the windings. I see people do it with lots more turns of wire and all sorts
> of ways of finishing it off. None of them look very good.
>
> It is like a whip finish on a rope. If you wind the wire on top of its self
> that gets one end under the windings. After taking the three turns you
> thread the loose end under the windings. Then if you gently pull the ends
> with two pairs of pliers the winding will snug up nice and the ends of the
> wire will just pop off.
>
> Now for the soldering. Hold the wheel horizontal with the axle in an axle
> vise. Put one drop of flux on each winding. Melt a small puddle of solder on
> the tip of the iron. Bring the iron up under each winding and let the puddle
> of molten solder surround the winding. I usually go around once and solder
> the windings and then go back around with no puddle on the iron and suck off
> any excess solder so the I can see the windings clearly. Rinse off the flux
> with fresh water.
>
> The traditional thing is to paint the windings with a small brush. Usually
> you see them painted red but I've done lots of other colors.
>
> I think tied and soldered wheels look cool. I'll leave the debate as to the
> mechanical merits of the practice to others.
>
> Regards, Jamie Swan - Northport, N.Y.
> --