Jerry -- I might have some Hi-E nipples left. If so they're yours for the asking, as Hi-E pundits are few. Caveat: my stuff is disorganized from multiple household moves, and I can't promise when I might run into them, but I've archived your email for ref.
Sounds like you've worked w/ Hi-E nips before, so you know they can be a bear -- getting the socket square on the shallow head is hard, so they round-off easily. And the short length makes the Al threads strip easily.
I've got a crazy-light front wheel with a Hi-E hub (& 24h Saavedra rim). The hub is the ultra-light or time trial or whatever the model was called. It came with a super-minimal skewer that used a sort of "half-wingnut", made from a single 1 inch spring-pin pressed into 1 skewer end. Hi-E warned against using a conventional cam QR, or the sideload would crunch the tiny, pressed-in sealed bearings. Of course, my wheel now has notchy bearings after I used a Mavic QR. I did at least try and use the least possible clamping force, but the thing is toast. I've been thinking of making the wheel into a wall clock for the barn ...
Alan Cote Williston VT
On Feb 21, 2010 2:06pm, Jerome & Elizabeth Moos <jerrymoos@sbcglobal.net>
wrote:
> Alan, I don't suppose you (or anyone) have some Hi-E spoke nipples
> available? I was working on a project a few months ago to rebuild a few
> pairs of Hi-E wheels. Went to the trouble of obtaining 15-16 butted
> Robergel (turns out the Hi-E nipples fit French spoke thread while DT and
> Italian spoke thread was different). But trying to reuse nipples from old
> wheels, most of them are failing when tensioned. I've given up for now,
> until I can find some NOS Hi-E nipples. I know I could use conventional
> nipples, but it ruins that wonderfull Hi-E weirdness.
> BTW, I've fallen victim to the Yahoo problem repoted by others where my
> posts are not showing up. I'm told sometimes the list can actually read
> the posts from Yahoo users, but not the senders themselves. Don't know if
> my posts from yesterday got through or not.
> Regards,
> Jerry Moos
> Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA
> --- On Sat, 2/20/10, CoteVT@gmail.com CoteVT@gmail.com> wrote:
> > From: CoteVT@gmail.com CoteVT@gmail.com>
> > Subject: Re: [CR] Need some advice on HE Hubs
> > To: Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
> > Date: Saturday, February 20, 2010, 9:48 PM
> > I wouldn't even consider trying to
> > fix a failed Hi-E hub. I like repairing rather than tossing
> > too, but I can't ever imagine finding a replacement flange.
> > Plus used ones go cheap -- I ebayed a nice, barely used rear
> > wheel with a Hi-E hub and GL330 rim a few months ago and got
> > less than $50.
> >
> > Speaking of Hi-E ... I was into their stuff in the 1980s,
> > and got aa copy of Harlan Myer's "Encyclopedia of
> > Efficiency" with my order. A little yellow booklet w/ the
> > machinist's thoughts on bikes and, ah, much more. Quite a
> > read if anyone gets the chance ... and the sort of info that
> > just doesn't come with a new pair of wheels built by robots
> > in an Asian factory.
> >
> > Alan Cote
> > Williston VT
> >
> >
> > Mark Pounders wrote:
> > > I recently bought a bike with an extra set of wheels
> > thrown in. I realized
> > > that they were Hi-E Hubs, but the rear hub is broken
> > on the drive side
> > > flange. I don't have any experience with Hi-E's and I
> > haven't disassembled
> > > the wheel yet, but it looks like the flanges might be
> > replaceable. I don't
> > > think this one can be repaired, but I hate to toss
> > anything out. Any advice
> > > guys and girls?
> > _______________________________________________
> > Classicrendezvous mailing list
> > Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
> > http://www.bikelist.org/
> >
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