You are reading a single comment by @benbrangwyn and its replies.
Click here to read the full conversation.
London Fixed Gear and Single-Speed is a community of predominantly fixed gear and single-speed cyclists in and around London, UK.
This site is supported almost exclusively by donations. Please consider donating a small amount regularly.
@benbrangwyn
Before you cut the spoke, just make sure it'll be easy to thread in a new spoke. If it's a back wheel, you may have to remove the freewheel/cassette in order to remove the old spoke and thread the new. If that is the case, it's worth spending more time to free up the spoke/nipple, enabling you to reuse them both.
Don't forget to keep both sections of the spoke if you cut it so you can measure it and reorder a new one (mebbe safer to take the two bits to the bike shop so they can do the measuring).
Instead of using the pliers to cut the spoke, you could use them to hold the spoke and prevent it from turning while you loosen the spoke nipple.
Best if you have a spoke key that grips four sides of the nipple rather than just three - it's less likely to round off the nipple flats.
Might be worth tapping the spoke with eg a screwdriver just where it enters the nipple - that'll help free it up.
Good luck.