I received the front wheel of an original Racing 3 from a customer.
One spoke is missing.
It fractured at the start of the threads on the nipple side,
and the customer cut the hub side.
I can't reuse the nipple, so I'll replace it,
The original brass nipples can be turned with the same tool as generic nipples,
but the head on the rim's outer edge is slightly larger,
and since brass doesn't attract a magnet, I attach a dedicated part (shown in the image above) to the nipple
and use a magnet to position it in the rim hole.
When the original nipple is equipped with the magnet attachment,
the length is fairly long,
and sometimes it gets caught standing vertically inside the rim.
With a rear rim, the rim height is taller than a front rim, so
this catching doesn't happen.
It's fixed.
The spokes on the original Racing 3 are what you'd call "ribbon spokes."
The term ribbon spoke refers to wide, flat spokes that won't pass through standard round holes,
and for example, aero spokes like CX-RAY aren't called ribbon spokes,
or at least that's what I think. I'm curious what others think.
The other day, I heard someone call CX-RAY spokes ribbon spokes,
so I'm not saying they're wrong, but it did stick with me.
As for the Racing 3 spokes,
I stock a fair number for nefarious purposes (unrelated to any repairs this bike was designed for).
This spoke is quite useful—beyond building evil wheels,
I can also use them for Racing 3 repairs!
However, I can't use them with through-flange hubs.
Some through-flange hubs do have slotted holes,
but the width of those slots almost always exceeds what this spoke is designed for,
so it's usable with essentially only hook-flange hubs.
One spoke is missing.
It fractured at the start of the threads on the nipple side,
and the customer cut the hub side.
I can't reuse the nipple, so I'll replace it,
The original brass nipples can be turned with the same tool as generic nipples,
but the head on the rim's outer edge is slightly larger,
and since brass doesn't attract a magnet, I attach a dedicated part (shown in the image above) to the nipple
and use a magnet to position it in the rim hole.
When the original nipple is equipped with the magnet attachment,
the length is fairly long,
and sometimes it gets caught standing vertically inside the rim.
With a rear rim, the rim height is taller than a front rim, so
this catching doesn't happen.
It's fixed.
The spokes on the original Racing 3 are what you'd call "ribbon spokes."
The term ribbon spoke refers to wide, flat spokes that won't pass through standard round holes,
and for example, aero spokes like CX-RAY aren't called ribbon spokes,
or at least that's what I think. I'm curious what others think.
The other day, I heard someone call CX-RAY spokes ribbon spokes,
so I'm not saying they're wrong, but it did stick with me.
As for the Racing 3 spokes,
I stock a fair number for nefarious purposes (unrelated to any repairs this bike was designed for).
This spoke is quite useful—beyond building evil wheels,
I can also use them for Racing 3 repairs!
However, I can't use them with through-flange hubs.
Some through-flange hubs do have slotted holes,
but the width of those slots almost always exceeds what this spoke is designed for,
so it's usable with essentially only hook-flange hubs.