Problem? Probably not. Good friends with your LBS? Every set of Shimano and/or Mavic wheels they have ever received came with a little plastic spoke key. We had HUNDREDS of them at my last shop, and probably THOUSANDS at the shop I worked at before that. Just get them to give you one, and then turn them back yourself. Just be sure to turn the nipple with the spoke, and don't turn it any further than you have to (i.e., 45°, instead of 225°, etc.).

But no one has really established any significant aerodynamic advantage with bladed spokes (strength, maybe) - though that might have to be rethought if you're talking about pushing the flat side into the wind - so the only reason to worry about it would be aesthetics. Any problems will almost certainly result in the usual: spoke breakage, loss of trueness, etc.

 

When trueing bladed spokes you over turn the nipple a tiny amount and then turn it back slightly which straightens the spoke. I'm sure with a spoke key you could straighten them all without too many issues.

 

You could use a crescent wrench on the flat of the spoke instead of the spoke key that applesauce mentions. If you're careful it'll work in a pinch. Just close it tight on the flat.

 

Ok, being an old school curmudgeon and all, I should point out that these wheels have hidden nipples. I am not familiar w service techniques on these things.

I assume they're accessible under the base tape, haven't looked.

Should I worry about the nipples when straightening the spokes, or just twist away on the body of the blades?

 

I've noticed the exact same thing with my 2005 neutrons, and I've decided not to touch them. They're perfectly round and true, and I generally think that if a wheel is OK, then it's best not to touch it. I haven't measured spoke tension with a tensiometer, but the 'finger test' tells me that there are no badly tensioned spokes. I could turn the twisted spokes back, but as you say the neutrons have hidden nipples which need a special spoke key, and turning the nipple and spoke the same amount at the same time is always tricky.

I say if the wheels are round and true and working fine, then just leave them. You can't even notice unless you really look closely, so no-one is going to know anyway!

 

The nipple should turn WITH the spoke, resulting in no change in the spoke tension. Of course, that's more difficult to confirm when you cannot see the nipple itself, huh?

 

You could use a crescent wrench on the flat of the spoke instead of the spoke key that applesauce mentions. If you're careful it'll work in a pinch. Just close it tight on the flat.

whenever truing bladed spokes do this or you will damage them!!!

 

The nipple should turn WITH the spoke, resulting in no change in the spoke tension. Of course, that's more difficult to confirm when you cannot see the nipple itself, huh?

Do you expect the spokes to turn when you turn the nipples? If they do, then it's because the spoke/nipple threads are seized. The spokes shoudn't tuen when you turn the nipples, and if they do, then they're twisting up, which is bad. Assuming you try turning a spoke with the same force as you use to turn the nipple, then the threads should turn, which will tighten or loosen the spoke.

 

sans spoke wrench, just grab 'em with like mentioned, pliers will do, tape the jaws.
some have advised turning 'em all into the wind for a better workout.

Was cleaning my bike and noticed that a few spokes have turned about 45 degrees from correctly aligned. Campy Neutron, 2002 edition. Front wheel, radial 24 spoke.

On the back, just one spoke has turned, non-drive side.

Sample hub photo here (not mine)
https://www.matuzmaster.hu/_userfiles/image/2006-09-27-campagnolo-neutron/249-big.jpg

and rim here, also not mine
https://www.cyclingnews.com/photos/2008/tech/reviews/isaac_sonic08/Isaac_Sonic_Symmetric.jpg

- the wheel's true, rides normally, no noises / flexing / anything else I've noticed
- my highly non-calibrated finger squeeze test didn't reveal any huge obvious tension problems.

So, advice?

 

Do you expect the spokes to turn when you turn the nipples? If they do, then it's because the spoke/nipple threads are seized. The spokes shoudn't tuen when you turn the nipples, and if they do, then they're twisting up, which is bad. Assuming you try turning a spoke with the same force as you use to turn the nipple, then the threads should turn, which will tighten or loosen the spoke.

I followed you until that last sentence.

Assuming the spoke/nipple threads are not siezed, not only should the spokes not turn when you turn the nipples, but shouldn't the nipples also not turn when you turn the spoke?

 

I had a pair of Neutrons and experienced the same problem, especially the non-drive side spokes like to rotate a bit because they are under less tension. Things to know:

1) One must turn both the spoke and nipple at the same time. Just turning the spoke itself will thread it in or out of the nipple, resulting in a loss of wheel trueness. If the spoke has not turned too much I would just leave it alone.

2) The nipple requires a 5 mm nut-driver, or a medium length 5 mm socket on a 1/4" driver. If the socket is very short, it will flare too quickly from its end to where it attaches on the 1/4" driver, and then it cannot be inserted into the rim hole far enough to engage the nipple.

3) To grasp the spoke Campagnolo makes a bladed spoke holder tool, a circular plastic disk with notches cut in it. They supply it with Eurus and Shamal wheels, not sure about the newer Neutrons but I did not get it with mine (circa 2004). Failing that one could just take a small piece of wood, like a hockey stick stub and cut a small notch in it to hold the spoke.

4) Rim tape must be removed to access the nipples. If the tape is re-usable then all is good but if you have to replace it be aware that 18 mm width tape works best. The Campy Neutron rims are a little wider than say, Mavic or DT and on the rear the spoke holes are offset towared the non-drive side as well. If the tape is too narrow it is possible to have the edge of the non-drive spoke holes exposed and pinch the tube when inflated.

 

I had a pair of Neutrons and experienced the same problem, especially the non-drive side spokes like to rotate a bit because they are under less tension. Things to know:

1) One must turn both the spoke and nipple at the same time. Just turning the spoke itself will thread it in or out of the nipple, resulting in a loss of wheel trueness. If the spoke has not turned too much I would just leave it alone.

2) The nipple is a requires a 5 mm nut-driver, or a medium length 5 mm socket on a 1/4" driver. If the socket is very short, it will flare too quickly from its end to where it attaches on the 1/4" driver, and then it cannot be inserted into the rim hole far enough to engage the nipple.

3) To grasp the spoke Campagnolo makes a bladed spoke holder tool, a circular plastic disk with notches cut in it. They supply it with Eurus and Shamal wheels, not sure about the newer Neutrons but I did not get it with mine (circa 2004). Failing that one could just take a small piece of wood, like a hockey stick stub and cut a small notch in it to hold the spoke.

4) Rim tape must be removed to access the nipples. If the tape is re-usable then all is good but if you have to replace it be aware that 18 mm width tape works best. The Campy Neutron rims are a little wider than say, Mavic or DT and on the rear the spoke holes are offset towared the non-drive side as well. If the tape is too narrow it is possible to have the edge of the non-drive spoke holes exposed and pinch the tube when inflated.

cool, great answer, thanks Eric!

 

I followed you until that last sentence.

Assuming the spoke/nipple threads are not siezed, not only should the spokes not turn when you turn the nipples, but shouldn't the nipples also not turn when you turn the spoke?

maybe i didn't explain it too well: assuming the threads aren't seized, then turning the spoke will not make the nipple turn, and the spoke threads will turn inside the nipple. This will either tighten or loosen the spoke. By the same force, I mean that you would apply the same force to the spoke as you would to the nipple as if you were trueing the wheel normally.