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ENVE wheel nipple corrosion.

70K views 294 replies 77 participants last post by  eduluke 
#1 ·
Anyone had any problems with UST ENVE wheels regarding nipple corrosion ?

My wheels are just over 18months old and have never been ridden in water, i live in the driest state on the driest continent on earth :p (actually a fact) so its not even moisture and rain is not an issue either.

So approx at the 12-14 month mark i start hearing this rattling noise inside the "nipple chamber" on both wheels and think to myself its only some dirt thats got in there.

But its taped tubeless so nothing can escape into the wheels or stans escape out. The nipples seal the hole from the inside so no dirt can get in.

So then during a ride (November) i notice my front wheel is way out of true, when i get home i see that a spoke is loose but undamaged, i untape the wheel to see that all the nipples have a dusty white appearance (corroded), and 3 of them are nearly disintegrated but theres so little left of them i cant even get them off without cutting a perfectly good spoke.

The rattling noise was shards of alu from the sides of the nipples and obviously the disintegrated one from the loose spoke that is nowhere to be seen. The shards looked to be stuck together in little balls as if they had picked up some of the sticky glue from the Gorilla tape that is sticky side down on the underside of the spoke access hole.

Has some stans fluid possibly escaped into the "nipple chamber" and done this ?

Gorilla tape IMO is crap so wont be using it again.

Back wheel i stripped tonight has also 4 nipples in advanced state of corrosion. Cant do much about it as i dont have replacement Sapim CX ray spokes to replace the ones i would have to cut. I have replacement nipples but cant get a nipple driver to grab a corroded nipple :confused:

So ive rinsed the chamber out on both wheels and will retape them with Stans tape tomorrow.

Is there any fluid i could put in there to help reduce corrosion that WOULDNT damage the carbon fibre.

I have no idea if this is an ENVE wheel design problem, nipple issue or what.
 

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#49 ·
car bone feels your pain ozzy. what a bunch of f***ing jokers they are. did they really think this through? they thought this was going to work? when building something; if you spend less than 95% of time thinking about how it should be done, all possible ins and outs, then you're doing it ****ing wrong and thats it. this is proof.
 
#52 ·
I bought a pair of used Enve's "in awesome condition" ha, ha....

exactly the same issue on front, am yet to look at the rear.

Seller claimed wheels are a year old which seems about right from above posts.

I bought a full set of new nipples and then snapped 2 spokes getting them off....
Not sure if i should just go straight for the brass nips...

I have a set of crests rims with bladed spokes and alu nipples which are almost 3 yrs old and have never had a spoke spanner on them.

Enve have not answered my email from 2 weeks ago yet. I will try the direct contact Ozzy pmed me....

I bought the wheels for 2 main reasons (over other options)
1 Enve's reputation of bullet proof wheels.
2 Enve's reputation for awesome customer service.
 
#54 ·
I bought the wheels for 2 main reasons (over other options)
1 Enve's reputation of bullet proof wheels.
2 Enve's reputation for awesome customer service.
I brought in a set of ENVEs here recently and like the way they built up and have been riding them for a little over 2 months. After seeing this thread I wanted to check the nipples. I did not find fluid in the rim which is a plus but they are already showing signs of corrosion. ENVE may not cover nipple corrosion but if that is the case they will soon have significant issues asking nearly $3K for a wheelset.

For a company taking a small financial hit offering replacement nipples with a brass option it would provide a significant return on the investment. If they deny replacements then the company will be short lived. Will follow up after I speak with them.
 
#59 ·
Just built up a set a week ago of Reynolds but used Brass nipples. Even with Alloy nipples I would expect that on the Reynolds would not have the issue as bad as you would see the corrosion (If it started).

On the Enve the nipples are hidden from view. If you don't check them then they "could" fail while riding. After talking with Enve it sounds like they are aware of and in process of a solution. From the sounds of it Enve cares about their product and customers. Hopefully a solution is on the horizon with it being available to customers seeing corrosion.
 
#57 · (Edited)
I feel the need to stick up for Enve. I've built ~100 of their wheels and I've owned 3 different sets and have several customers with them. Only one of them has had problems with nipple corrosion. On top of that their customer service is top notch. I've seen them warranty things they shouldn't have, just to keep a customer happy. So even though this thread makes it look like everybody is having this problem my sample size is a little bigger and I'm inclined to say that it is a relatively small number of wheels that are suffering from this.
 
#67 ·
I am with you on this. I have seen Enve warranty some things that no way would I ever think they should have replaced. I have built hundreds of Enve rims and have not seen a single case of nipple corrosion. I do coat the nipples in heavy marine grease on the outside and inside on the threads. I started doing that from the beginning because of the problems I have seen with galvanic corrosion between carbon and aluminum parts.

I have actually seen many different parts on bikes have corrosion issues, it is not an alloy nipple problem. There are so many dissimilar metals touching each other on bikes that corrosion can be a big problem depending on your environment.
 
#60 ·
The decision to use non anodized nipples still baffles me. ENVE employs some of the best engineers to design a rim but then go with a nipple that compromises longevity and rider safety? Where were the engineers when this business decision was made? Classic example of the left hand not talking to the right and a business person making an engineers decision.

To all the engineers out there - don't back down when an accountant, product manager, or supply chain inserts their misguided opinion on your product.
 
#66 ·
To all the engineers out there - don't back down when an accountant, product manager, or supply chain inserts their misguided opinion on your product.
That's when you make them sign-off on your design spec/drawings...cite names, company(s), and your objections, and have it locked into the project documentation...from experience in the EPC(L) industry. It's Engineering, Procurement, and Construction...what they don't tell you in the private sector is the "Litigation" part ;) New grads, beware!
 
#72 ·
A short update from my issue. I cant say too much but im being looked after very well by ENVE on this issue now and can 100% say my faith in their Customer Service Dept is restored and they have surpassed what level of duty/care i would have even expected.
 
#73 ·
Hey Ozzy, sorry about those issues you are having. That stinks, but at least they are taking care of you. I do have a question, why not ti nipples? Is this not an option? I am also looking into Reynolds wheels with AL nipples from I9. I will ask if they have seen these issues as well.
 
#74 ·
Yo Maz, the non-anodized nipple issue is a first.... an soft alloy internal nipple in a tubeless wheel, sealed from the inside apart from a possible leakage of Stans through gorilla tape in a dry and dusty enviroment.... who would have guessed the reaction.

I was 100% alright about fixing the issue myself but now ENVE have got on the case and its all good.
 
#86 ·
I mark a door by using a vernier caliper for accurate distance and put small pieces of tape there. then I just line up the tape I want at a certain width with the small ones I already taped to the door. And then I just cut it off at the corner. Whats left on the door is the correct width tape.

Edit: sorry I was supposed to quote ozzy but somehow I was to incompentent to actually pull it off.
 
#87 ·
After reading Ozzy's account and then hearing a little rattle in my rear wheel, I decided to have a look inside my Enves.

Now the front wheel was re-strung 3 months ago after a big off and the rear has been on for 12 months. I stripped down both wheels and found corrosion as suspected. Green Font Metal Silver Still life photography


So I replaced all of the nipples with brass nipples this time, hopefully I will get better wheel life out of them. Some of the nipples were so corroded that it was difficult to get them out or to get the spoke out. 8 spokes were damaged due to the nipple corrosion. I replaced a 9th spoke because I must have chomped a branch or something sometime.

Some nipples were destroyed, here are some with a little pitting Photograph Rock Grey Metal Rectangle


I am showing this for the information of people in dry humid climates, watch your nipples on carbon wheels. As I have said above, I have had the same problem with DT Swiss carbon wheels as well. I'm not here to bash any one manufacturer, it is the materials that we are working with here.

Kudos to Enve if they work to resolve this, as the problem is only prevalent in particular climates.

Thanks Ozzy for your story, it helped encourage me to check something I should have checked earlier.
 
#90 ·
Good point meltingfeather, seems like a conflicted statement indeed.

Come on down to Australia and we'll show you some great tracks to ride. Dusty, hot and dry. Yet, very humid, you'll be sweating like you have never done before. It will melt your feathers.
It is the sweating that eats em, in my opinion. It rains, and it is wet and cool yes, but the electrolysis isn't as bad with out the higher temps that we can get. Then, after the rain, moisture is present and the heat returns to make things sweat some more, because they didn't sweat enough before hand. It's the heat combined with humidity we get here. Saps the life out of you on long climbs. Well, that's what a sumize. Cheers
 
#92 ·
Darwin here in Oz.... 35degC hot as fu#k and 95% humidity !

Not a pleasant place to be nevermind ride a bike, im breaking out in a sweat that isnt mine even thinking about it..... soaked to the skin 24/7.

In South Oz where i am its up to 45deg and really dry but i dont ride in that, 32deg is my limit and my bikes live in an aircon'd room in my house :thumbsup:
 
#93 ·
In South Oz where i am its up to 45deg and really dry but i dont ride in that, 32deg is my limit and my bikes live in an aircon'd room in my house :thumbsup:
I wonder if condensation occurs when going from the AC room to outside? I know I have seen a sheen of condensation on my bike but can't remember when, or how drastic the temp change was.

I think of an aluminum can coming from the fridge on hot day and all the moisture that emits.
 
#94 ·
Its a dry 22deg. Besides the nipples are completely sealed inside the wheel, they are not subjected to the outside.

The nipples are sealed inside the rim with gorilla tape on the other side.

Im just ruling out a constant wet atmosphere for the issue.
 
#95 ·
The moisture could be introduced with the air that you inflate your tires with. Add the known corrosive properties of Stan's and the issue is compounded. A "dry" air source might be prudent to help preserve the stock ENVE nipples. Just a thought.
 
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