Spoke Wrenches
Browse used spoke wrenches for sale from riders across the UK. A spoke wrench is a slotted key that turns the nipple at the rim, sized to the flats it grips — 3.2mm, 3.3mm and 3.45mm cover most builds — with square and Torx drivers for internal nipples buried inside deep-section rims. It is the tool that decides whether truing a wheel goes smoothly or chews the nipples.
What size spoke wrench do I need?
The size follows the nipple, not the spoke. 3.2mm suits many 14g brass nipples, with 3.3mm and 3.45mm covering the wider ones, and Park Tool's SW-0, SW-1 and SW-2 are colour-coded so the right key can be grabbed without measuring. DT Swiss and Sapim nipples often want their own keys, and internal nipples take a square driver or a Torx bit on a long shaft passed through the rim bed. Measure across the flats with a calliper if you are unsure, because a wrench one size too big will round a nipple on the first firm turn.
Three-sided, four-sided or a multi-size wrench?
A three-sided wrench grips three flats and clears the spoke, which is what most builders use. Four-sided keys hold more of the nipple but foul bladed spokes and sit awkwardly against deep rims. The round multi-slot wrenches are convenient and the usual cause of chewed nipples, because the slot that nearly fits is always the one that ends up being used. Bladed spokes also need a spoke holder to stop the blade twisting as tension rises; that sits with the rest of the wheel building tools.
What should I check when buying a used spoke wrench?
One thing matters above all: the slot. Push it onto a nipple and try to rock it, because any movement means the jaws have splayed, and a splayed wrench passes its wear straight on to every nipple in the wheel. Look for bright, polished metal at the mouth of the slot and for hairline cracks at the corners, where hardened steel gives way. Handled types such as the Spokey should have no play between the handle and the head. Sets are worth more than singles, but check every slot in a set rather than the one the seller photographed.
Is buying a used spoke wrench worth it?
They are cheap enough new that a used one really only makes sense as part of a set, or bundled with a truing stand and a dishing tool in one lot. Pay little for a single wrench and nothing at all for one with a rounded slot. New is the better call for the size you use most often, since replacing a rounded nipple means removing the tyre and rim tape and detensioning that side of the wheel — a job worth far more than the wrench cost.