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Correct Lacing

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Which Sturmey Archer clamp are we talking about? The one I'm familiar with has a slot for specific Sturmey arms to slide into. View attachment 1600826

The hub on this bike isn't Sturmey and has that adjustable slot mount intended for use with a standard coaster brake style clamp.
That’s the clamp I was referencing. The fork diameter is too small for this clamp, I’ve welded on clamps before, but that won’t work with chrome plating. The stainless hose clamp doesn't look bad and it would be easier to back off for a flat repair than a seat post clamp, which is also too big. The other good thing about the hose clamp is that there would be no clamp parts to drop and loose when doing a flat fix in the field. It’s really a pretty good solution. If the band snapped then you would still have a back brake. I like this idea.
 
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I was thinking you meant threads poking out the top of the rim as in the liner area at first.

Yeah, I'd put it on the stand, let the air out of the tire and unthread the nipple showing the most thread. The liner should hold the nipple in place once you've backed completely off the threads(there is a recess to the nipple where there aren't threads and it varies). The difference between threads showing on that spoke minus the threads showing on the next spoke on the same side of the rim (that is still tight) will show you how many threads are actually engaging.

Being realistic, if you're running S2 rims on a bike with a Springer, I don't think you plan to go taking it off any sweet jumps. Personal opinion, 1/4" of threads engaged would be enough for regular riding conditions, considering these are heavy gauge. But if you are planning to jump it, motorize it, or make it a workhorse cargo hauler, etc., I would definitely get spokes long enough to engage threads past the start of the nipple.

I've got the same opinion about these drum brakes, they impart more torque force, sure, but even new ones don't have the force to lock up and shear parts.
The spoke are definitely not coming through the nipple to the rim strip. I measured the amount of thread on the outside of the nipple and the worst is .100". I'll put it back on the rack this weekend and take a couple of the spokes out to check thread engagement. This bike is for leisure riding only...no sweet jumps.
 
I'll put it back on the rack this weekend and take a couple of the spokes out to check thread engagement.
Be careful with that. Removing a few spokes on a tensioned wheel could be a good way to get some decent vertical hops. Especially steel rims. They are not very rigid at all. Maybe it’s overkill, but a wheel is a balance of tension and when you disturb that you might end up having to basically start over, so sometimes it’s best to just un tension first. Or after! You never know.

I don’t really see a problem with spoke length. Not ideal, but not terrible.
 
Remove tire - tube - rim strip ( some folks have been calling this a 'liner', = it's a rim strip )

Look down into the rim at the tops of the nipple heads viewing them from the outside diameter

Do your spokes come to the bottom of the screwdriver slot on the top side of the head of the nipple ?
 
So more investigation...pulled the wheel, identified best and worst case thread engagement. Best case shows the spoke about one thread below the drive slot. See below.
IMG_5950.JPG

IMG_5951.JPG

Next, took some measurements of the worst case before disassembling the spoke.
IMG_5952.JPG

Then, went entirely overboard and drew everything up in CAD (light work day on a Friday afternoon). Bottom line is the worst case spoke is engaged in the nipple 2.56 times the spoke diameter which equates to about 14 threads. I verified this by marking the nipple and re-assembling it while counting the revolutions until it was seated to the same depth. Also, the amount the spoke resides below the drive slot was almost exactly .111". The thread calculations are based on a 2.5 X .45 metric thread form. I understand this is not exact to the 2.6mm spoke diameter but figured is was close enough for these calculations.
Screen Shot 2022-04-09 at 10.03.55 PM.png

So what's the bottom line...I feel satisfied with the current situation. I'm about 150lbs and riding this bike as a casual rider on paved roads and trails. I probably will keep my eye out for longer spokes but feel satisfied with the amount of spoke engagement. That is unless someone has great concerns.
 
You're fine. In theory you want the spoke up in the head for maximum strength (because the head is on the outer side of the rim!). In practice it doesn't matter on an old bike with brass nipples, and I think you will look long and hard to find anyone who ever saw a broken brass nipple. I've never seen one. 14 threads should be gobs if that's accurate.

I think people in here probably saw a bunch of visible threads, and knowing that the nipples are bored and a lot of the nipple length is unthreaded, thought it was possible you had hardly any thread engagement. I'll admit it ran through my mind when I saw it.
 
So more investigation...pulled the wheel, identified best and worst case thread engagement. Best case shows the spoke about one thread below the drive slot. See below.View attachment 1603840
View attachment 1603841
Next, took some measurements of the worst case before disassembling the spoke.
View attachment 1603842
Then, went entirely overboard and drew everything up in CAD (light work day on a Friday afternoon). Bottom line is the worst case spoke is engaged in the nipple 2.56 times the spoke diameter which equates to about 14 threads. I verified this by marking the nipple and re-assembling it while counting the revolutions until it was seated to the same depth. Also, the amount the spoke resides below the drive slot was almost exactly .111". The thread calculations are based on a 2.5 X .45 metric thread form. I understand this is not exact to the 2.6mm spoke diameter but figured is was close enough for these calculations.
View attachment 1603843
So what's the bottom line...I feel satisfied with the current situation. I'm about 150lbs and riding this bike as a casual rider on paved roads and trails. I probably will keep my eye out for longer spokes but feel satisfied with the amount of spoke engagement. That is unless someone has great concerns.
I would trust it. Worst case, one or two spokes could break, but most likely they won’t.
 
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