Lightweight spokes for 32hole mtb rim

[JPW#]

Any andvice and what spokes to use? and how much do they cost?

[Konaman]

Get DT Swiss Revolution spokes. Find out size before u buy

[Guest Big H]

DT Revolution Double Butted spokes are not to be used in disk braked wheels.

[Johan Bornman]

DT Revolution Double Butted spokes are not to be used in disk braked wheels.

 

Why not?

[Guest Big H]

Bcause of warnings on various reputable internet web order sites:-

 

PLEASE NOTE - DT REVS are SUPER LIGHTWEIGHT and are NOT SUITABLE for heavy use. XC racing only

Please note: Revolution spokes are not for use with disc brake mountain wheels  

 

Please note: Revolution spokes are not for use with disc brake mountain wheels

 

Not recommended for freeride or downhill applications with disc brake use

[Sterad]

Revolution spokes are only 1,5mm, very thin, also very expensive, like R15 a spoke, so for 32 almost R500!

 

Rather try a normal double butted spoke, at 1,8mm should be good enough.

[JPW#]

I like the DT brand, just very expensive to buy at your lbs. To find the rigth length is a bit of a nightmare, you have to have the rims and hubs in hand to measure, the online charts are confusing. R15 rand a normal Dt spoke is insane even if its double butted.

JPW#2009-09-25 07:24:57

[Johan Bornman]

Bcause of warnings on various reputable internet web order sites:-

 

PLEASE NOTE - DT REVS are SUPER LIGHTWEIGHT and are NOT SUITABLE for heavy use. XC racing only

Please note: Revolution spokes are not for use with disc brake mountain wheels  

 

Please note: Revolution spokes are not for use with disc brake mountain wheels

 

Not recommended for freeride or downhill applications with disc brake use

 

Clearly these sites are not as reputable as you seem to think.

 

They have the cat by the tail.

 

DT Revolution spokes are not super light. They are made from the same steel as other DT spokes, including straight-gauge, double-butted, bladed and the stupid Trekking spoke. The difference comes in the thickness of the slender shank. On Revolutions it is 1.5mm and on standard double butted 1.8 mm and on straight gauge, 2mm.

 

Comparing standard double-butted and Revolution (or SAPIM Laser for that matter, same concept), the difference in shank thinkness is 0.3mm.

 

This hardly makes them super lightweight, just slightly lighter.

 

The tensile strength of a 2mm spoke is 3000N aqnd a 1.8mm spoke is 2500N and a Revolution spoke is just over 2000N.

 

The combined tensile strength of 32-spoked Revolution wheel is thus 16 x 2000N, whichn is the equivalent of  3200Kg. Note that it is not 32 x 2000 since only half the spokes pull, the other half pull when the wheel is in torsion from the hub.

 

It is actually slightly more than 16 x 2000 since you also brake with the back wheel, but that only provides about 15% of the overall stopping force due to the overturning momentum. Nevertheless, it still adds a conservative 480kg.

 

3200kgs is 3.2 ton. It is far, far more than braking force on a bicycle. Obviously these calculations are crude, since I haven't subtrated the spoke pre-load from the overall available tensile strength but my point is that there is such a large reserve that it won't make a difference in anyway.

 

 

Further, spokes never break in tension unless a stick is thrown into the wheel. This concentratres all the stopping force on 1 spoke, hence the break.

 

If  the wheel is built with aluminium nipples, they break before the spoke breaks (in the stick scenario above). If it is built with brass nipples, the spoke often, but not always, rips the nipple right through the rim.

 

Only the strongest rims that weigh 450 grams or more will allow the spoke to break first.

 

It seems to me that Revolutions are strong enough to stop a motorbike. Don't believe everything you read on the Internet and apply a bit of common sense to suspect claims.

 

 

 

[Johan Bornman]

I like the DT brand' date=' just very expensive to buy at your lbs. To find the rigth length is a bit of a nightmare, you have to have the rims and hubs in hand to measure, the online charts are confusing. R15 rand a normal Dt spoke is insane even if its double butted.

[/quote'] The local importer, Coolheat, brings DT in all but the most obscure sizes in more incriments than most other importers of spokes. They are thus freely available and this goes for straight, double-butted and the various colour and thickness iterations of these spokes.  Further, a good wheelbuilder can cut and thread spokes to length for those interesting jobs such as putting Powertap hubs in MTB wheels, building electric motors into MTB wheels or doing those 4X lacings required on some tandem hubs.

 

As a rough cost guide:

A double-butted silver spoke should cost you no more than R10-00. (R15 is way out of line).

 

A DB black spoke should cost you no more than R15-00.

A Revolution black spoke should cost you no more than R18-00.

 

A straight-guage spoke should be given away for free, with some other freebie thrown into the deal. They have no place in performance or recreational wheels.

 

A Sapim bladed spoke such as those in Zipp wheels are about R25-00 to R30 each.

 

Some Campag spokes can cost R60 each.

 

Mavic's aluminium flat spokes aka Ksyrium and Crossmax are about the same as Sapim bladed and last only one tenth as long.

 

The only alternative in ZA to DT is Sapim. However, these are imported in limited configurations. For road bikes you can get double butted but not for MTB bikes. It's a pity, since Sapim spokes are excellent. They're not available in black at all. You can have silver, silver or silver.

 

 

 

 

[JPW#]

I really searched for spokes online and you can import spokes yourself at a fraction of the cost , and brands that most of us have never heard of even, and bling colours! And all this at a fraction of the cost, 4rand a spoke, now just to learn how to usa a spoke length calculater )

[XTC OKE]

dt aerolite spokes, do they still make them?

[Johan Bornman]

dt aerolite spokes' date=' do they still make them? [/quote']

 

Ja, they do. However, they're not light, just aero. The local importer has some sizes but the range is limited. Damn expensive they are.

 

 

[XTC OKE]

so how can I build an disc set of wheels? ZTR olympic 347g rims - DT revolution or aerolite? and American Classic hubs

[Johan Bornman]

so how can I build an disc set of wheels? ZTR olympic 347g rims - DT revolution or aerolite? and American Classic hubs

 

Please rephrase the question.

[techguy]

Yes you can use that combo but I would use the revolution spokes, I've used this combo using Tune hubs and the wheelset came in at just over 1300g. Revolution spokes are fine on disc wheels so long as they are not overtensioned and so long as the wheels are used for marathons or XC and not hardcore trail riding.

[Gavinw]

Eishh I just bought 6 XTR spokes and cost me over R400.