Mixing spokes?

colm_gti

Just my luck, snapped a spoke on my PRO RC50's while warming up for a race this morning that forced me to abandon before I even got going (foolish to leave my spare wheels at home!). The enlarged part that holds it into the hub snapped off, leaving the spoke intact from the shoulder to the threads. Luckily for me the wheels have external nipples so won't need the brand new, freshly glued tub removed to fix it!

Anyway, from reading the blurb on their website, they use sapim CX-speed spokes (which a google search tells me are identical to CX-ray's but made from a heavier gauge steel), but I can't seem to find them for sale anywhere. Sapim list a spoke simply called the CX that I'm assuming are the same? But again, can't find them for sale anywhere online.

My question is, would I be ok to use a CX-ray in place of the snapped spoke? Am I likely to notice the different spoke? I measured the spoke length from shoulder to end of threads and it's 260mm....

doozerie

I don't know the answer to the question of whether mixing spokes is a bad idea, but my largely uneducated guess is that it is. Different makes and models of spoke have different strengths and weaknesses and you may end up with a wheel which is less reliable if you mix them - at worst maybe you'll find more spokes snapping as a result, but even if the wheel "just" tends to go out of true a bit more or simply responds a little differently when you are putting pressure on it, then that's obviously a problem too. How significant, or not, that risk is is the question and I think this is where the reassurance of the opinion of someone very experienced in building high-end wheels is invaluable.

As one option, I'd recommend putting your question to the guys at www.sdeals.com (in the UK). I bought spokes from them several weeks back and found them very helpful to deal with. They sell various of the Sapim spokes and my impression of them is that they'd be able and willing to offer honest advice. If you need an unusual Sapim spoke, then perhaps they'll even be able to source it for you. They were quick to respond to my e-mails and shipped my order quickly too.

Another option would be to approach www.wheelsmith.co.uk. They are primarily wheelbuilders but they might sell spokes too, I'm not sure. I spoke to Derek McLay there a few months back when sourcing a set of wheels for my wife's commute bike and I found him excellent to deal with both via e-mail and over the phone. He seems to be a mine of useful information and hard-earned knowledge, and he was quite happy to impart some of it over the phone. Based on my positive experience of dealing with him I'd have a lot of faith in any advice he'd offer.

Having said all of that, if there were a local wheelbuilder that I had faith in then they would always be my first port of call. I don't know of one through personal experience though (one of the main reasons that I deal with my own wheels myself). Holyboy on here gets very good things said about him, so he's certainly an option I'd consider. I've heard good things said about Cliff in Eurocycles/Eurobaby too, and I've spoken to him about wheels before and got the impression that he has built a lot of wheels over the years, but for me the real test is riding wheels built by someone and I've never had him build a wheel for me so I can't comment on his actual skill one way or the other. I've heard recommendations for other wheelbuilders in Dublin too, but again I've not had a wheel built for me here so I personally can't recommend any of them from direct experience. For me, the average local bike shop is not a great option for a question like this, I get the impression that some of them offload wheel building/truing tasks to people with relatively little skill or experience and you definitely don't want good wheels subjected to that kind of nonsense.

In your shoes I'd also consider having your wheels looked at generally by a decent wheelbuilder. The broken spoke could simply be an isolated incident of bad luck, but alternatively it might indicate a problem that needs addressing. The wheel(s) may need some re-tensioning and a good wheelbuilder should be able to identify and address that while it might be easy for someone less experienced to miss.

Good luck with it!

doozerie

Incidentally, the same wheels are described on some retailer websites as having "CX Sprint" spokes. However, the Sapim website mentions neither "Speed" nor "Sprint" amongst their models of spoke, so those names might be marketing guff by the various retailers (or by Pro themselves). Alternatively, maybe Pro have Sapim tailor spokes for them, but that seems a bit extreme and unlikely.

You can check the dimensions of each of Sapim's models of spoke via the details here and compare those to your spoke. You'll need a decent vernier calipers or a micrometer to do it, but it should answer the question of which Sapim spoke would match what you've got in terms of size and shape anyway.

colm_gti

Thanks for the reply doozerie.

EDIT: Just been in touch with Holyboy, dropping it up to him so he can work his magic on it!