Buying Spokes

niceonetom

Due to some a slight miscalculation in what should have been a straightforward rim swap I find myself needing to buy some spokes.

So, where's the best place to buy? I need three different lengths (front, rear DS and rear NDS) of some kind of nice bladed spoke and I'd rather not get fleeced on the price or have to buy way more than I need just to avoid paying over the odds.

Also, anyone got any recommendations? I can't easily identify what I'm replacing save to say they're bladed and have 2.0mm threads. I'd like something similar. Spaim? DT Swiss? Much of a muchness?

Crow92

I've used rosebikes to buy spokes before, you need to factor in shipping but worked out cheap for what I was getting (20 dt swiss alpine iii spokes for €8.50, whilst quoted around 1.50 iirc from bricks and mortar shops)

AstraMonti

Sapim are nice and light bladed spokes. You can get them in bike24, although if you are only buying a few the shipping will not make it worthwhile.

kumate_champ07

CX Ray are I think 3euro each in Cycleways, Sapim Race double butted are 70c including nipple

niceonetom

Any thoughts on DT Swiss Aero?

letape

Take a look on CRC - I think DT Swiss spokes are reasonably priced with free delivery

niceonetom

Had a look there all right - the problem is they only sell in packs of 18 and I'm rebuilding a 20/24 wheelset.

at1withmyself

Building a pair of wheels with same spoke count as yourself, thankfully I was also buying the rims so bike24 worked out cheapest option and got 2 spare for each side. I went with DT revolution spokes due to there price and weight and then also got some aluminium nipples. Even with the 11 Euro postage rate I think it might still be a good option.

kumate_champ07

niceonetom wrote: »

Any thoughts on DT Swiss Aero?

only for a front wheel and for lighter riders, youre losing stiffness with 1.8mm butted ends. its basically a dt swiss champion 1.8mm forged/flattened at the centre.

kumate_champ07

go with cx ray for the front and Race for the back. theres not really any aero diffence with the rear spokes. even at the front youre saving maybe 5 watts at 40km/h. they are easier to build with as you can see the twist in the spokes when your bringing them to full tension.

niceonetom

I've had a brainwave and realised that I may be able to reuse the front spokes by lacing 2x instead of radial. Have to think about that one.

Still need new ones for the rear.

doozerie

www.sdeals.com are worth a look. They are a small family-owned (father and son) company in the UK - perhaps illogically this fact seems to warm the cockles of my heart when buying from them. I've also found them very helpful in the past though when looking to confirm whether my choice of spokes and nipple length were suitable for the wheels I was buying them for, they seem knowledgable.

I haven't looked at their site recently but they used to sell various spokes singly as well as in bulk. Their prices were reasonable too for the stuff I was buying, but they charge shipping by weight and that cost can creep up quickly when buying spokes in quantity. I think they have a shipping price guide on the site but I can't quite remember. They ship some stuff from the UK, some other stuff direct from Portugal, but in either case I've usually received my order within a a few days.

Useless fact: The son has ridden the Rás a ridiculous number of times, can't recall the exact number offhand but more than 10. No wonder he is knowledgable about bike stuff, I guess.

doozerie

Wheelsmith (UK) have some interesting info on spokes on their site here, here, and here that may help in your decision of what to use. I thought there was more directly useful info on that site too but can't seem to find it right now.