slightly off-topic:

Why are white spokes so damn expensive?

Have you ever tried coating something as small as a spoke? It's not easy. Plus, they aren't that popular so the extra cost of the coating is divided by a relatively small customer volume.

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Guildford/Woking is the home of F1.
We make loads of other stuff here too.

Alright, but aren't black spokes powercoated as well?

No mate, they aren't powder coated in the same way as the white spokes. They have a sort of engineers ionic coating....done in a bath of chemicals. It's way cheaper and easier to do a large volume in one hit.
They are also much more popular so it's easier to cover the costs. (I'm guessing that DT have a very close eye on the cost/return economics of everything in their range)

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Guildford/Woking is the home of F1.
We make loads of other stuff here too.

I wouldn't mind betting that the spoke blanks need to be reduced in diameter before they are coated with the white spokes? Probably reduced by acidic bath dipping? Maybe? They measure the same as the plain spokes even after they are coated so they have a good spoke/ hub hole clearance. Could be another stage they need to do before the application of the colour. Either way it's quite a bit of extra work for a small volume (relatively).

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Guildford/Woking is the home of F1.
We make loads of other stuff here too.

Sorry (double post)

_________________
Guildford/Woking is the home of F1.
We make loads of other stuff here too.

I forgive you, thanks for you answer!

Next up: send a complaint to Dt swiss. Probably won't help much though..

Hey,

A bit of advice please.

I'm planning a new clincher road wheelbuild. Aims are something cheap, reasonable weight, and using a 23mm wide rim. I'm around 83kg (183lbs) and ride on sometimes quite rough uk roads (probably be running a 25mm tyre). I'm expecting to get down to the 78-9kg mark, but do sometimes 'bounce' up to 85-86kgs.

After way to much deliberation I have settled on;

Front:
Rim: BHS C472w 20 hole
Hub: SLF85W: SuperLight Wide 20 hole
Spokes: Sapim Laser

Rear:
Rim: BHS C472w 28 hole
Hub: SL211 SuperLight Rear Hub - 28 hole
Spokes: Sapim Laser

The whole thing should come in at around 1,500g for sub £200GBP/$300USD.

My questions are;

1) what lacing should I be looking at (I thought radial front and x2 on the rear), and
2) is there anything obvious there ^ that I should be looking to improve?

Cheers.

I would say the vast majority of people use a radial lacing for the SL85w 20h. I recommend 2x for 24h and up, but you could also do it on the front. The width of the hub is already going to contribute to a stiffer front wheel, so you might not tell the difference using 2x while also putting less stress on the flanges (although it's rated for radial).

Most folks lace the SL211 28h 2x/2x, but one builder who has a good deal of experience with that hub swears that 2x NDS and 1x DS heads in is the way to go. In his own words: "It makes noticably stiffer wheels, and the NDS tension is a bit higher, about 10kgf or so. I was doing most 2x/2x, but the 2x/1x has no downsides and returns a better wheel."

I don't recommend 0x/2x. If you want to go radial on the NDS, then consider using a 8:16 hub laced 0x/3x.

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www.bikehubstore.com

Don't use radial nds....it sucks.
Go 2x both sides.

_________________
Guildford/Woking is the home of F1.
We make loads of other stuff here too.

It's cool, you don't need to forgive anyone. Just be good.

_________________
Guildford/Woking is the home of F1.
We make loads of other stuff here too.

Cheers, all comments much appreciated.

I edited my post as I realised it might be misleading. No intentions of going radial on the nds rear.

Currently I don't have any lacing preferences. Radial on the front appeals just out of pure ease/laziness but I aesthetically I prefer visually similar lacing patterns front and rear... so basically no reasons of importance or worthy of note. So sbh1973 from what you're saying x2 might actually be a better shout for longer durability on the front. Any point in x1? or is it really a x2 vs radial choice?


On the rear I had wondered about x2/x1, but thought it would be best to keep things simple, so thanks for that input. Especially as it's come from someone with experience with that hub.

Also searching back through this thread I've noticed a few people mixing sapim race and lasers on the rear. Is there going to be any noticeable benefit from this? My rational for just only using lasers was that the price difference isn't huge, they are lighter, and with 28h and a 28mm rim I thought that strength wouldn't be an issue.

Sorry just to clarify, was that a typo and did it mean to say DS heads out?

_________________
Guildford/Woking is the home of F1.
We make loads of other stuff here too.

ummm... a little confused about that post.



Do you mean there is something wrong with the parts I've listed? I assume the rear hub, if so what would be a better alternative?

Or did you mean the lacing pattern? - If so do you mean you would recommend x2 front + x2 rear, and definitely not the x1 NDS/x2 DS rear as suggested above? If so is there any particular reason why?

Cheers.