How do I know if my wheel is flexing?

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legs 11
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by legs 11

I think the important part of the quote beforehand is....'If' (No disrespect to you Ron BTW)
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konky
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by konky

WMW wrote:
konky wrote:I had Ti spokes on my AX/tune (830g i think) wheel build and this happened to me twice in quite a short period of time.


Which Ti spokes?


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WMW
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by WMW

thisisnotaspoon wrote:I run my pads quite close to the rim (<1mm)


No reason to do that. Best adjustment is so you can just lock up the wheel when the levers hit the bar. That is where you have the best hand force and control.
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WMW
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by WMW

konky wrote:Pillar. And built by the excellent Adrien of RA who was great and did the replacement free of charge. Very good guy.


I'm guessing they were the super light ones, then?

It's a shame that they have durability issues. They'd be awesome for making stiff-light rear wheels otherwise. A better alternative to triplet IMO.

It's also a shame that no one wants to make bladed SS spokes that are that light...
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istigatrice
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by istigatrice

What about the Sapim CX-Super (or whatever its called) and the Pillar Megalite SS?
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thisisnotaspoon
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by thisisnotaspoon

For the Ti spoke debate, I was under the impression they were a bad idea simply because you can't use alloy nipples, so if you wanted to save weight alloy nipples and steel spokes were barely any heavier than Ti and brass.

No reason to do that. Best adjustment is so you can just lock up the wheel when the levers hit the bar. That is where you have the best hand force and control.


Hmmm, I might look into that, TBH I like them with no freeplay, which is odd seeing as I run the brakes on my mountainbike completely the opposite, the bite point wound right in so that the levers are almost at the bars before they even start. But then they're the new XT's on 203/180 with organic pads so have almost 100% power straight away (and very powerfull).

It's also a shame that no one wants to make bladed SS spokes that are that light...


Surely not possible without resorting to really thin sections? In my head that seems like a bad idea (would it not start to oscilate like blowing on a blade of grass?)

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WMW
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by WMW

verycreativeusername wrote:What about the Sapim CX-Super (or whatever its called) and the Pillar Megalite SS?


I have some of the Pillars... they should be ~82% of the stiffness of the CX-Rays, which isn't bad... but the Pillar Ti are ~62%.

I realized when I was helping with the Fairwheel hub article that using light spokes on the NDS and a high spacing would effectively have the same benefits as triplet without the downsides... ie rim doesn't need to be that stiff or have center drilling, any holecount is fine, wheel doesn't go so far out true if you lose a NDS spoke, etc. Spokes with the same stiffness as the Pillar Ti would be about ideal, combined with an NDS spacing in the 42-44mm range.
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WMW
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by WMW

You can use aluminum nipples with Ti spokes.

You think the spokes would "flutter"?... not a chance of that...
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ProudDaddy
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by ProudDaddy

Ti spokes may not be for everyone but they can have their place. I have a set of Edge 45s built by Jeremy (Alchemy) with his hubs front/rear and Pillar Ti spokes. Sub 1,000 grams. Wheelset rocks in crits with hills. I can attack a hill unlike with any other wheelset in my arsenal. And I am a 145 pound sprinter (self proclaimed!). The wheelset is also fantastic for climbing mountains, however, the wheelset makes me a bit nervous descending. I have much more confidence descending on my 303 tubies; I don't know if its the light weight or spoke flex that bugs me. But if I want to try to hang with the stronger climbers on a climbing training ride (hill climb races are really not my cup of tea), I am on this wheelset. So the wheelset has its place depending on the ride or race. YMMV

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