Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Bladed spokes and hub filing

Bikeforums.net is a forum about nothing but bikes. Our community can help you find information about hard-to-find and localized information like bicycle tours, specialties like where in your area to have your recumbent bike serviced, or what are the best bicycle tires and seats for the activities you use your bike for.



PDA

View Full Version : Bladed spokes and hub filing

Mikeymk1
03-15-09, 06:08 PM
I was looking into rebuilding my wheels. I am interested in bladed spokes. I know some elliptical or bladed spokes require flange filing. I do not want to damage the structural integrity of my Dura Ace hubs though. All of the threads I found with info about this topic were archived and very old. I was wondering if there are some spokes now that don't require filing. If you have some pictures of stuff you find or of your personal builds, please post them. :)

mihlbach
03-15-09, 07:02 PM
Get Sapim CXRays. CXRays are strongly butted and bladed. They are very light, very aero, and no filing required. About the best spoke out there.
adriano
03-15-09, 07:52 PM
cxrays are the cream of the cream.

JohnDThompson
03-15-09, 07:52 PM
I was looking into rebuilding my wheels. I am interested in bladed spokes. I know some elliptical or bladed spokes require flange filing. I do not want to damage the structural integrity of my Dura Ace hubs though. All of the threads I found with info about this topic were archived and very old. I was wondering if there are some spokes now that don't require filing. If you have some pictures of stuff you find or of your personal builds, please post them. :)
Filing the spoke holes is to be avoided. People did it "back in the day" because they felt the aerodynamic advantage would outweigh the risk of failure. That this practice hasn't persisted should tell you something.
chase.
03-15-09, 08:18 PM
there's also dt aerolites, wheelsmith AE15s, and hoshis.
operator
03-15-09, 08:36 PM
Don't worry, the odds of you actually finding bladed spokes in the length you want, that actually require slotting hubs is next to none. And i'd really love to be wrong on this (I've found one source, and that's for the crappy hoshi double bend spokes). If you want to see "bladed" or "oval" spokes then check this site out: http://www.rouesartisanales.com/article-13973630.html
operator
03-15-09, 08:38 PM
Get Sapim CXRays. CXRays are strongly butted and bladed. They are very light, very aero, and no filing required. About the best spoke out there.

Not for how much they cost they're not.
adriano
03-15-09, 09:22 PM
Not for how much they cost they're not.

so what costs the same and is better?
mihlbach
03-15-09, 09:22 PM
Not for how much they cost they're not.

Cost is not part of the original question. However, I've never paid more than $2 per spoke for CXRays, which is pretty good considering my LBS charges me about the same for a basic wheelsmith DB14.
Mikeymk1
03-16-09, 04:03 AM
So this might be a dumb question... Why don't I have to file down the spoke holes anymore? Do the spokes themselves come apart?