MattP.

HEy all,

Im in a pretty pissy mood at the moment, just got back from the lbs to get some spokes. I wanted the cheapest spokes and my total is $58. $1 a spoke cause they have to be custom cut. $10 to find out my rim's ERD, couldn't find it on the net, and then $10 to find my hub's demensions, that is where my question lies. My hub (rear) is the basic flip/flop hub from IRO, so I brought the specs from the IRO site w/ me to give to the guys there. THe specs were:

Rear Width from center to flange 31.0 mm
Flange diameter 62.0 mm

The guy that helped me said he doesn't trust those demensions. I told him I got them off the manufacture's website, and he said they are prob wrong. I know that is BS. He thinks that the axle is longer on one side, so the length from one of the flanges to the center is longer the the length of the other flange to the center. SO he charged me $10 to get the demensions. He said if they are right he wont charge me, but if they are off he will charge me. Has anyone built a wheel w/ this hub using the specs from their site? If he comes back w/ different measurments should I go along with it or protest?

And to make it all worse, I won't have my dang spokes till Wednesday night cause they have to get them cut at another one of there shops

hyperRevue

$1 per spoke.
$20 in measurements.
Over 5 day wait for spoke cutting.

I find all those things insane.

Cravin

105.00 for a rear fixed gear wheel from IRO seems like a better price to me.

MattP.

Tell me about it. Now that I know i got ripped off, i'll call another lbs in the morning, they open 2 hours before the lbs i just went to. If it is considerably less, i'll ride down to the first lbs and tell them i want my stuff back.

Heres a pic of my reciept, if you didn't believe me.

Are the specs on IRO's site correct? Or should i have the hub measured?

hyperRevue

I have no idea about the IRO specs, but in my experience, I have:

1) Never spent more than 60 cents per spoke, even when they've been custom cut.
2) Never paid a dime for measurements.
3) Never waited more than a few hours for spokes.

In regards to #2, the LBSs I have gone to have either, entered the hub make and rim make into some computer program and got the spoke length OR took out a tape measure and did it the ol' fashioned way.

MattP.

Thanks for the info. I'll call a diff. lbs in the morning and ask for a quote, and if its cheaper, ill stop by Bob's and pick up my hub/rim and take it to another place.

Thanks
Matt

MattP.

Are those dimensions correct for the hub? Has anyone used those measurements and been able to make a wheel with one and have it work?

Tony Arms

The specs work for me.

Tony

LóFarkas

Man, the dork in the shop never saw a fliflop trackhub before, so he had no idea they were symmetrical! (I hope you told him it's a flipflop...) And then this BS about custom cutting spokes... What for? Manufacturers do make every size and on top of that, a high-flange trackhub prolly needs the same spoke length as many MTB wheels.
And any decent place will measure a rim and hub up free if you're buying your spokes from them...

RIPOFF

$0.00/Gal

**** that shop

Lunigma

yeah he probably didn't know it was a track hub and thought that it was an old freewheel hub. freewheel hubs have the axle sticking out from one side more than the other with the use of spacers, it should be obvious right off the bat that the axle is equaly long on both sides.

Aeroplane

That is messed up. When I built up a set using IRO hubs, my LBS didn't trust my (scribbled on a post-it) dimensions either. But instead of charging me to measure it, he just called up the distributor for Formula hubs. Problem solved.

Custom spokes are ********. I've never heard of ANYBODY doing that for a relatively standard sized wheel. Unless you've got 60" hoops, I'd say run away from that shop and never go back.

MattP.

Thanks for the info. I'm calling another shop in 45 min and will ask their price. I told the dude it was a flip flop hub and he kinda looked at it and had a blank stare in his face.

Thanks guys
Matt

explody pup

Yes, I used the dimensions off of the IRO site and yes the wheels turned out perfectly.

uberleet

I've also used the IRO site dimensions successfully, using spokes I got from Nashbar.

pklove

They cut their own spokes for MORE than regular price. GENIUS.

d_D

If I have the hub at the time of ordering spokes I never bother to look up the dimensions. It's quicker just to measure the hub. You know you got the right numbers, it only takes a few seconds and all you need is a ruler.
https://www.damonrinard.com/spocalc.htm#MeasureHubAndRim

explody pup

Forgot to add, I got my spokes for $0.25 apiece at icycles. Generic 2.0mm straight gauge. I think I got them within a week of ordering.

Kind of off topic: but, what's the difference between rolled threads and cut threads on spokes?

Plow Boy

As per Master Wheelbuilder Gerd Schraner in 'The Art of Wheelbuilding', "Greatest disadvantage of cut threads is the sharpedged, possible breaking point at the transition from the thread to the spoked arm."


"He states that serious spoke manufacturers roll the thread instead of cutting them.

The advantages are:

- A gentler transition from the thread to the spoke arm

- Compression of the material at the thread suface

- Thread diameter is slightly larger, which avoids play between the spoke and the nipple."

r-dub

there is also work-hardening going on with rolled spokes, which theoretically makes the threads stronger, but you should have enough threads engaging that this isn't really an issue.

manboy

Holy crap. WORST SHOP EVAR.

Any shop I've been to (the good ones anyway) probably wouldn't charge at all for measuring - that's just good customer service. And yeah, cutting spokes takes basically no time.

It won't fix your problem, but the best way to deal with this is to use a flaming poo bag.

BostonFixed

Time to find a new shop. Now.

djbrod

I built my wheelset with those specs and they work fine.

Robbykills

I just recently got spokes to build my own wheel with an IRO Hub. The guy said IRO's site measures differently then he does his measurements to determine spoke with. He measured the hub his way and cut the spokes for me on their machine in about 10 minutes and I think the total was about $16.