Originally Posted by
runwiththewind
..... knowledgeable source said it is USP 14 ga steel - chrome plated steel. .
Not that it would change anything, but there's a difference between gal. (galvanized) and chrome plated. The first is zinc plated vs. chrome plated. Chrome plating is bright and and smooth, and will stay that way for a long time, though may begin to rust through eventually. Zinc is duller and tends to darken over time.
There's also a more subtle difference between galvanized and zinc plated, if you're finicky.
The term
galvanized generally refers to
hot dipped galvanized, wherein steel is simply dipped in molten zinc, whereas
zinc plated implies that the zinc was electroplated (the way chrome is). Electroplated zinc is usually fairly bright, whereas galvanized spokes are much duller and have the color of cyclone fences.