Originally Posted by
Shamrock
Are the spokes on a touring specfic bike a thicker gage than a road bike?
No, they aren't
usually thicker gauge. This is usually more due to stubbornness and lack of understanding than to unavailability.
This article explains why you should use specialty spokes in all your build, regardless of weight. I've been using those kinds of spokes for nearly 20 years and what the article says is essentially what I've experienced.
Originally Posted by
robow
There are those on this board who adhere to theory that double butted spokes are superior to straight gauge spokes because they are able to tolerate greater stress before breaking and triple butted spokes such as the Alpine III are even better yet. And this may be true but most people (unless you're a Clyde carrying an extreme load) can probably get satisfactory use out of 14g or 2.0mm spokes, assuming you have enough of them and the wheel is properly built and tuned.
The problem is that you need more lighter gauge spokes to get the same strength as using a spoke with a heavier head. I don't agree with the Wheel Fanatyk article's contention that a spoke with a 2.3mm head is equal to 10 extra spokes but it's certainly equal to the next step up in drillings. A 32 spoke wheel with DT Alpine III (for example) is equivalent to a 36 spoke wheel's strength and a 36 spoke wheel built with those spoke is equivalent to a 40 spoke wheel's strength.
And, while the 2.3mm head spokes are good for heavier tourists (and mountain bikers who are hard on wheels), they have utility for lighter riders as well. They simply make worry proof wheels.
Originally Posted by
bradtx
Shamrock, I can't think of a traditional spoke size that hasn't been used successfully on a touring bicycle. The strength of the wheel is in the build, IME.
While I do favor butted spokes, both of my touring bikes currently have straight gauge spokes. One is the common 14 gauge and the other is 15 gauge. The one with 15 gauge spokes is a very high mileage bike that carried four panniers. This is it's OEM wheel set from '96, but there are a couple of 14 gauge replacement spokes on the rear wheel.
Because the one with 15 gauge spokes is mainly my beater bike, it will receive my 14 gauge wheel set once the '96's rims die. The wheels for my main touring bike will then be built with the DT AlpineIII triple butted spoke because I like the thicker hub end.
Brad
While the build has a bit to do with the longevity of the wheel, putting more metal at the stress point is also a good idea.
Originally Posted by
Squeezebox
Anything about the size of the spoke hole on the hub? Does that make any difference for the gauge of the spoke? A lot of wheels are going to fewer spokes now. Look at MTBs and tandems for tough wheels with fewer spokes. It appears that 36 spokes and above is not real anymore.
Hubs are generally drilled to 2.3 to 2.5 mm. This is because the threads are
rolled on to the spoke rather than cut. This increase the diameter at the threads from 2.0mm to 2.3mm. Thus the hubs have to be drilled to allow the spoke to pass through it. Some hubs are generous in the drilling and others...like White Industries...aren't. But I've had few problems with using triple butted spokes on any wheels I build.
A side note about using the 2.3mm spokes: From a mechanical standpoint, the thicker head solves a bit of a problem with the way the spoke fits the hub drilling. With a 2.0mm spoke, the spoke can move up to 0.5mm in the hub as the spoke is detensioned and retensioned as the spoke is loaded and unloaded. Basically the spoke rattles around in the hole on ever revolution. Enough "rattling" and the spoke starts to fatigue and break.
The thicker headed spokes have much less movement since they fit the spoke hole tighter. The thicker head gives them an advantage when it comes to fatigue life and the tighter fit means they fatigue even less. Basically, the 2.3mm head is how
all spokes should have been designed from the beginning.
And, yes, some people are using and specing low count spoke wheels on bikes. Most of them are inappropriate to the task at hand in terms of strength and will cause issue down the road. However, the other part of the problem is that low spoke count wheels are marketed as "lightweight" but they really aren't. They need a heavier rim to take more of the load so they often end up much heavier than they should be. They look cool but they are all show and no go.
I built a set of conventional 32 spoke wheels to replace some 20/24 wheels and ended up with a wheel set that was 2 lbs lighter. That's a significant amount of wheel weight to lose.