spilot101

Getting some carbon aero wheels and there's an option for Sapim CX-Ray spokes for $79 extra (and weight saving from 1781g to 1684g). Given that these wheels are mainly for straight speeds (I have my lighter aluminum C17 Zondas if I wanna hit some hills), do you reckon I'll even be able to feel these extra 97grams? I know there's this whole debate on "rotating weight" and how "MUCH MORE" pronounced it is on the wheels etc, but I'm curious about how the real people feel about this

PS.
I guess this answers my question

Russ Roth

Are the other spokes bladed? Might be 80 extra for lighter and more aero which makes for a better overall value. If you did two wheelsets and ran them back to back on the same climb with the same bike you'd possibly notice the difference but otherwise you won't really notice much of anything at all. If weight is a concern are you already running alloy nipples for a better weight savings? Some people are anti them as they are less durable than brass but at the end of their lives I haven't had any wheels who's failure was due to nipples, alloy or brass. For just lighter, I wouldn't, for lighter and more aero I would.

spilot101

Awesome. Exactly the type of info I was looking for.

Lazyass

A professional wheel builder told me that aluminum is no more prone to breaking than brass. The only real advantage of brass is that it's harder to accidentally round them off with a spoke wrench and they cost less.

dsbrantjr

Brass is also much less likely to corrode and freeze onto the spoke.

Lazyass

I guess but I've never had that problem in my life.

GhostRider62

I generally cut it at $2 per gram. Anything under a buck a gram is a no brainer for me

Nonetheless, the benefit of cxrays are aerodynamics and tensile strength. I only use those on my wheels. Do it.

Phil_gretz

The $79 for 80 grams is really a 4% weight savings overall for the wheelset. While $/gram is a meaningful metric, it might be helpful to know what the overall price of the wheelset is with the standard spokes. $80 out of $800 is substantial. $80 out of $1600, less so.

As for aluminum spoke nipples, don't. I have been forced to replace dozens of failed or corroded aluminum spoke nipples over the years. So, remove the tire, remove the rim strip, replace with brass nipple, re-tension and true And it's usually several per wheel. What a pain in the rear. Ugh. Do the future owner/maintainer of the wheelset a favor and use brass from the onset.

Drew Eckhardt 

It's not a problem when you lubricate with anti-seize or grease.

woodcraft

Spokes contribute a substantial part of the aerodynamic drag of a wheel, so I would look for the benefit there as opposed to weight.

They are also said to have more flex, making for a more durable and "stay-true" wheel.

2old

$1 per gram is a reliable metric when you've optimized other components. I think you'll wish you did if you don't.

79pmooney

Is the weight savings due to aluminum nipples or butted (thinner through the middle portion) spokes. If it is because the spokes are butted, then next question - are the spokes strong enough and stiff enough for your riding and weight? If the answer is "yes", the answer to your thread question is a no-brainer - yes. Wheels with butted spokes are simply better. A touch faster aerodynamically, a hair light AND longer lasting, better feeling wheels.

I weigh 155. I build all my wheels with butted spokes and have for 45 years. (I use Wheelsmith or DT spokes in 2.0-1.8-2.0 for my city wheels and either 2.0 or 1.8-1.6 or 1.5 for my good wheels with 2.0-1.8-2..0 on the right rear.)

Bill Kapaun

What "standard" spokes are we comparing to?

GhostRider62

CX-Ray spokes are nearly 2 grams lighter (each) than DT 14/15 Comps.

It is probably a 20/24H build or maybe 18/24H

Russ Roth

I've switched to using a splined round spoke nipples not square which a lot of high-end prebuilt wheels tend to use. Other upside to aluminum is color.

Also hasn't been a problem for me. Copper anti-sieze on the Ti spokes, spoke prep on the steel spokes.

Rogerogeroge

OP, what kind of riding do you do? When I was 15 to 50 years younger, 1/5 lb of rotating weight meant a lot to me, even though I was doing minimal racing and mostly Tues and Thurs World Championships six month each year. Notwithstanding the other benefits mentioned.

As Drew said, corrosion (and especially freezing) of nipples is mitigated by proper spoke prep when building a wheel. I have over 50k miles on different sets of wheels all with alloy nipples and that hasn't been a deterrent. I live in the SE and have stifling humidity and have had little NC (nipple corrosion). I suppose if I lived on the coast my answer may differ slightly. I do seem to corrode my handlebar stem bolts in no time.

Nessism

Untrue. Aluminum spoke nipples are prone to seizing on the threads and to outright breakage. I've witnessed this firsthand on wheels build with aluminum nipples where once the nipples start to fail there are others close behind.

Troul 

fpr carbon wheels, I'd select brass over aluminum. at roughly 1/4lb savings, yea.

Lazyass

Perhaps but I've had more wheels with aluminum nipples than I'll ever remember and problems are so rare that when I choose a wheelset it's not even a consideration for me.