jwolfjackson

Hello all,here's my question,I tried a few online spoke calculators and they all gave me a 188.6 length for the spokes i need.I've checked some online stores and found 188mm & 189mm which would be the best to use?Thanks

simplify

I would definitely go with the 188. Generally you'll have fewer problems if you round down, than if you round up. Either one would probably work fine, but having a little leeway for tensioning without the worry of running out of threads, is a good thing. Some people even subtract a full millimeter from the result they get on the spoke calculators. I've used spokes as much as 2 mm shorter than the calculated length, and they worked fine, had plenty of thread engagement. Whereas if you have spokes that are too long, and you run out of threads before you reach adequate tension, there's not an easy fix for that.

supcom

+1

188

jwolfjackson

thanks alot for the helpfull info

pmseattle

My experience is just the opposite of what the other posters are saying. The spoke calculator on the DT Swiss website has left me with spokes just a little too short at times, even when I rounded up to the next spoke size. Of course you won't be able to tension correctly if the spokes are way too long, but if the spokes are way too short they won't engage enough thread which is also a problem even if it isn't as glaring a problem.

simplify

One thing to be absolutely sure of, is the ERD (effective rim diameter) of your rim. The figures that have been given in some of the spoke calculators for the ERD's of popular name-brand rims, aren't always right. You can find a difference of several millimeters from what they give for a type of rim, so you should always verify that with your own personal measurements of your own personal rims. If your ERD figure is off in the calculators, they're going to give you the wrong result for your spoke length.

LittleGinseng 

I've found that certain spoke length databases occasionally contain incomplete or incorrect Effective Rim Diameter numbers. The DT Swiss Calculator is notorious for these omissions, so I do all measurements myself.

pmseattle, I agree with your findings. I've had to tear down a wheel a time or two because of spokes that were too short.

An accurate ERD ensures a positive wheel building experience. I can't stress this enough.

Al1943

Always round down to the smaller size. Nothing worse than running out of threads. On driveside rear spokes I usually buy at least one mm shorter than calculated on the DT calculator.

Al

becnal

+1. And if you can, do your own measurements.