Which is more rust or corrosion-proof? Black or silver spokes and nipples?
 

Also, would it be worth it to try Wheelsmith nipples on DT Swiss spokes?

when you say black or silver are you simply refering to color or materiel? I never cared for Alumium nipples unless you were building race or TT wheels. therefore I always used silver or more exactly the chromed brass nipples. if the bike is well cared for corrosion or rust should never be much of an issue.

as for mixing and matching brands as long as you are threading 14ga nipples on to 14ga spokes brand should not matter

Stainless Steel Ain't

Some grades are more resistant than others - but - eventually left in the rain ALL will rust. Most often will start where the spokes cross each other and where nicks/scratches have occurred marring the smooth finish. It can actually result in a mid-section snap as opposed to the common head snap and rare nipple snap.

The color finish doesn't change a thing...

The cheapest from Taiwan and China will rust in just one season.


You could try titanium spokes but they ain't cheap and will break periodically making it an expensive hobby.

=8-)

I agree with Bianchigirll. Aluminum nipples are corrosion prone no matter what color they are. If you ride in wet and/or salty conditions they will corrode. Brass nipples are stronger, more corrosion resistant and do less damage when they corrode than aluminum.

Good quality spokes (DT, Wheelsmith, etc.) are all stainless steel these days so corrosion isn't a problem no matter what color they are.

Spokes are typically made of 304 stainless steel which is a VERY corrosion resistant grade and, in fact, is the grade used in most chemical piping and reactor construction.

DT and Wheelsmith 14gau spokes and nipples have different thread pitches. They are not interchangable- at least this is the way it was for years and years. Maybe that's changed in the past couple years?

Stainless steel spokes are very resistant to water and moisture, more so than galvanized or chrome plated spokes. A DT or Wheelsmith or Sapim spoke use a slightly different stainless material and will be more water resistant than Taiwan or china stainless material.
The black spokes from DT, Wheelsmith and Sapim are stainless to begin with. The black color is electro-deposited or chemically etched, or something like that. It's not going to give you additional corrosion resistance. It's substantially more expensive though.

If you are riding through a lot of salt water and leave the bike outside all year round, expect your stainless spokes to get a very light layer of surface rust on them which can be scotchbrighted off. That's normal. it does not mean the spokes are defective or that user error contributed to the 5 microns of rust growth.

Titanium... it is used for piping to carry Caustics well off Ph 7.

So are glass and PVC but that doesn't make them suitable for spokes.

someone made Ti spoke nipples, I suppose a $3 + spoke nipple, each, was a bit much.

Many caustics, sodium hydroxide, are stored and piped via carbon steel.

Was there and argument that you were making since you quoted me? Just curious...

=8-)

Not arguing, just pointing out that the grade of stainless steel used for spokes is very corrosion resistant. You said "Stainless Steel Ain't.......eventually left in the rain ALL will rust." and while that's factually correct, some grades are indeed a lot more resistant than others and 304 won't rust in the rain no matter how long it's left there.

You seem to be confusing the properties of 304 with 316 and 316L.

=8-)

there are many forms of corrosion to consider. galvanic, acidic and oxidation to name a few.
Aluminum is simply more reactive than most of the other metals used in wheels.

Chromium and Molybdenum are in the same group and both are used to enhance corrosion resistance of steel alloys.
Then you take a look at copper, silver and gold, which are in the same group and they're resistant to acid. You might encounter acid from acid rain.

You want to use brass nipples, because they're not as reactive as aluminum.

Yeah, I was talking about either DT Swiss or Wheelsmith spokes and brass nipples (found some painted black). (I know Sapim is a well-regarded name, it's just easier to find DT Swiss sold individually).

Well, it sounds to me like I won't have longer lasting wheels by choosing black spokes and nipples. Thanks for taking the time to answer.

By the way, I read a couple of messages on the Internet someone claiming black spokes break more frequently. Could there be any truth to that?

Would there be any benefit to putting wax over your nipples once the wheel is complete to keep water out?

HUH!!!, Both Wheelsmith and DT, 14g spokes, along with almost all the spokes sold in the western world over the last half century, have UNC 2-56 threads (a carryover from when the USA led the world in spoke making and other industrial production) now the ISO standard for 14g spokes.

One exception would be spokes made in France more than 20 years ago, which used the "Jauge de Paris" standard, and had different thread pitch.

The only thread difference between various brands of nipples and spokes is the length of thread, which determines how far up into the nipple a spoke will thread.

As far as the OP's question goes, both black and silver anodized nipples are roughly equal in corrosion resistance. Good quality anodizing offers pretty good corrosion protection and is used in many marine applications, such as sailboat masts, along with all kinds of bike parts. Nickle plated brass is probably the gold standard, but if the threads are greased anodized alloy will hold up very well too.

I know this thread is old but I wanted to add a link relevant to this one in case someone is searching...
http://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-me...kes-break.html