Titanium Spokes?
 

I bought this wheelset about a month ago, and I'm curious about the colored (anodized?) spokes. Are they titanium? I've been doing some research, and I've found that some colored spokes were titanium. If they are, is there anything I should be careful about if I use these? I've heard that titanium spokes flex more, and may need to be trued more often.

Also, has anyone used Michelin Service Course tires? These seem to be pretty nice tires, but the one that is mounted has a small hole in the sidewall somewhere.

Many spoke makers do steel/stainless steel spokes in colors. I ordered stainless steel DT Aerolite oval spokes last year and I had the option to either go with "unfinished" satin silver or black. I suspect it could be paint they use on the steel spokes and not anodizing as I think anodizing is just applicable to Aluminum alloys.

Chombi

I had Ti spokes on a set of wheels.
The builder gave me the extras, and said "it's not IF, it's WHEN..."

Plenty of titanium weld rods. Why not Ti spokes and market them as "stronger", "lighter", and "make you go faster"? Hmmm...let's move on to the nipples...brass is too old school. Expect to pay at least 3x premium to shave 40% off the mass of the spokes.

That was pretty much the marketing pitch for 'em. 'Course they left out "weaker", "flexier" and "more expensive"...

SP
Bend, OR

Brass nipples might be "old school", but they certainly do not corrode and seize real easy like aluminum nipples. The self lubricating proerties of brass also helps make wheel building easier. Aluminum threads can gall easily and seize on you even when new. Just not the best place to aplly weenienes, IMO, specially if you ride a lot in wet conditions.

Chombi

I have a set of cane creek wheels from ~1998 with titanium spokes. The spokes have a bluish hue to them.

Those are almost certainly titanium spokes with fancy fade anodizing. They appeared in the '90's, but never got traction- too expensive, too fragile. There's still some out there: http://www.cheapbikeparts360.com/pro...itanium-spoke/

They look like the titanium spokes I remember from back in the day.

I have a set of NOS Araya Tita-Ace titanium tubular rims, maybe I should look for spokes and build a "wobbly weight weenie wheelset".

I built a pair of wheels up with Ti spokes for a mountain bike I had years ago. I honestly can't remember who made them though. I'm sure if someone said it though..... I liked them to be honest, never had one break, and I did lots and lots of XC on them, I'm no lightweight either.

This would be pitched as, "more compliant", "with a softer ride quality", "plush" and the higher cost would make them "ELITE".

In a very cursory search on the net, I confirmed my assumption that titanium is weaker than hi-strength alloy steel in terms of yield strength based on cross-sectional area. AFAIK there is no reason a titanium spoke of larger diameter couldn't equal or out-perform a steel spoke, but if is constrained to the same diameter it will probably be at a disadvantage in terms of fatigue life. For better or worse, it will also be more compliant, by approximately a factor of 2 for the same diameter, as steel, according to data I just googled.

Thank everyone for your replies! Well, I'm about 140 pounds, so I don't think I'll have too much of a problem with them. Plus, I'll get a ton of street cred when I say my spokes are made of titanium :thumb:. I'll be using them on my Vitus build, when I receive my frame in a few days. Now about that hole in the tire. I bet it would be easier to fix it by using some of that Tufo sealant, because the hole seems to be pretty small. Has anyone used the Tufo sealant before?

Isn't titanium a powder metallurgy product? If so, it's entirely possible that properties of thin sections (wires, foils and thin sheets) are different than larger sections.

Powder metallurgy is one way to form finished or semi-finished products. It is most suitable for complex shapes that are not economical to produce from billet, forgings, or castings, for whatever reason. Due to the presence of myriad crack origin sites that are generally present in a powdered metal product, the full yield strength of the native material tends to be unrealized. IMO, powder metallurgy would be a poor way to manufacture spokes, and I doubt that it is practiced.

Agreed, which is precisely the issue. I have read that older titanium alloy were prone to breakage. It was the addition of some aluminum and vanadium into the alloys that has improved the properties a lot.

I'll have to go read-up on titanium refining.




ETA - not powder but titanium sponge but still subject to the same problems - very high surface area to volume ratio which can trap imputities.