Spoke length
 

I have tried several of the calculators to build some wheels up on a pair of Campy Record High Flange hubs. 120 width 36 hole x3. A pretty standard wheel for my 74 Raleigh Pro. I am planning to use the Sun CR18 rims and 14ga spokes. I have spoke length numbers from several calculators from 191.5 to 194 (front). Anybody care to make a recommendation?

i've had perfect luck with the edd calc.

not always with their hub database (which was way off once), but the calc's been perfect when using my own hub measurements.

i always round down.

What is the measured ERD of the rim?

Compare the specs for those parts from the databases used by your various calculators. 2.5mm is a big difference, not accountable for by simple calculation error.

I'm not clear on where the difference is - if the OP is comparing the front to the drive side rear, then 2.5 is normal.
I typically use 3 different lengths to build a wheel set.

Really? With small flange hubs IIRC that's usually around 298mm with low profile rims. I can't imagine the larger flange is worth 100+mm.

Got it. I took the OP's different lengths as meaning for the same spoke position (front) computed by several different calculators. And of course front, rear DS, and rear non-DS would all be different.

EP is correct about 191 being short! It might be a typo. Edd gives me 291.5 for the front for a 700x CR18, Campy hi-flange hub 3x wheel. For a 27" wheel the lengths are L 294.6 / R 294.4. The difference is curious, except that the rim lists OSB as 1mm for the 27" rim and 0mm for the 700c.

After seeing these number I suspect that one of the OP's numbers might be for 27" and one for 700c.

Either way, don't buy sub 200 mm spokes, Wulf! You'll come up WAY short. ;)

I think you nailed it

Excellent! Thanks for the help

some calculators are specific down to the nipple type. For example with the DT swiss calculator you can choose your nipple length and this will affect the spoke length. I believe 12mm nipple are standard and this is what most calculators assume... that is the spoke should be near the head of the nipple when the wheel is done. If you use a longer nipple the DT calculator will give a shorter spoke length. I usually compare the spoke calc spreadsheet from sheldon brown (which includes most hubs and rims up until about 2000 or so) with the DT swiss calculator and I usually get the same thing. If I don't it's usually and input mistake. I'll check the numbers and double check ERDs and hub dimensions against what is in the database.

I think you meant to say 290-something instead of 190. I use 292's for large flange/700C combinations.

+1. I've never had any problems with Damon Rinard's spocalc (free downloadable Excel file on Sheldon's site), but it's a good idea to check your work against another spoke length calculator: Spocalc, by Damon Rinard. A free Excel spoke length calculator.

The link provides lots of tips and instructions for measuring wheel dimensions if you have an oddball rim/hub. Also, at the end of this link, Sheldon provides links to other online spoke calculators.