wheel build - spoke choice
 

building up a wheel set, still trying to decide on spokes. 28h in the rear 24 in front. Powertap g3 rear, cycleops matching front hub, stans no tubes alpha 340 rims. Now, spokes: Wanna do 2x in back, and radial up front, but what to use?!?!?! Its gonna be a light wheelset, the stans no tubes are super light. My original choice for spoke was either the DT revolutions or Sapim Laser (To be lightweight but keep cost down compared to aerolites or cx-ray). But ive been told those may not yield a very stiff wheel. While i realize stiffness isnt a hugely important attribute, and i only weigh 140 pounds, but it does feel nice to ride a nice stiff wheelset (currently riding easton ea70s and theyre very stiff and very nice). What are your opinions on spoke choice? If i go with dt super comps will i get a significantly stiffer wheel? what say you?

thanks!

Laser up front and Race for the rear.

Geometry and spoke count are the primary determinents of stiffness, followed by rim choice and lacing. Spoke model actually has very little effect. Whoever told you that was wrong.

That said, I would still go with Bob's suggestion. Or maybe on the rear use Race DS and Lasers NDS because that actually helps with tension balance.

But also, even at your weight the Stan's is a pretty flimsy rim. If you really want a stiff and durable wheel I would choose a beefier rim.

Yes, your rim is very light, but the tires you have to choose from are very heavy compared to the roadie favorites like the Conti GP 4000 and others in the 190-210g range. You will end up with very nearly the same weight complete rolling wheel as if you used conventional tubed tires on a sturdier rim. No-tubes do have some advantages, but the weight advantage is a mirage.

Different gauge spokes don't help to balance spoke tension side to side, they help to balance the tensile STRESS in the spoke side to side. The force transmitted between the hub and the rim does not change because of the gauge spoke you use. What changes is the stress inside the spoke or the force/unit area. By balancing this, you obtain a similar stretch of the spokes on both sides of the rear wheel which can be helpful to prevent complete spoke unloading when the wheel is compressed for any reason during riding. That is thought to increase the longevity of spokes and to keep them taut to deter nipple loosening. But the spoke tension (as measured by a gauge like the Park TM-1) will be the same no matter what gauge spoke you use. So e.g. if you have a highly dished wheel with the same number of 2X spokes on each side, the individual spoke tension on the left will still be much lower than on the right even with heavier spokes on the right.

Robert

I just realized that I should have mentioned that if you are happy with light gauge spokes in the base case, increasing the gauge on the drive side just to balance tensile stress doesn't really accomplish the goal. You are likely better off with light gauge spokes on both sides even though the tensile stress will be unbalanced. But if you start with heavy gauge spokes because you think you need that, switching the NDS to lighter gauge will do what is intended, improve the longevity of the NDS by balancing the spoke stretch side to side while still allowing you the beefier spoke on the high tension side. What I am really saying is that stretchier spokes last longer, but you have to be able to tolerate them from a stiffness point of view.

Robert

If you're interested in a stiff light wheel consider the DTswiss RR440 (asymetric for the rear).

I built a set of these with the same hole count you are considering using CX Ray and CK front hub. The Asymetric rear rim gives a few extra mm of bracing angle to the spokes and built into a very nice wheel. With that rim your G3 will build up with more even spoke tension than some "normal" hubs.

At your weight you may even be able to drop the front to 20 spoke if light weight is what you're after.