RhinoRiot

a few questions for you experienced wheelbuilders as i get set to lace up these record pista hubs for my guerchiotti.

1) last thing on the agenda is deciding spoke guage for these wheels. whats the most common spoke width used on a track wheelset? i'm a fairly lightweight guy (about 140) and these wheels will see mostly street use. a guy at the shop recommended a 14/17 double butted spoke. will a butted spoke hold up better, or should i go with straight guage? weight is not a huge issue, but if i can get away with lighter spokes it'd be great. both front and rear will be laced 3x, unless someone can provide information that changes my mind. these are campy record pista hubs being paired up with some candy apple red deep v's.

2) what's the best way to shine up these hubs? someone mentioned a solution called "mothers" which can be found at an automotive store, and you just buff it with a rag. any other miracle solutions to bring out that shine in these purdy hubs??

trial-sin

double butted spokes are fine for your applications. i would probably go with 14/15 gauge on the rear though, especially if you plan on skidding. slightly beefier spoke to handle that load.

Rev.Chuck

For your weight 14/17 will work fine and give a nice riding wheel.
To polish I use Flitz or Simichrome metal polish. It will make the hubs look amazing.

dolface

simichrome or nevr-dull work for me

AfterThisNap

15/14, 14/7/14 only if you use DT revolution spokes. Those spokes are incredible, and make for an amazing wheel.
Mothers works well. They're all mostly the same stuff, ammonia and diatomaceous earth suspended in silicone. You probably won't tell the difference between two polishes, it's the amount of elbow grease that makes the shine.

endform

DT says that double butted is stronger than straight gauge. Which makes sense in their ability to flex with less stress. That said, DT Revolutions are awesome if you're going to be building a light wheel, it'd be a waste of money with deep-v's though

max-a-mill

i think at that weight you can ride whatever you want but remember this:

butted spokes will give you a softer more compliant ride which will be nicer overall BUT will make a wheel which wont be as stiff and quick off the line as a wheel built with stiffer/heavier straight-guage spokes.

from personal experince: i got 32 spoke butted wheels on my mtb, nice ride... on my fixie i have 36 straightguage spokes on the back, not such a nice ride but when accelerating from a stop sign it is AMAZING how well my power is instantly transferred to the road.

fixedpip

I would go Dbl butted on the front and straight on the back, built 3 cross with a decent brand of spokes.

You want stiffness in the back and the front wheel will handle the bumps a little better.