Ladies and gentlemen.

Im getting a custom touring bike built and I want to get a spare spoke holder brazed on to the chain stay but the builder wants to know what how he should space them. The bike will have 700c wheels and be a 3 cross pattern 36 hole deore lx hubs laced to some kind of low profile touring rim.

I guess the surly lht or the soma saga spacing would be perfect [700c models anyway]

What I'm asking is if there is a LHT or Saga owner who wouldn't mind measuring the spacing for me, I can't find it online.

Thanks

awer1

I hate those things, but that said, shouldn't it just be based on the spoke and nipple combo you intend to use? If you are going all custom, have you considered getting hubs that allow one spoke length to be used in place of the usual three? If you are going to have 3 or even 4 spoke lengths then you have to decide how to accommodate them, which presumably means making them carry the drive side spokes for starters, and then just hope you can attach the rest. Online spoke length calculators should provide the spoke length info you need. With that the builder should be able to mock something up that will neatly hold the spokes.

It is a fair point about Surly since they were initially sold as frames without much ability to predict the spokes that the buyer would use.

If you're going to use a rear rack, why not use a zip tie the spokes to the rack? or get a fiber fix spoke for emergencies

They are 3/8 apart at the nipple end which faces the b.b. and 5/16 at the other. Probably meant to be 3/8 all the way, as i measured with a cheap tape only. I could get more specific with a vernier if you really need exact. Let me know.
As far as i know as ive not had to use them yet, one spoke fits both front and then rear non drive side,and other one fits drive side.

I just finished building this Sunday. This is first time I've tried to put spokes in the holder. I'll still probably just slide them down the back of one of my panniers. They seem OK stored there. The braze-ons are 11 9/16" apart, outside to outside edges. I appologize for the picture size, but I figured you'd like to see the detail



This distance is a little short for the longest spare spoke that I tried. You can see it at the nipple end on the outside spoke. However, it is off my wife's front wheel (borrowed for a test ride)which is a 36 sp Ultegra hub laced to a Dyad rim. When I can find another 36 sp Dyad rim I'll build my own front wheel using an XT hub. The Ultegra hub flange is probably smaller than a Deore, XL or XT. A small nylon spacer would fix the problem.

I keep my spare spokes in the seat tube, zip-tied together and tied with a string that i lap just over the top of the seat tube and hold in place with the seat clamp.(so I don't have to turn my bike upside down to get at them)

Thanks for the replies very helpful.

Until now I've kept spare spokes in my luggage too, as a Trek 520 owner I have always slightly envied the LHT's design so I like the idea of having a spoke holder on the bike, it will save having to rummage through the luggage or seat tube or wherever although I'll keep a few extras there too. I was going to run them along the drive side so the work as a chain stay protector like on the Bridgestone T700.

Thanks for taking those photos Doug they are useful.

Didnt realize you wanted length not side by side which is what it appeared you were asking for.

If installed on the left side like on the LHT, they reduce your options for a rear mounted kickstand. If on the right side like the REI Randonee they are slightly less convenient to get at but you do not need a chainstay protector. I tried three different rear mounted kickstands for my LHT and could not find one that fit well because of the spare spoke holder.

I dislike the spoke holder because that's where I want to rest my foot to tuck in cuffs or tie shoes before getting on the bike. They strike me like vinyl covered roof on a car simulates a convertible. It's a silly anachronism from a time when rims and spokes weren't as strong. Stuff attached to the bike is there for frequent use, bottle holder, pump, etc.

This probably isn't what you want, but if you don't have the braze-ons it's easy to zip-tie some spokes in the same place on your chainstay. I did that on my old bike and it worked fine - no problems.

I just thought this was funny to hear on a touring forum.... since the idea is to attach to your bike pretty much everything you need to survive.

maybe I should specify things attached to the frame with specialized brazeons for frequent use or structural necessity. If spare spokes are a frequently needed item like a spare tube, pump or bottle cage maybe there should be a specialized holder for chain breaker, spare brake shoes , cassette lockring tool and chain lube.
Actually having an integral chain lube 'tank' in the seat stay makes more sense than a spare spoke holder. You use chain lube more often than a spare spoke.