Spoke and nipple choices

Next in the selection process in building good road wheels is the spokes and nipples.

First, let's talk brands.  There are two major brands I deal with, DT Swiss and Sapim.  The spokes between the two are very similar, and I've built with many of both.  I don't have a specific preference between the two in a similar spoke.  There is also Wheelsmith, but I have not done as much with them for the simple reason that they don't seem to be as prevalent.  I've got nothing against them otherwise.

As for the spokes themselves, there are three major types, straight gauge, butted, and bladed.

First is straight gauge.  That means that the spoke remains the same diameter from one end to the other.  These really only have a place in cheap wheels.  You don't want cheap wheels, so forget about straight gauge spokes.  (They are also good if you're building your first set of wheels as they are much easier to work with when the wheel is up to tension)

Next is butted spokes.  Most typically, butted spokes are thinner in the middle to save weight, but this design also allows more elasticity in the spoke, resulting in an overall stronger spoke.  Some examples of butted spokes are the DT Competition  and Sapim Race with 2.0mm ends and a 1.8mm center section.  Coming in lighter are the DT Revolution and Sapim Lasers with 2.0mm ends and a 1.5mm center.  These have less material in the middle and so save even more weight, but they can be hard to build with as they really, really like to twist as they're tightened.  (I've got my tricks to deal with that) Two other spokes worth mentioning are the DT Supercomps, with 2.0mm at the J bend, 1.7mm in the center, and 1.8mm at the nipple end.  The center is slightly smaller than the 2.0/1.8mm spokes, and the narrower nipple end allows for a stronger spoke nipple.  These are great spokes, and I've built with them.  Lastly is the Sapim Strong, a spoke with a 2.3mm J bend, then a straight 2.0mm section all the way to the nipple end.  These are designed for really heavy duty wheels, like big guys, tandems, or loaded touring.  I've not had the need to build with these yet.  For most folks, I'd suggest the 2.0/1.8mm or the 2.0/1.5mm if you want to save weight and your wheelbuilder can handle it.

(you'll see terms like "single butted", "double butted", and even "triple butted".  I just go with "butted" and list the diameters.  Life's easier that way)

Finally, we've got bladed spokes.  The ones we're interested in are normal round spokes which have been flattened out to an oval profile to give an "aero" shape, one that's thin side-to-side (towards the wind) but longer front-to-back.  There are many varieties of bladed spokes, but for our purposes, we'll only consider one -- the Sapim CX-Ray or DT Aerolite, which share major specs.  Both start with a 2.0/1.5mm butted spoke, and are then ovalized into a 0.9x2.3mm cross section.  The key here is that the hubs don't need to be  modified like they would with other types of bladed spokes, and that's why these are the only ones that we'll consider.  These spokes are pretty amazing, since their weight is about as light as you can get, but due to the reshaping, they are strengthened, and have significantly improved fatigue limits.  So, they can make for a light, strong, aero wheelset.  Sounds awesome, doesn't it?  Well, they kinda are.  Awesome has a price, though -- these spokes are usually at least $2.50 each.  That adds up quickly in a wheel, especially when good butted spokes can be had for as little as $0.75 each.  Still, if you want fancy, fancy wheels, these spokes have to be on there.




Ultimately, a quality road wheel will boil down to four spoke choices.  2.0/1.8mm butted, 2.0/1.5mm butted, 2.0/1.7/1.8 DT Supercomp butted, or the pricey bladed CX-Ray/Aerolites.














Yes -- I know, I'm leaving out a huge amount of really interesting spokes like Sapim's new D-Light and Force spokes, as well as a huge chunk of DT Swiss' cool offerings including the Alpine III.  Those spokes are either too new or not generally available so I didn't bother mentioning them.

For spoke nipples, there's really only two choices, and it's between the materials, brass vs aluminum.  Brass spoke nipples are heavier (about 30g for a 32 spoke wheel) but are much stronger and corrosion resistant.  Aluminum spoke nipples weigh in around 10g for a 32 spoke wheel, so save up to 20g over brass nipples (about 2/3rds of an ounce) and are not as strong.  However, there's an easy solution for this which I've been using successfully for a while now.  By simply using spokes that are slightly longer than the recommended size, the spoke protrudes through the nipple head, slightly strengthening the spoke nipple at its weakest point -- the junction from the body to the head.  Both are valid choices, and have their place.  I prefer DT spoke nipples to the Sapims, (I find the quality to be higher) but have built with either.  Luckily, the threads are the same between manufacturers, so I have often mixed Sapim spokes with DT spoke nipples.  It's a great combo.  One nice perk of aluminum nipples is they are available in a range of anodized colors, like red, green, blue, gold, purple, and so forth.  Brass is usually only available in silver and black, although you'd be surprised at the results of silver brass and a colored Sharpie.  (yes, really, and no, it doesn't last.)

Rim choices

Building a good road wheel, you've got several choices to make.  First, let's take a look at some of the good rim choices available.

First and foremost is the offerings from Stan's NoTubes.  I'm a huge fan of Stan's products, and every MTB wheel we own has Stan's rims.  Being on a team that's sponsored helps, but I'd want to do it even if we weren't.  They now have two road options available, and they're looking to be every bit as good as the MTB offerings.  Their first road rim, the Alpha 340, has been redesigned and beefed up a little bit, and now comes in at around 380g, which is damn light for a road rim.  Their new rim, the Alpha 400, shares the same outer profile, but has reinforcing ribs which increase rim strength and durability and bumps the weight up to 425g, right in the same arena as the venerable Mavic OpenPro.  Stan's rims are designed to be easily compatible with road tubeless, and also incorporate a lower bead hook which slightly increases tire volume and decreases the risk of pinch flatting.  One thing I've noticed with Stan's rims is it is far, far easier to install and remove tires, thanks to the lower bead hook.  I also rode a set in a configuration I would have expected to be not quite stiff enough for me, and was very surprised at how stiff and responsive they felt.  I'm a big, big fan of the Stan's stuff, but the downside is their price, coming in at $120 each.  Still, they're probably my favorite choice for a road rim right now.  Some folks do take issue with the fairly sizeable decals on the rims, but decals can always be peeled off.

Next up is the KinLin rim line.  These are Taiwanese rims, but are made of a high quality aluminum alloy which keeps the weight low.  I've built several wheelsets with these rims, and they've always been nice and straight and easy to work with.  There's plenty of positive reviews available online, these rims are the real deal.  From the KinLin range, the two most popular are the XR-270 and the XR-300.  Both are an aero-profile, with the 270 being 27mm deep and the 300 being ever so slightly deeper at 30mm.  The weights are respectable, at 445g and 465g, respectively.  Heavier than the Stan's, but also a deeper V-shaped "aero" profile.  Does it make a real difference, aerodynamically?  I have no idea.  What really sets these two rims apart, however, is their price, coming in right around $40 each.  Very few quality rims can be had in that price range.  KinLin has other rims, but these are the two I'm familiar with and have built with.  As far as I'm concerned, none of the other rims offer as much as these two.

That's the two major choices I'd list.  Of course there are other major manufacturers out there.  Mavic, with their ubiquitous Open Pro rim, can't be left out, but I think the design is starting to show its age and really doesn't stand up to the other options I've listed.  Velocity makes a bunch of different rims, but I've built with them before and have never been really blown away.

7/27/12: Quick update after some more research and thought on the matter.  I think my treatment of Mavic was a bit harsh.  Yes, the Open Pro rim design is a bit dated, but it hasn't changed because it doesn't much need to.  I've got a set that I bought in 2000 built with Dura Ace hubs and 3x DT Champion spokes which has been utterly flawless.  It's really hard to beat the long-term performance of that setup.  It's not real fancy, it's not real light, but it is solid.

Also, I completely skipped DT Swiss rims.  I've only had the opportunity to build with one DT rim, but from what I've seen, their quality is extremely high (as I would expect from their spokes, nipples, and hubs) and they're also a great choice for a wheelset that emphasizes durability and strength.

Fun with GPS tracks

So I'm whining to Jason P. about the lack of good climbing in our area.  I went out this morning for the Six Sisters hill repeats, where the biggest climb is a whopping 220 feet of elevation gain.  Even doing hill repeats, I averaged just under 80 feet climbed per mile ridden.  For me, it's not a real climbing ride until at least 100 feet per mile.  The best ride in recent memory was the Stoopid 50, which came in at 127 '/mi.  Jason lives in VA, where there's a number of pretty decent sized hills right in the area, so it's really easy for him to find good climbs.

JP: "here, i'll make a little loop for you, hang on"
JP:  http://ridewithgps.com/routes/1441153
JP: route starts 2 blocks from both bryce's house and my house
JP: 176 ft/mi
me: Yeah
me: wow
me: super
me: okay, I'm gonna draw a little route for you
me: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/1441152
me: go take a hike. ;)

What?  I can be bitter.

Strava guide to a full lap of the MTB trails at Lake Nockamixon.

A proper full lap of Nockamixon involves going all the way around in a clockwise direction, making right turns most everywhere there is an option. No crossover or duplicated riding.  (one exception, noted below)

The trail map at ridenox.com helps greatly in following these lap directions.

Start off from the Tower Rd parking lot, do the Cold Spot and Hammer loops by staying to the right at the first split. Early on, you'll come to a four-way intersection with another trail -- keep going straight, that other trail is just access to the lake for the fishermen/fisherwomen.  Soon after that, the trail comes to something like a "T", where you need to make a right turn.  Making the left skips the 1.4 mile Hammer trail -- see the Caveats below.

Coming across the stream at the end of the north trails, take the right and do the short section of trail that does not have a Strava segment.  (I informally call this one the "DMZ", although it's technically the lower part of the Haycock Run loop.)  This puts you onto the connector trail southbound, which dumps you out onto the "Sidewalk" stream crossing with the big flat rocks.

That leads to the South loop, officially two loops, Jaywalk and South Park. This is the biggest segment.

At the end of the south loop, you re-cross the stream at the "Sidewalk" crossing.  This is the only place that you ride the same trail in both directions, but only to the entrance of the Eastern Woods trail northbound. Eastern Woods takes you to Haycock Run uphill which leads you back to the stream crossing. (watch for the right turn after the stone buildup over the big log)  Cross that, ride to the split before the parking lot, and you've just done a full loop of Nox!  You are now free to revel in your awesomeness.

Have fun, ride fast, but ride safe.  Sightlines at Nox can be very short, and if you run someone over because you're chasing segments, or don't help someone who needs it for the same reason, you're a twatwaffle and should stop riding.

Caveats:

• You have to make sure to stay to the right when you get to the Hammer - otherwise, your lap is bogus and if you get the KOM, you're totally lame. (unless you're just out having fun and happen to accidentally match the full loop segment because Strava's segment matching is pretty crappy, in which case, bummer.)  If you get a bogus KOM because of shortcutting, don't be surprised if Bob Eichlin comes out and scorches the earth trying to beat you. 
• The "Bump Track" on the South Park loop is not a favorite of some, and some shortcut it. Technically you should do it if you want an honest "full lap" but I don't find it particularly interesting, and most GPS units aren't good enough to reliably report if you actually did or not sooooo...
• I've done crossovers to change things up every now and then, such as riding the Hammer trail in the CW direction, then continuing on when you get back to the Cold Spot.  It'll still match, and if anything, it'll make your full lap time slightly slower.  The key is to hit all the trails.
• Going in this direction, you will very likely miss the "Gnome Home" on the South Park loop, unless you know where to look.  It's just after a fairly large log over which is built up on either side with dirt.