A bicycle wheel can only be as good as its parts. A wheel is made of three main parts; hubs, rims and spokes. If any of these is poor then it will lead to a poor wheel. Even a stout rim will go out of true rapidly if the wheel is not built well and this cannot be done without good spokes. Spokes literally hold the whole item together. The spokes enable remarkable strength with surprisingly little weight.

DCR wheels uses (almost exclusively) Sapim spokes. Sapim offer a range of high end products at more competitive prices than DT. We do have some old DT stock purchased prior to their recent price increases. There is nothing wrong with DT; only that they are the same quality yet more expensive than Sapim. Their range is also more limited.

The most basic spoke is known as the plain gauge spoke. Sapim’s Leader spokes is an example of this. There is a big variety in even these, although you may not be able to tell this by eye. Sapim’s leader spokes receive the same strengthening treatments as their butted spokes, which means they have a lot more strength than most competing versions. Their main disadvantages are weight and flexibility. It is important to note that Leader spokes are the exception, most plain gauge spokes are weak and should be avoided.
A spoke is subject to two kinds of force. One is constant, because of the tension it is held under. The other is inconstant and more violent; when an impact is made upon the wheel. It is when a wheel receives these sudden forces that butted spokes become important. The dimensions of a butted differ from plain gauge because they are not a continuous thickness throughout. The most common is the double butted spoke which is thicker at the elbow and threaded end. Butted spokes can flex and absorb impacts better than plain gauge because their central butting allows them to stretch. The extra material around the elbow and nipple allow strength to be retained in the areas that commonly fail.

Sapim’s most common butted spokes are called Race spokes. This is equivalent to DT’s Competition spokes. They are 2.0mm thick both ends and 1.8mm thick in the central section. Sapim also offer a similar but lighter duty version known as the Laser which are butted in a 2.0mm-1.5mm-2.0mm design. These are slightly more expensive than Race spokes and are better suited to lighter duty use – for example on racing wheels. Sapim have recently released a triple butted spoke known as the Force. This is butted in a 2.3mm-1.8mm-2.0mm design. Spokes most commonly break at the elbow, furthermore hub manufacturers have increasingly moved towards 2.5mm hub drilling, which means that a 2.0mm elbow can sit quite loosely. The Force takes advantage of the butted spokes flexibility and reinforces the spoke at its weakest point. Being 2.3mm at the elbow the Force will still fit in 2.3mm hub holes. The Force is one of Sapim’s most expensive spokes, although it is also one of their best. One final butted spoke that is relevant is Sapim’s Strong spoke. This is butted in a 2.3mm-2.0mm design. This makes it a single butted spoke, which does not possess the same flexibility as a double butted. However it is more economical than the Force and it is stronger when flexibility is less important.

One final spoke in Sapim’s range is the CX-Ray. This is an aero spoke and is their most expensive. It is 2.3mm at the elbow, the centre section is oval and is 2.3mm deep but only 0.9mm wide. This not only improves aero-dynamics but also makes for an exceptionally strong spoke – Sapim’s strongest. It is also their lightest. It also has the longest fatigue life. However it is nearly eight times the price of Sapim’s Race spokes. One disadvantage of previous ‘bladed’ spokes is that they often required hub filing. This was not only tedious but also weakened the hub slightly. Some hubs came pre-filed, although bladed spokes have now fallen out of fashion in favour of aero spokes. These are less aero-dynamic but they are stronger and more stable. Sapim’s CX-ray spokes really are the best money can buy, they are the strongest, lightest, hardest wearing spokes out there and they are aero-dynamic. They can be used in both downhill wheels and high end race wheels. However their price makes their application rare.

When selecting spokes for a wheelset it is important to understand each wheel differently. The front wheel carries less stress than the rear. Therefore it does not need as strong spokes. Often it will have less of them to reach optimum strength/weight. Sapim Race spokes are appropriate for most front wheels, although Sapim Lasers could be used if weight saving was important. A front wheel can be both radially or tangentially laced. This means the spokes can either come directly out of the hub to the rim, or they can come out at tangents to the hub. Tangential spokes normally cross three other spokes before they reach the rim. This has given rise to the term 3X, which is the most common lacing pattern. It is stronger and hub manufacturers prefer it. Many wheelbuilders refuse to build wheels with radial lacing patterns because of the risk of the spoke being pulled through the flange of the hub. However many major wheel manufacturers have moved towards radial front wheels and non of our builds have ever failed at the hub when they are radially laced. We like radial wheels because their appearance is far better.

A rear wheel is quite different to a front. It is often ‘dished’, it needs to be considerably stronger and it also cannot have radial lacing. The reason for the required additional strength is because it takes greater loads. It cannot be radially laced because a rear wheel has turning forces exerted upon it from the hub, these would stress and break the hub flange as the spokes are pulled out. Most commonly rear wheels are 3X, although wheels with large numbers of spokes can require 4X or even 5X. Dishing occurs on rear wheels which have external gears. The right hand flange is moved towards the centre line of the hub in order to fit in the cassette or freewheel. This means that the right hand or ‘drive side’ spokes need to be under greater tension than the left hand or ‘non-drive side’ spokes.

This dishing has led more savvy wheelbuilders to use different spokes on the drive side to the non-drive side. The non-drive side will commonly use the same spokes as used on the front wheel. The drive side will have heavier duty spokes. A light duty build could use Sapim Laser spokes for the front and non-drive side and Sapim Race for the drive side. Heavier duty could be Sapim Race for front and non-drive side and Sapim Strong for the drive side. Many wheelbuilders neglect such detail, although it is important for a well balanced wheel. Moreover it does not need to add considerably to the cost of the build. Sapim Strong spokes are similarly priced to Sapim Race, which makes the cost of the build almost identical.