Hello,

I wondered if anyone can help me? I'm need to get a wheel re-rimmed after I tried an 8 foot drop pissed, I survived but my wheel is a little buggered. I have a 135mm rear hope pro 2 hub and have bought a 32h mavic 321 rim. Does someone know what size spokes I need? I was going to get DT Swiss Champion PG spokes from CRC. I have a rough Idea I need:

DISK SIDE: 260
DRIVE SIDE: 258

Does this sound correct?

Merry Christmas Mtb'ers

I make it you need 260 Drive, and 261 on the non Drive side… According to Spocalc and DT Swiss Spoke Calculator anyway… You can get away with 260 both sides happily though, as you can get away with anything up to 2mm short usually.

Wouldn't bother with Plain Gauge spokes unless price is a concern to be fair… They're no stronger, a fair bit heavier and tend to break more readily as they aren't as elastic.

Incidentally, just so happens I've got a LOAD of 260mm DT Comp Double Butted spokes in black spare that I found in my garage the other day… Thought I only had 258's, but got a load of 260's too! Paypal me a Tenner and I'll stick a wheel's worth of spokes and nipples in the post to you, so half price compared to CRC!

Not sure that plain gauge are that much heavier TBH and for me they are much better than double butted for lakes/peaks type riding – takes much longer before wheel needs truing. If weight is an issue I would always look at somewhere else to lose it rather than on something that could ruin a day's riding and is constantly battered.

Thanks for both your replies. I do most of my riding in the lakes and peaks so Ozzo your advice sounds good. Maverick boy thanks for you info too it was really helpful. For some reason CRC supply you with 14mm nipples instead of standard DT swiss 12mm nipples. So should I take that into consideration when buying the spokes as I have 2mm extra on the nipple?

Thanks again.

Not sure that plain gauge are that much heavier TBH and for me they are much better than double butted for lakes/peaks type riding – takes much longer before wheel needs truing.

They're about 25-30% heavier like for like… It is noticable…

And I will say it again, Plain Gauge spokes ARE NOT any stronger! Butted spokes are just as strong, if not stronger (because of the cold working process they go through to make them butted)… If they've lasted longer before needing re-truing for you than a wheel with butted spokes, that is purely coincidence! When was the last time you saw a spoke snap in the middle of its length? They always snap either at the elbow, or by the nipple, where the butted spoke is still 2mm in diameter. Plain Gauge spokes are much cheaper to make, hence they exist, they aren't there because they're stronger (cos they're not!).

Yorkshire Lad, my offer still stands if you want a wheel's worth of butted DT Comps in black including nipples… Tenner posted to you…

Incidentally, don't know how long you've been building wheels for ozzo, but I've been building wheels for almost a decade now! I've probably built 100 or more, all using double butted spokes, and neither myself or anybody else riding wheels I've built has ever had an issue with them…