I have an Alfine hub built up with DT Swiss plain gauge spokes and a 26′ rim. The spokes seem to snap, right at the nipple, a lot more than I would normally expect. Does anyone else have this issue? Is there something I can do to stop it happening?

Is it built 2 or 3 cross? 3 cross seems to put the nipples at a funny angle to the rim.

I can’t think of anything specific about an Alfine hubbed wheel that was cause any problems.

FWIW, 3-cross is pretty much standard.

3 cross is pretty much standard

Yes but it Depends on the hub/rim combo. If the hub is too large you’ll get a poor angle on the spokes as they leave the rim, stressing them slightly more than they should be.

In the OPs case I’d be more tempted to say it’s because you’ve used plain gauge spokes. There no real reason to use them other than cost. They have little stretch, which means they can’t share their load with other spokes as readily, making a stiffer but less resilient wheel that will snap spokes and bend rather than deform and spring back.

I’d rebuild it with double butted, personally.

I has this with mine. We tried 2 cross and they still snapped regularly. We ended up changing the rim.

WTB frequency rims are a good solution as they have their 4d drilling pointing the nipples in the direction of the spoke…Stans (as an example) are just drilled straight so some riders I know have had problems with snapped nipples. Also 2 cross comments spot on and the way to go.

They’re built up 3 cross on Mavic 717 rims. Some good solutions to investigate there…

The nipples definitely look like they are at a funny angle

PeterPoddy – Member
…In the OPs case I’d be more tempted to say it’s because you’ve used plain gauge spokes…

First thing that came to my mind.

717 spoke holes are offset to left and right, has it been built with left spoke in right rim hole, right spoke in left rim hole?

It’s a known problem with Rohloff hubs, especially on smaller 26″ rims.
It’s because the big flanges, similar to an Alfine, put the spokes at an angle where they meet the rim.
The solution is to “cold set” the rim around the spoke holes. This is just a posh way of saying poke a screwdriver through each hole and bend the rim so that the hole is pointing at the hub.

Edit to add;
A thread I started on the Thorn forum when I had a similar problem.
http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=2056.0

@coatsey- yep, pretty sure I got it the right way round but I’ll check…

@MTG- thanks for the link!

Shimano and Rohloff both say to build their hub gears 2X.

I built mine 2X 26in with plain gauge DT Swiss and its been fine. I wanted double butted but couldn’t find any spokes short enough at the time.

I have since discovered that thespokedwheel man can source them for you if you email him direct.

sjs cycles do a good range of spokes. DT Swiss make some Tandem spokes that are double or even triple butted, that are a better fit for the flange holes on alfine, if you’re feeling flush.

MidlandTrailquestsGraham – Member
…The solution is to “cold set” the rim around the spoke holes. This is just a posh way of saying poke a screwdriver through each hole and bend the rim so that the hole is pointing at the hub….

I never thought of doing that with alloy rims. I’d be a bit worried about rim cracks later, but that’s not such a bike stopper as broken spokes.

When I was young and we still used steel rims, we used to drill and dimple our own rims. The dimple meant you could drill the spoke holes at an angle and so there was no problem getting them aligned.

Shimano and Rohloff both say to build their hub gears 2X.

I’ve never built either, but that would be my instinct too.