Topic starter
As above I’m building up a cheap wheelset for a hardtail I’m putting together for my nephew as you can’t buy anything reasonable in the shops.
Wheels are going to be XT 9mm QR rear - Superstar V6 boost front with Alex MD23 rims. So nothing fancy but will be fine running 2.3” tubeless Specialized tyres (bargain prices for those at the moment) on a 130mm forked hardtail for a beginner.
I had planned to buy Halo straight gauge black spokes For £0.30 each (with nipples) but they’re out of stock of the size I need 271/272mm.
Any idea for similarly cheap black spokes?
Posted : 09/08/2020 10:33 pm
My last wheel build I bought spokes from cyclebasket, that was about a year ago, not used them recently though
Posted : 09/08/2020 10:42 pm
Topic starter
Yeah they’re 45p each there and you get hit with a £6 courier charge so my £22 of spokes at Je James become £36.20 (although they’re much nicer double butted spokes which I’ve used on other builds.
I’ve found silver Sapim leaders for £0.32 each without a high postage charge but black rims / black hubs would look better with black spokes I think.
Posted : 10/08/2020 7:01 am
https://www.planetx.co.uk/s?sort=price-asc&q=spokes might be worth looking at if you find some other intresting bits in their current "sizzling30" sale.
Posted : 10/08/2020 7:27 am
Um... was going to say the Halo ones.
Honestly then I'd just search ebay for Spokes 271 and spokes 272 and play availability vs cost+postage.
I've built mixed colours before ... laced carefully (like every 3rd or 4th) it looks great.
Posted : 10/08/2020 9:34 am
Topic starter
Yeah, for cheap wheelsets those Halo straight gauge were my go to spokes. Built a couple of sets of wheels with them and they were fine - actually easier to built with them DT or ACI DB spokes as as they twist / wind up less as they don’t have the thinner butted sections.
Tried eBay / Amazon / ze Germans etc, no joy.
Think I’m just going to order silver Sapim Leaders and my nephew will have to suck it up (tbh he might not even notice). He’s getting a much better bike than I had at that age - I remember buying a Gary Fisher Mamba when I was about 16 and I saved for a while from an evening job washing up dishes etc in a restaurant kitchen. My mum’s paying for all the parts I’ve ordered to assemble this bike for him!
Posted : 10/08/2020 9:58 am
If you can find 271 or 272, just buy all the same length. 1mm either way won't make a difference.
Posted : 10/08/2020 10:00 am
Topic starter
I did think that but I couldn’t find either length in cheap black spokes. Just ordered the silver ones as budget is more important on this build than anything else. Hoping it doesn’t even occur to him the colour of the spokes!
Posted : 10/08/2020 11:02 am
Rose for DT
CycleBasket for ACI
Posted : 10/08/2020 11:04 am
