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Being a fat git, how many spokes should I ideally have on a new pair of wheels.
Looked at some lovely carbon rims on the weekend, only for the seller at the stall to look at me, ask my weight, and then tell me that the 24spoked wheels wouldn;t be warrantied with my heft.
I have 32 currently, should I stick to 32 or can I go less
It's one per kg over both wheels isn't it? How many is that
😉
Fellow fat git here, for the sake of the weight of 4 spokes I'd always go 32. Plus it's the most popular size so you should have no problem swapping rims or spokes around later.
Stiffer too.
32.
Just stick with 32.
Hi,
Skinny git here...
A bit of my personal experience with low spoke count wheels. They are OK as long as they are OK. Got this mishap to brake one spoke in 24 spoke rear wheel.
Effect was end of the ride because wheel started to look and act like nice, Bavarian pretzel. Good for Oktoberfest celebration but not at all for riding.
On the other hand had nipple shattered on 2 occasions on 32 spoke wheel and continued riding with only minor wheel wobble.
So 32 spokes all way through for me.
Cheers!
I.
Road? MTB? Disc? Rim brake? Dirt jumping? Plodding on fireroads?
Anecdotal I know, but when specing up my lb carbon wheels they advised 32 spoke all round.
Mountain bike, cross country use.
My weight 95kg
My height 6'2
I was tempted to go with 28 spokes on the front wheel, but for the sake of a couple of grams I thought I'd play it safe and take thier advice.
I recommend one less than the number of holes in the rim.
32 but more importantly go to a God wheelbuilder and speak to her/him in person
IvanMTB - Member
Hi,Skinny git here...
A bit of my personal experience with low spoke count wheels. They are OK as long as they are OK. Got this mishap to brake one spoke in 24 spoke rear wheel.
Effect was end of the ride because wheel started to look and act like nice, Bavarian pretzel. Good for Oktoberfest celebration but not at all for riding.
On the other hand had nipple shattered on 2 occasions on 32 spoke wheel and continued riding with only minor wheel wobble.
So 32 spokes all way through for me.
Cheers!
I.
Yeh, I've had similar experiences with low spoke count wheels. I snapped spokes on two occasions last winter, which meant thumbing a lift in the dark and the cold at 8 o clock in the evening.
Also had to descend the Joux Plan with one brake after breaking a spoke near the top.
And on a different occasion, cycle half way round lake Geneva with one brake.
It's 32 spokes or nothing for me now!
Although my new bike has low spoke count wheels, but it does have disc brakes.
"God wheelbuilder" - has he stopped doing the carpentry ? 🙂
Low spoke count wheels seem to have become a bit of a fashionable choice on road bikes and that's started to carry over to MTBs now, thing is it doesn't save much, if any weight but does compromise strength...
32 still seems like a good starting point +4 if you're on the tubby side / -4 if you are a skinny little whippet...
32 is also easier to get replacement rims / hubs. Avoid straight pull too unless you enjoy paying over the odds for spokes with no practical benefits - I used to have a fancy Mavic wheelset and learnt the hard way.
I use only 36 hole wheels. Never have a problem.
And the 4 extra spokes in each wheel weigh bugger all for a much stronger build.
Right solid steel wheel it is then.