Spoke Count – How much does it matter?

I’ve already asked a couple of questions about my up coming tourer build and here’s the next:
My quandary is wheels: Currently cotic are out of stock of their wheels, (32 spoke c. 1800g). I emailed Paul at Cotic and he suggested DT Swiss R24 Splines (24 Spoke, 1750g).

My question is is it worthwhile holding on until June (3 weeks before I set off) for the extra spoke count on the cotic wheels or is there not much in it?

NB. In terms of load I am 68 kg and I’ll be carrying 10-12kg of kit. Mostly on road but probably some graded gravel tracks.

ime (of having 24 spoke 26″ crests and 32 spoke 29er crests…..

the 24 spokes are so incredibly flexy under power and steering (and have a low weight limit anyway) that i would not like to be on them loaded – I keep them for race days only – mostly because they are ultra unfashionable and worth pittance ill probably rebuild the hubs one day 😀

my 29er crests even with fully loaded bike have not budged – even when i banjoed the axle the rim stayed true.

I also believe alot of that is down to using DT double butted spokes on my 29er wheels rather than the SP sapims that hope use. But the higher spoke count also helps.

If your loading the bike up i would stick to 32 spokes.

Oh and why not just get A.N.other brand of wheels ? IIRC theres nothing particularly special about cotic wheels and Cy is usually open to sending out a bike without a certain componant for a relevent reduction – he did mine without brakes as they had none in stock.

I’d be looking to keep the spec as standard as possible. No proprietary parts or funny sizes.

32spoke, Mavic Open Sport rims, take your pic of hubs. It’ll probably be at or around 1800g, probably a fair bit less with most hubs, and will be tough as old boots. Just learn to build wheels yourself it’s really not that hard, or find a local shop with a good builder, but be prepared to pay RRP on everything and £50 for the building which will probably double the cost Vs buying parts from ze Germans.

For example (I’m looking at fat wheels at the moment) Strada charge £525 for BR710 rims on hope fatsno hubs.

Shopping around and DIY
Hubs £260
Rims £90
Spokes and nipples £24
Total – £375

For a proper tourer I’d consider going up to 36. Wouldn’t dream of dropping the spoke count

The reason I was looking at the DTs/Cys wheels was the price point, I can’t really afford to go over the £200 mark as much as I’d like to!

In terms of the Cotic wheels I know they’re not particularly special but having spoken to Paul he said they are designed with the expected usage of the bike in mind so are pretty well up to the job.

At least 32 on a tourer IMO. Would be fine with 24 for a normal road bike.

I have 36 on my 20 year old MTB and that has been used as a commuter, I badly hop curbs and do the occasional silly thing on it and the wheels are still almost totally straight.

http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m2b0s178p2236

XT hubs , Rigida sputnik handbuilt by people who know how and availible in 32 or 36 spokes – i dont believe in 36 spoke wheels my self…. but the old guard say they are better for touring.

198 quid.

I build my own wheels. I have 24/20 on my race wheels. 28/28 training wheels, and 32/32 on the Tripster.

You could tour on 28/28, but if anything happens, then you will struggle to get the wheel round enough to continue for any distance. a 32 spoke wheel can lose a spoke and still be round enough (even without any tweaking) to ride with rim brakes. 24 spokes would be nigh on impossible to work around.

I would def recommend getting 32 spoke wheels for touring, especially with some gravel thrown in.

Another consideration is how will they cope if a spoke breaks? You might want to finish the day or get to the next town one spoke down, I can imagine that being a bit of a worry on 24 spokes.

The main thing to bear in mind with a loaded tourer is that the little standing up and lightening the impact you do on an unladen bike doesn’t work.

So you crash through/into everything. Or at least, the rear wheel does.

Get the Spa wheels. Or wait until the cotic wheels com into stock.

Definitely 32 on touring wheels (I’d be tempted by 36 or more, but availability issues mean that could result in problems if you need to replace parts, and TBH 32 are enough – we have 32 on the tandem for touring!) If your preferred supplier can’t get them then get your wheels elsewhere (plenty of other options on a budget) rather than compromise on that.

+1 for spa

Better safe than sorry.

How about some handbuilts?
I’ve managed to wreck an XT hub and 2 Mavic rims, both 32 hole, carrying moderate loads on smoothish bridleways.

I’ve gone 36 BTW – a stronger wheel for a 60 gram penalty?
Fine by me.

I think one of the big differences isn’t so much strength as margin; my Rovals had lower spoke counts and they were fine, while they had all their spokes. But lose one and immediately they’d lose shape, just because each spoke is working harder I assume.

The main thing to bear in mind with a loaded tourer is that the little standing up and lightening the impact you do on an unladen bike doesn’t work.

This. However the OP did note they were only carrying some light kit. I would def recommend 36 spoke for someone touring fully loaded with f/r panniers and a bar bag.

How the stuff it attached to the bike also makes a difference. If it’s in panniers or a rack bag, then the shock is transferred through the rack pretty harshly. If the load is in bike-packing bags, then they have some inherent give in the material and strapping that mitigates things a bit.

“I’ve managed to wreck an XT hub and 2 Mavic rims, both 32 hole, carrying moderate loads on smoothish bridleways.”

If loads were moderate and the bridleways remotely smooth .

id be changing builder pronto.

Matts

If it changes anything I will be on panniers F & R, current weight talley including racks and bags is 8.5kg but I of course expect that to go up, hence why I said 10-12kg.

Both factory/OE MTB wheels, trail rat.

Also spangled an OE Ritchey rear wheel attempting to ride up a kerb with panniers on – I forgot they were there.
Front wheel came up, I fell off sideways, rear wheel just folded.
Outside that posh bar at Caernarfon Marina, in front of a coach load of tourists.

😐