BS or Fact???

[stevetait]

..just called by LBS to book in a couple of wheelbuilds. I requested black spokes and the chappy said:

"you do realise they are more prone to breaking than silver spokes and are more brittle"

Has anyone any thoughts or experiences that support this? :?

 

[al]

..just called by LBS to book in a couple of wheelbuilds. I requested black spokes and the chappy said:

"you do realise they are more prone to breaking than silver spokes and are more brittle"

Has anyone any thoughts or experiences that support this? :?

I have run Black DT Revs for years and never had one brake yet!

Ask him to build it properly in the first place.

al.

 

[hamster]

Usually it's just a paint coating on stainless anyway.

Silver rustless ones (galvanized steel) actually do last longer than stainless as they have better crack resistance. But I suspect that's not what he meant...

 

[stevetait]

He didnt sound convincing..... he said the chemicals they use to blcken the spokes have an effect!

 

[letmetalktomark]

He didnt sound convincing..... he said the chemicals they use to blcken the spokes have an effect!

If they were anodized then this could be construed as weakening as the anodizing is a penetration of the metal.

But TBH sounds like

 

[stevet1]

this has been an urban myth for a while. No idea how true it is though.

 

[MikeD]

If they were anodized then this could be construed as weakening as the anodizing is a penetration of the metal.

They're not - you can't anodise stainless steel. It's just paint. If you want anecdotal evidence, I've only ever broken silver spokes ;-)

This rumour seems to have gained traction since pretty much every new bike on the market started coming with black spokes, including the cheap ones. There are a lot of crappy spokes out there that happen to be black - it's the crappiness, not the blackness, that leads to breakage. A DT Comp is a DT Comp whatever colour it is...

 

[Steve Kish]

... er, that would be because they are made from licorice! WALOB!! :roll:

 

[IDB1]

Tell LBS that you are a bit of a fashion victim and only black spokes will do.. adding that, since they are weaker and likely to snap, he should charge you 1/3 of the price for them and let you take the risk.

 

[tintin40]

... er, that would be because they are made from licorice! WALOB!! :roll:

Nothing wrong with Black. Except the shops charge more for them :x