Plain gauge or double butted

[xerxes]

The stiffness of a wheel is down to the strength of the rim, combined with how much tension you put into the spokes.

Funny this should come up, I was reading something about it a few days ago; according to Sheldon: "Some believe that a wheel built with tighter spokes is stiffer. It is not. Wheel stiffness does not vary significantly with spoke tension unless a spoke becomes totally slack."

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/rinard/wheel/index.htm

 

[JamesM]

Alpine III?

AlpineIII is heavy... revolution saves you 135g on a 32/32 wheel set ;-)

I built a set of wheels with Revs, they're scary thin!!! So much so I bottled it and used Comps on the rear DS. 28 spoke too and I'm 14 stone.

 

[gtRTSdh]

PG spokes build stiffer wheels, I can vouch for that having D521's built with 36h PG onto hope sports 10 years ago and still perfectly true today!

Your evidence does not support your assertion

Agreed - I reckon D521 rims built competently onto 36h hubs, with anything other than retarded spoke patterns, would survive a direct mortar attack.

But matey's evidence who's tested a lot of wheels does. . .

Lets get serious here, my wheels are 36h D521 ceramics, built 3 cross, using DT PG spokes with brass nipples, onto hope hubs first or second generation of one piece ally body, built for trials. . . still true and as stiff as an oversize ally frame. . .unsurprisingly

 

[Neil]

PG spokes build stiffer wheels, I can vouch for that having D521's built with 36h PG onto hope sports 10 years ago and still perfectly true today!

Your evidence does not support your assertion

Agreed - I reckon D521 rims built competently onto 36h hubs, with anything other than retarded spoke patterns, would survive a direct mortar attack.

But matey's evidence who's tested a lot of wheels does. . .

Lets get serious here, my wheels are 36h D521 ceramics, built 3 cross, using DT PG spokes with brass nipples, onto hope hubs first or second generation of one piece ally body, built for trials. . . still true and as stiff as an oversize ally frame. . .unsurprisingly

Mike had a fair point - one man's anecdotal and all that.

All I meant was that D521s are pretty damned bomb-proof, and with 36h would probably out survive cockroaches come the apocalypse.

Now if you said you'd built some 28h 230s, radially, using DT PG spokes, and thrashed 'em downhill for over a decade, I'd be uber convinced!

 

[Mobilecyclerepairs]

Choice of spokes in wheel building has various factors, such as such as road, mountain, touring, trials, rider weight, riding style and lacing pattern etc.
I used to build almost exclusively with DT db as I could guarantee it would be good for almost every discipline.
DT revolutions are a bit to thin and more tricky to build into a strong wheel, yet they ride brilliant, however for my trials bikes and mountain bikes and touring bikes I used DT super comp, triple butted, they build into a very strong wheel and not too heavy either.
Ultimately if the wheel is built with a correct process you wont have too much trouble
Hope this helps some.

 

[thecannibal]

He said he wants to know about strength over weight. He said it's for a cargo bike. I think DT Alpine IIIs would be a good choice; not plain gauge or double-butted but triple-butted and designed for extra strength. Few people seem concerned with the original poster's request.

 

[The Malcolm]

In answer to some of the earlier posts. The intention is not to have a 32 hole on the rear. I have a new 36 hole hub just need a 36 hole M231 rim to match. the mismatched rims started 20 odd years ago when the rear wheel was badly buckled and replaced the rim. I wish I had bought another rim at the time.

Cargo bike is a cannondale m700 for comuting, shopping and transporting small children. M1000 is for offroad.

I am still not convinced over the double butted. The rear 32h has never needing adjusting and it has had a hard use on and off road. As others have suggested it may be down to my riding style and weight (65kg).
Thanks for everyone's input.

 

[cce]

why not buy a burly modern rim like a rigida sputnik instead of scratching round for a second hand "matched" rim

this bike is a tool after all.

 

[kingoffootball]

He said he wants to know about strength over weight. He said it's for a cargo bike. I think DT Alpine IIIs would be a good choice; not plain gauge or double-butted but triple-butted and designed for extra strength. Few people seem concerned with the original poster's request.

I have Alpine IIIs on my Alfine back wheel on my Karakoram Elite, since I was building for strength/reliability ahead of any weight-saving.

I've only been riding it a week, so I can't comment on reliability, but the shop who built the wheel seemed to do a good job on them and the overall weight of the bike was lower than I expected it to be, given that I chose steel over aluminium or titanium where possible with most components.

 

[Dead Rats]

I've noticed some builders use double butted on the front wheel and left rear with plain gauge on the rear cassette/drive side.

most recent pair I built were as above... can't comment on long term performance yet tho