Plain gauge or double butted

[JamesM]

Butted spokes themselves aren't stronger than plain gauge but they build up to make a stronger wheel because the extra give in the spokes means the loads is spread across more of them. Also looking at the Sapim site their more expensive DB spokes are made from a higher grade stronger material than the cheaper plain gauge ones meaning the difference in strengh between them isn't as much as you would think. I'm sure the same goes for DT's too.

Go for 2.0-1.8-2.0 Sapim Race or DT Comps and don't bother using plain gauge on the drive side rear it's just not necassary.

 

[thecannibal]

Alpine III?

 

[yeti-man]

Alpine III?

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

 

[thecannibal]

cargo bike.

 

[yeti-man]

cargo bike.

... ok but I'm not in to cargo biking... some times I have enough trouble carry my own weight

 

[fatfixie]

Butted let you build a tighter, strong wheel , but plain gauge spoked wheels deform less if a spoke breaks due to the lesser tension....

Andy

 

[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!

 

[Anthony]

The stiffness of a wheel is down to the strength of the rim, combined with how much tension you put into the spokes. For general cross-country purposes though, you don't want an ultimately-stiff wheel, just adequately stiff.

The strength advantage of butted spokes lies in the fact that the thinner section of the spoke reacts better to being twisted when the wheel is built, and as a result is less likely to fail in service.

In any case, you should also remember that a 1.8mm plain gauge spoke is not going to be stronger than a DT Competition, which is butted 2.0-1.8-2.0mm, so it's best to be specific about what you mean by plain gauge.

 

[MikeD]

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

 

[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.