Spokes and spoking

[kaiser]

Any pearls of wisdom on spokes and build patterns? What do you use? What patterns look the best, are the strongest etc? Any good retailers for spokes? General tips and advice, anything welcome.

 

[andy.l]

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html

 

[rc300]

..... DT spokes.... brass nipples..... spoke prep ..... 3x..... job done!

 

[kaiser]

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html

This will be my guide for the build.

rc300 brass nipples, bad experiences of alloy?

Should point out that the wheels won't be abused too much.

 

[andy.l]

alloy nipples tend to loose their threads and thus grip on the spokes after a few re-tensions so brass nipples give more life in the wheels,dont look as bling but more practical

 

[kaiser]

Hmmm definetly going for style over substance. Would it be perhaps be better to stick to dt swiss alloy nips over the ebay ones?

 

[andy.l]

well unless we go into what spec/grade of alloy theyre made from alloy nipples are alloy nipples ebay or dt swiss

 

[rc300]

as above .... just a bad idea if you are going to actually use them. Best sticking to the good old brass ones!

 

[retrobate]

Spokes

Lube spoke threads with copper slip and bung on those alloy nipples! I have wheels I built 10 years ago and I can still turn the nipples fine. 
Question. Where can I get straight pull spokes. I have a pair of Pulstar hubs and a Tioga front that I want to build onto Mavic 217,517,717 rims.
I think I need 268mm for the Pulstar front and 266mm drive side 268mm nondrive side for the rear.
Tioga I think needs 261mm.
The spoke lengths are part guess, part calculation and part mesured.I am willing to take advice from people that know better.

 

[one-eyed_jim]

I've had no problems with aluminium nipples, built carefully and looked after. If you like you could build the rear drive side with brass.

I think it's worth paying the extra for DT. There's a huge range of aluminium alloys available, and machining precision makes a big difference. The no-name eBay items may be of comparable quality, or they may not. It's not worth the hassle of rebuilding a pair of wheels for the price difference, IMO.