Fwd: Re: [CR]Double butted spokes

(Example: Framebuilding:Tubing:Falck)

Date: Mon, 2 Oct 2006 10:28:12 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Arthur Link" <artlink@flash.net>
Subject: Fwd: Re: [CR]Double butted spokes
To: classic rendezvous <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>


I recently shredded 10 spokes on my 1898 woodwheel Barnes White Flyer and found out that the spokes are .070/.055. The wheel may have had a later rebuild,but those spokes fit the long nipples. Art Link,San Antonio,TX

Jan Heine <heine94@earthlink.net> wrote: Date: Mon, 2 Oct 2006 08:21:38 -0700 To: "Tom Sanders" <tsan7759142@sbcglobal.net> From: Jan Heine <heine94@earthlink.net> Subject: Re: [CR]Double butted spokes CC: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org

Double-butted spokes have been around for a very long time. I remember seeing a bike from around 1910 with straight-pull double-butted spokes. The two 1930s Reyhand featured in the latest issue of Bicycle Quarterly have double-butted spokes, too.

The advantage of thinner spokes is aerodynamic on the one hand, but also making a stronger wheel by allowing more spoke elongation for the same spoke tension. As a result, the spokes are less likely to go slack as the wheel hits bumps. This means they work less and fatigue less. Double-butted spokes put extra material where it is useful - on the threads and at the elbow. The latter point is where spokes usually break.

A minor disadvantage of thinner spokes is that they wind up more when you true the wheel, so they require more care and experience. -- Jan Heine Editor Bicycle Quarterly 140 Lakeside Ave #C Seattle WA 98122 http://www.bikequarterly.com