On Tue, Jun 22, 2010 at 11:16 AM, John Hurley <JHurley@jdabrams.com> wrote:
> Robert,
> I am interested that you are so heavily into straight gage spokes. What
> benefits do you find in straight gage over butted?
>
> I had never heard of CN Spoke (Chun Nan), not that I am a wheel builder
> by any stretch, even though according to their website they've been
> around since 1970! In the past there have been threads on spoke head
> markings, but no mention of this brand. I will add them to my list. I
> wish someone would create a photo collection of spoke heads. I see CN
> Spoke has a brand called Mac, with an "m" as spoke head marking. Do
> their CN brand spokes also have this mark?
>
> What are your views on the length of the elbow crook vs the thickness of
> the hub flange? Can an aluminum hub flange really be used as an anvil
> to change the shape of a high-strength steel spoke, per Ted Ernst?
>
> John Hurley
> Austin, Texas, USA
>
I know you're not asking me, but one big advantage to straight gauge spokes is that they have far less tendency to twist when tightening. In all wheels, it helps greatly if you overtighten and then back off, to eliminate twist. It's not possible to do this perfectly, so stress relieving and initial use will get rid of the twist. You want to minimize the amount that this occurs, and it's harder with swaged spokes.
Tom Reingold
Maplewood, NJ, USA