New album: Spoke neck length

To make the right choice and find the proper bicycle spoke is today more important and maybe more difficult than before.

For example, some cyclists think that a standard DTswiss DT Competition from the year 2000 has the same design as a standard DTswiss DT Competition today, or a standard Sapim Race manufactured in 2010 is the same as a standard Sapim Race made in 2019 - but they are not. Yes, their model names remained but not their design.
People are often not aware of the fact that many spoke manufacturers have however changed their “standard” spoke neck length over the past years. This has happend without beeing noticed by many people (or they just don't care).
Already some years ago Peter White, our colleague in the US, was writing about the spoke neck challenge: http://peterwhitecycles.com/DTspokes.htm  Please be aware when reading his article, that Peter was messuring the outer length of the spoke neck, while I'm talking about the inner spoke neck length.

As pictures say more than a 1000 words, we've arranged a photo session and we have taken pictures of new hubs and new spokes from different manufacturers and manufacturing dates. In each album you can see one spoke model and its fitting within each of these hubs.

Today (03.04.2019) DTSwiss’ standard neck length is 2.4mm and in autumn 2015, SAPIM reduced their standard length from 2.9mm to 2.7mm. Use of such "short neck" spokes in combination with a stronger hub flange or a large diameter hub, such as the Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14, is one of the sources of problems that can lead to hub flange failure.
When looking at the pictures, you'll see what I mean. And based on these pictures, you may prefer the usage of 2.9er spokes - even with economic hubs.

Please always keep in mind that the required spoke neck length for a Rohloff SPEEDHUB was and is 2.9mm. These 2.9er spokes must be used from 18" (355) up to 28/29er (622-642) wheels.

Sapim is still producing 2.9er spokes but only on demand. We are stocking Sapim Race spokes with 2.7mm and 2.9mm spoke bow lengths in both, silver and black. You can purchase them by visiting us or via our online shop. Direct links in the webshop:

• black Sapim Race spokes with 2.9er spoke necks
• silver Sapim Race spokes with 2.9er spoke necks
• black Sapim Race spokes with short spoke necks
• silver Sapim Race spokes with short spoke necks

Here are the links to each spoke with its dedicated picture album:

• DTswiss DT Competition with 2.4mm spoke bow
• Sapim Race with 2.7mm spoke bow
• DTswiss DT Competition with long spoke bow
• Sapim Race with 2.9mm spoke bow

So, when visiting a bike shop and looking for a bicycle spoke then don't be surprised that a professional asks you not only about the spoke model, colour and length but also about the spoke neck options.

If you are looking for a properly built, quality wheel or wheelset for your current or future bike, then please get in touch with us!

Check out the Wheel Station picture album to see a selection of our hand built wheels and our webshop for other products in our assortment.