MTB Wheels - Spoke Advice Please

[Matttymm]

So, I’m building a set of off-road wheels for my 1995 Marin Team Titanium. I’ve got some Marin Lite Kevlar tyres and Mavic 231 CD rims NOS.

Fingers crossed I shall also have a pair of NOS Shimano M900 XTR hubs - 36h

What I don’t really know is spokes and nipples (bike variety, the other I’m fairly OK with).

I’d like to go with the best and assume DT Swiss but also hear of Wheelsmith - so for the best quality build -

What brand ?
Butted or Double Butted ?
Nipples - does it matter ? What type should I buy ?
Can I buy these new or should they be retro ?

Thanks in advance to all

Matt

 

[Tootyred]

For my money...Dt swiss double butted competition spokes with chome plated sapim brass nips.

Db are lighter and generally more durable (i know it sounds counter intuiative but its due to their greater elasticity) and offer a better ride. Only caveat is unless you plan to chuck the bike off a mountain in utah, then i would pick single butted.

Db are a touch harder to build with, especially if your using a spoke gauge (never had or needed one tbh) due to then suffering more from tension twisting. But if you relieve them correctly......

Alloy nips are lighter, but much weaker imo. Also more troublesome later on if any corrosion sets in.

All parts still readily available of the shelf.

 

[Tootyred]

To be totally honest good wheels have very little to do with the spokes you choose. Its the build.

Ive had wheels given to me that had great components, but an appalling build, compounded by well meaning "truing". Spokes coming loose, wheels going out of true, pinking, broken spokes, cracked rims.....all very often signs of poor building to start with.

 

[Magpiegifts]

You might of seen this already but if not here it is. Check out the link to Sheldon Brown's website.
https://www.retrobike.co.uk/threads/advice-on-rims-and-spokes-for-a-wheel-build.429079/

 

[Magpiegifts]

And lots of it other helpful info from the RB massive

 

[Tootyred]

Try this book. It will probably be the best £9 you ever spend.

Very good and even has a template to build your own jig and access to the very good spoke length calculator.

https://www.wheelpro.co.uk/wheelbuilding/book.php

 

[novocaine]

For the money halo straight spokes can't be beat. You'll save a few grams with butted spokes but its hardly worth the effort. Brass spokes are a must though. Sapim or halo are my prefered.

A good build is the difference between a bad wheel and a good one as already said.

 

[Once A Hero]

My go to wheel builder uses Sapim only, and any decent set of wheels he builds for me have double butted spokes.

 

[Matttymm]

Haven’t heard of Sapim, so thanks mate. Think double butted for sure - keeps weight down.

 

[gtturbo]

DT or Sapim double butted are both good choices. Wheelsmith are also very good but I'm guessing hard to find outside of the USA. You could go lighter such as DT revolutions but I find them a bit flexy but then again I am a fat git. Modern wheels I tend to go Sapim CX Rays because they tick all the boxes but no good for a retro. To answer you other question I think it's perfectly fine to fit modern spokes to a retro bike. To be honest one db spoke looks very much like another anyway.