For a circa 1700g 32mm wide wheelset for mountain days in the UK and elsewhere.
80kg as a rider. Also looked at DT revs, but they seem expensive.
For the last few years I have been using ACI Alpina Spokes from Cyclebasket.
They are a 2mm/1.7mm/2mm double butted and I have never had a problem with them (I am much heavier than 80kg) but the main thing for me is cost, They are alot cheaper than everyone else. 64 black Spokes are ~ £30, silver are under £20!
D-Lights build a much better wheel than Revs for anyone 80kg+.
I have a set of Hopes on XR391 with D-Lights and I’m 85-90kg these days, never needed touching. I also have a set of Light Bicycle Carbon on Hopes 24h on the cross bike using them.
D-Lights for the front and Race for the rear is my thinking.
Been using d-lights on several builds. Seem pretty good. Compared to the equivalent DT Supercomp, they’re a lot cheaper and take standard 2mm nipples, not 1.8s (worth knowing the butt starts just below the thread, so you can screw the nipple all the way through, which means you can have a bigger tolerance on your spoke length selection)
JE James were doing them cheap, last time I looked.
The only wheel I’ve ridden with DT Revs in was horrifyingly flexy under my 63kg. I could feel it twist when I pushed it into a corner. Might be the overall package inc Stans Olympic rims, but put me right off using them on any of my own wheels.
For the last few years I have been using ACI Alpina Spokes from Cyclebasket
Its a weird one isn't it. They're an long established company with a proven track record of making quality spokes* and they never seem to be on anyones radar as an option.
*Mavic and campagnolo and zipp wheels certainly used to use them.
+1 for ACI from cyclebasket. Never had a problem with them.
How heavy are those ACI's?
Also looked at DT revs, but they seem expensive.
Insanely so, in the UK. Generally source from Germany (Rose Bikes, most recently) where they are much cheaper, even with the shipping to the UK.
Watching this thread for future tips...
If you were thinking of Revs then Sapim Lasers might work- they're in the same ballpark, though Sapim don't recommend them for mountain bikes I've had really good results with them. (it's literally the same spoke as the CX-Ray, except without the forging thta makes the CX-Ray flat, so it's a little less strong)
How heavy are those ACI’s?
I would say that with a difference of 0.05mm in the narrow section, probably not much??
I built a set of wheels with Sram XO rear hub, superstar ultralite front, Velocity Blunt Ss rims and aci Spokes and I think it was 1650g ish, I can't remember exactly but it was definitely under 1700g.
+1 aci alpina from cycle basket - the material density is essentially the same and the section is near as dammit the same. Ergo weight it essentially the same.
Few people on here recommended the ACI Alpina spokes when I built my first set of wheels.
I've not had to tighten or re-true the wheels once since building. I've been hopping around and casing all sorts on my hard tail at 95-96kg too.
Huh,
Frustratingly they don't sell the right length Alpinas - according to the dt swiss calculator I need 278mm.
Frustratingly they don’t sell the right length Alpinas – according to the dt swiss calculator I need 278mm
They must just be out of stock, sure I have had 278mm from them before. They have them in silver.
