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OK, one for the wheel experts on here.
Which spokes do you reckon will give a stiffer (29er) wheel, DT Comps or Super Comps?
I wouldn't mind saving a bit of weight, but ultimately I'm after a laterally stiff wheel, so I can put up with hauling a few extra grams.
Cheers.
Thanks Rorscach. Very useful info. I think I've now got all the info I need to choose the right build - glad I asked 🙂
Cheers.
If you're not a particularly heavy rider then I doubt you'd find Super Comps hugely flexy, although Comps will be stiffer, as you know by now...
That sheldon link is useful but the conclusions are not complete. I am not disputing their result I should point out, the results are correct I believe and for the test method. When a wheel is in use under acceleration the wheel sits at an angle while a torque is applied to the axle. This results in a lateral force opposite in direction to the lean which is a good thing or the bike would fall over. This load at the contact point between the road and tyre cause the rim to deflect. Now let us assume the lean is towards to the DS of the wheel. This means the rim is bent towards the NDS and this means the NDS spokes will reduce tension and the DS will increase in tension. (I think I have this right what I do know NDS spokes can go slack under acceleration). The result is in high power sprints the lateral load on the rear wheel can be high enough to cause the NDS spokes to go slack so only the DS spokes in the senario are holding the wheel together. After this point is reach rim deflection as function of load increases substantianlly. Low spoke tension would result in this point being reached sooner. So spoke tension does have an infulance on lateral stiffness.
The sheldon article is correct proabbly for the test method used that is not how a wheel is loaded in reality. Infact thinking about what was written that article did say lateral stiffness droped when spokes very nearly slack. That can happen in breakaways.
So high tension spokes do not increase wheel stiffness the delay the point at which wheel stiffness is lost. Other wise deep section rims, spoke diameter and bracing angle all affect wheel stiffness. Which is why on a rear wheel I won't build with anything less than 2.0/1.8/2.0 spokes on the NDS.