tyrion

Which one makes a more durable wheel? Sapim Race (double-butted 2.0mm, 1.8mm, 2.0mm) or Sapim Strong (single butted, 2.3mm elbow, 2.0mm rest)?

I've read enough from the the experts here to believe triple butted spokes makes the most durable wheel, but that's not available from the builder I'm looking at.

Sapim suggests it's Strong (single butted) spoke is their strongest ("The Strong is developed for specific and heavy usage such as tandem, e-bikes or heavy load use.")

Does this make sense to the wheel building experts here?

tomtomtom123

When I was building new wheels a few months ago I also considered the race and strong. I bought one of each and stuck them through the Shimano hub flange, and the strong needed some force to bend the spokes around the flange for the ones with heads in the inside of the flange. So I went with the race.

The thicker strong would stretch less than the thinner race, but I have very short spokes on my 20" wheels, so the amount of stretch with the short race on 20" would be less than a long strong on 26".

I assume that the double butted would reduce wear at the nipple compared to single butted. But the thicker elbow on the strong might be appropriate in some cases for heavy loads.

79pmooney

What rims are you using? I find that I get more rim damage from potholes and the like with heavier spokes; ie the middle 80%. The Race is 1.8, the Strong 2.0. 2.0 is 23% larger, ie 23% stiffer and with 81% of the stretch, so that much harder on rims with hard hits. For lightish rims like Mavi Open Pros, I avoid 2.0s like the plague. (Well, I often pick up new wheels cheap laced with factory 2.0 and ride them until I'm in wheel-building mode, then they get ripped out and 2-1.6-2s laced in (2-1.8-2 on the right rear).

Ben

tyrion

Looking at strong rims, Velocity Cliffhanger, Velocity Aileron, and WTB KOM Tough. I would get 36 hole versions of the Velocities but the WTB only comes in 32 hole. If I go with Cliffhangers (675 grams per rim!) I think it will be plenty strong with any spoke, but if I go with the WTB I think I need to maximize the strength I can get with 32 spokes.

I'm 240 lbs and am hard on wheels, so I want something rugged that I don't have to worry about.

79pmooney

I weigh 150 and am not hard on rims. Your plan sounds solid.

Ben