Alias530

My passion is in the mountain bike world and these have been doing really well but I wanted to see if anyone has used them in the road or CX world. Anyone using these? Any comments? Thanks.

hamster

One year and over 3000 miles on their 50 mm wide tubular road rims. No issues. Not sure if I'd risk their clinchers, but tubular rims in general are simple in construction and hard to screw up.

Alias530

Yeah I intend to run clinchers. Their new rims are beadless, not sure if that makes a difference.

To make matters worse, I'm 6'6" 240lbs. I've never broken anything due to my size but it's a consideration. Will be using CX Ray spokes, brass nipples, and 32h rear/28h front.

chriskmurray

I have built a few sets of their road wheels for a few of our local pros and after thousands of miles on them they still have not had issues and a couple of these guys are going to be having me build a couple sets for their cross bikes they like them so much. These guys are not heavy but they put in a ton of miles and make a lot of power. I would say go for it, personally I am not a huge fan of CX Ray spokes on something other than race wheels but they rims should be just fine.

Alias530

Not a fan of CX Rays because of cost or durability? I'm fine if they cost a little extra but I don't want to be replacing spokes pretty much ever.

Triaxtremec

I don't have them on my cx bike but i do on my two mountain bikes and they have held up great!

chriskmurray

I just look at them more as a race spoke than an every day spoke, they are very strong but I do not think they handle fatigue after thousands of hard miles as well as something like the DT comp or Wheelsmith DB14.

Alias530

How about Sapim Race? CX Rays are quite expensive, but I don't want to have too much heavier of a wheel...

chriskmurray

That is pretty similar to my go to spokes for most "normal" builds, so I would go with that over the CX Ray unless building race wheels. I personally do not build with Sapim terribly often but they do put out a good product, it is just easier for me to get DT/Wheelsmith so I tend to go with those instead, I think all three brands are similar quality.

Alias530

Final question- thoughts on sapim laser?

chriskmurray

I usually avoid those with heavier (usually also powerful) riders as they can make a wheel a bit flexy compared to heavier gauge spokes as a lot of a wheels stiffness comes from the spoke choice but one thing that is a nice balance between light weight and still feels stiff is to run a spoke like the Sapim Race on the drive side rear and the Laser for non drive side rear and front spokes. This also has the added benefit of giving a slightly more elastic spoke on the non drive side rear wheel which usually because of dish is forced to be at a much lower tension.

Alias530

I guess I'm confused then how the CX Ray is stronger than the Laser... is it because of the shape of the spoke? They weigh exactly the same so it has to be the shape of the material...

chriskmurray

The shape certainly plays a big part but there is a difference between tensile strength and ability to withstand fatigue. Rarely is tensile strength in spokes a factor in wheel durability. I think the Laser being less manipulated than the CX Ray, as well as it being more elastic is a big part of what helps with durability.

Marin

The spokes are going to break at the bend, or sometimes at the thread. The slim section in the middle - manipulated or not - won't break unless you cut it

IMO, there's no reason a Laser should last any shorter than a CX ray, it's just going to be less aerodynamic.