auchencrow

I plan to assemble some 36-hole Mavic Module E rims onto my old Normandy high flange hubs with a 3X pattern, and going through Spokcalc, the recommended spoke sizes are 296.9 and 294.9 for the left and right side of the rear wheel respectively.

The front wheel came out to 296.2.

Can I buy ONE box of 100 spokes in a nominal 295 size, instead of having to buy two different sizes ???

(It would cost me much more to buy two boxes of 50).

From past experience I prefer to round down rather than up, but I am not sure if a full 1.9mm shorter than recommended is too short.

AEO

if you round those number down, you need 296mm, 294mm and 295mm


you can cheat a bit by using DT spokes and DT 14mm or 16mm nipples, which effectively shorten the spoke length required by 1mm and 2mm, respectively....

but, I wouldn't do it, so that's up to you.

I_bRAD

If I were building those wheels I'd order one box of 296 and one of 294.

auchencrow

Thanks guys - (that is what I was afraid of). . . But I'll go with your advice - it would have been too great a compromise otherwise.

davidad

I would go with the one size. It will work fine. A perfect wheel would have the correct tension and the spokes would be flush with the end of the nipples.

FBinNY 

If you're very careful you can go with one size.

2mm is well within the possible working range of the threads, but you'll have to be sure to split the difference correctly, based on the height in the nipple that your calculator typically yields. The right read will go to fully to the to of the nipple or up to 1mm higher, the left will end about 2mm shorter and the front 2.5mm shorter.

Normally I'm very finicky about spokes coming up to within 1mm of the top of the nipple or to the bottom of the screwdriver slot, but as long as the rear right flange spokes are fully engaged the rest will be acceptable.

Note that 99% of factory wheels are built using the same length spokes on both side of the rear wheel.

auchencrow

At a calculated 294.9, The 295 ought to be fully engaged on the right rear (if not more) - and if the others are too short I'll just buy another box. (The same dilemma I was facing in the 1st place). So I'll try out one size after all, and see how it goes.

Thanks again all.

AEO

to reiterate, I would just go with a box of 294mm and buy some 14mm or 16mm nipples for the NDS rear.

FBinNY 

Lengthening nipples solves a cosmetic problem of threads showing, but not the structural problem of the spoke not engaging the head. The tube section of spoke nipples doesn't have nearly the strength of the spokes, and nipple breakage because of spokes ending short of the spoke head is a common cause of wheel failure on department store quality bikes. Some OEMs get around the problem by using steel nipples, but with brass or alloy nipples a minimum engagement of 2mm into the head is a must.

AEO

DT swiss nipples. They have the threading higher and are not just cosmetic.
you normally use 14mm and 16mm nipples for rims like CXP33, where a 12mm nipple won't work because the nipple sits deep inside the rim. you can't thread the spoke all the way to the base with 14mm or 16mm DT nipples.