Titanium Vs. Steel Spokes?

BikeSwan

Hi All,

I'm considering buying a new wheelset for my Tallboy and I have a question concerning spoke material. The Rims I'm considering are the ENVE Twenty9 AM and the hubs are Tune Prince/Princess. I was curious as to whether further weight could be saved by going for Titanium spokes, specifically the Pillar X-TRA Lite Ti?

The spokes I was considering were Sapim CX-Rays, but if I can save weight by using the Pillar's and not sacrifice strength or rigidity too much, then that's the way i'll go. The thing I'm concerned about is how the Ti spokes will affect the strength of the wheel? As a note: The ENVE Rims are only available in 32 Hole specs so I cant up the spoke count and use the Ti spokes to counteract the loss in strength.

Any thoughts?

nicklouse

Ti is not a good spoke material.

go for steel.

njee20

You can save weight, but you'll compromise stiffness significantly!

I'd question whether CX-Rays are worthwhile (having had 3 sets of wheels using them), they're just a Laser with a higher fatigue strength - all that meant for me was that the nipples broke rather than the spoke. Revolutions (or Lasers) are cheaper and weigh the same.

Alternatively if you're so inclined it may be worth trying to track down the Sapim Superspoke, a couple of shops are listing them now, significantly lighter than CX-Rays/Revs/Lasers, but meant to be pretty tough. Some secret blend of steel.

And... if weight's an issue why the AM rims? The XC rims save more weight than using CX-Rays over Competitions, and should be plenty tough enough for use on a Tallboy.

BikeSwan

njee20 wrote:

You can save weight, but you'll compromise stiffness significantly!

I'd question whether CX-Rays are worthwhile (having had 3 sets of wheels using them), they're just a Laser with a higher fatigue strength - all that meant for me was that the nipples broke rather than the spoke. Revolutions (or Lasers) are cheaper and weigh the same.

Alternatively if you're so inclined it may be worth trying to track down the Sapim Superspoke, a couple of shops are listing them now, significantly lighter than CX-Rays/Revs/Lasers, but meant to be pretty tough. Some secret blend of steel.

And... if weight's an issue why the AM rims? The XC rims save more weight than using CX-Rays over Competitions, and should be plenty tough enough for use on a Tallboy.

From reading other threads about Ti spokes I got the feeling they would be worse (stiffness wise) compared to steel. I like the look of those Sapim Super Spokes though! They are definitely an option. The reason I would get the AM rims is because I want to be able to run wider tires (2.25"+). Thanks for the help!

Chunkers1980

Still possible on lighter xc style rims, loads out there capable

njee20

Depends how wide, I'd certainly go to 2.25" on the XC rim, like I say, that's a bigger saving than you'll get from the spokes!

BikeSwan

njee20 wrote:

Depends how wide, I'd certainly go to 2.25" on the XC rim, like I say, that's a bigger saving than you'll get from the spokes!

I talked to the guys at ENVE and they said that running tires wider than 2.1" on the XC rims was "unadvisable". Plus, I have a future plan of changing to a Tallboy LTc, so I want gnarly wheels if I want to go that way.

Chunkers1980

Yeah perhaps on their rims but not xc in general, it is governed by the width.

njee20

Fair enough, I ran 2.25" Schwalbes on XC717s, which have an ID of 17mm, ie narrower than the Enves.

BikeSwan

I currently have Stans NoTubes ZTR Arch EX Rims and they a relatively wide (21mm internal width). I've run 2.35" tires on those and they felt strange . . . as if the tire was rolling about on the rim. I think 2.25" on those rims are the largest i'll go.