Bladed Spoke advantages
1964johnr
Posts: 179
Just about to buy a pair of Shimano 501 wheels for my winter bike at a good price of £70 from merlin bikes. I have the choice of ordinary spokes or bladed spokes. My thoughts are that being quite heavy at 92 kilos I might be better off with bladed spokes because there is no bend in them where they join the hub and therefore they may be stronger than ordinary spokes. i have a history of snapping rear wheel spokes. Any wheel experts out there with any thoughts on this?
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Comments
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Bladed spokes are usually only found on wheels that have 20 or less spoke pattern front or rear. Less spokes - lower weight bearing structure. If you are worried about breaking spokes I would get handbuilts. Will last you years.
Since the 501's have only a 24mm rim height the bladed spokes are going to offer marginal aero benefit on their own. Best just sticking with rounded stronger ones that are cheaper0 -
I weigh over 100kg's and bought the bladed spoke ones and they were fine, don't worry. You may be unlucky but for the price they were great wheels.0
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Best just sticking with rounded stronger ones that are cheaper
Hmm?
One example of bladed spoke, the CX-Ray, is the strongest spoke that particular manufacturer makes (stronger and more fatigue resistant than even their Strong spoke).
I can't argue with you on the cheaper bit though!0 -
Best just sticking with rounded stronger ones that are cheaper
Hmm?
One example of bladed spoke, the CX-Ray, is the strongest spoke that particular manufacturer makes (stronger and more fatigue resistant than even their Strong spoke).
I can't argue with you on the cheaper bit though!
They are but they aint cheap and you wont find them on cheapo shimano wheelsets
And although they are strong, they are not as strong as the strongest round spokes and the ones you get on cheaper rims are usually pretty tough.0 -
Looking at the exploded view on Shimano Tech Docs, I think both round and bladed spokes will have a j-bend at the hub end (otherwise there would be 2 different hubs listed, and they aren't)
I went for the plain round spokes when I bought my R501's, figuring it would be easier/quicker/cheaper to source a replacement spoke in the event of a breakage. (My rear RS10 has a single silver spoke because the right length black one was completely unavailable when I needed one. And it cost me a fiver!!)0 -
Just about to buy a pair of Shimano 501 wheels for my winter bike at a good price of £70 from merlin bikes. I have the choice of ordinary spokes or bladed spokes. My thoughts are that being quite heavy at 92 kilos I might be better off with bladed spokes because there is no bend in them where they join the hub and therefore they may be stronger than ordinary spokes. i have a history of snapping rear wheel spokes. Any wheel experts out there with any thoughts on this?
if you go for the 501's they are cheaper at ribble at the mo as there is a further 8% off with code shim8
http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sp/road-track-bike/shimano-shimano-wheels-factory-road-tri-shimano-r501-bladed-spoke-clincher-wheels-pair/shimwhfr2030 -
Bladed spokes are usually only found on wheels that have 20 or less spoke pattern front or rear. Less spokes - lower weight bearing structure. If you are worried about breaking spokes I would get handbuilts. Will last you years.
Since the 501's have only a 24mm rim height the bladed spokes are going to offer marginal aero benefit on their own. Best just sticking with rounded stronger ones that are cheaper
I keep hearing that "handbuilts" are stronger, but aren't all wheels hand built, or am I missing something?0 -
Thanks for all of the info. LBS informed me that bladed spokes do have a bend at the hub, so my theory was wrong.Thanks for spotting the Ribble offer. It seems that there is little difference between ordinary spokes and bladed ones in terms of strength. My only problem now is working out delivery from Ribble when I am not in during the day. These wheels are not available on saturday delivery. Does anyone know if the Ribble chosen courier will deliver to a local post office if you are not in for the delivery?0
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I bought mine from Ribble. Think they came Parcelforce, but I had them delivered to work. Is that an option for you??
If not, best phone Ribble and ask them.
Parcelfarce had lived up to their reputation; despite protective packing, the rear axle had punched a hole in the box, and a chunk was missing from the threaded end of the freehub. Told Ribble I'd be happy to send back just the freehub but they asked for the entire rear wheel. Returns worked very well, and the replacement arrived wrapped like a Ming vase
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I keep hearing that "handbuilts" are stronger, but aren't all wheels hand built, or am I missing something?
People use the them hand built to differentiate from factory built wheels, some of which may be built by machine. Perhaps a better term would be custom or bespoke as the customer/builder can choose the components that make up the wheel.
Custom built wheels can be stronger as you could spec a high spoke count or a strong rim, neither of which are particularly trendy so don't feature on factory built wheels. Custom built wheels will also be built using off the shelf rather than propriety components making any repairs cheaper and easier.0 -
If I had to choose I would go for round,my commuter has bladed 501,s and I realize thatvif one snaps its not going to be cost effective to pay£5for a spoke when you can get the whole wheelset new for what £70?.I had a spoke go on a rs 11 and it bought the wheel had snapped and as it is a low spoke wheel its highly tensioned so I had to undo the brake cable to get the wheel to spin.Looking at the exploded view on Shimano Tech Docs, I think both round and bladed spokes will have a j-bend at the hub end (otherwise there would be 2 different hubs listed, and they aren't)
I went for the plain round spokes when I bought my R501's, figuring it would be easier/quicker/cheaper to source a replacement spoke in the event of a breakage. (My rear RS10 has a single silver spoke because the right length black one was completely unavailable when I needed one. And it cost me a fiver!!)FCN 3/5/90 -
If I had to choose I would go for round,my commuter has bladed 501,s and I realize thatvif one snaps its not going to be cost effective to pay£5for a spoke when you can get the whole wheelset new for what £70?.I had a spoke go on a rs 11 and it bought the wheel had snapped and as it is a low spoke wheel its highly tensioned so I had to undo the brake cable to get the wheel to spin.Looking at the exploded view on Shimano Tech Docs, I think both round and bladed spokes will have a j-bend at the hub end (otherwise there would be 2 different hubs listed, and they aren't)
I went for the plain round spokes when I bought my R501's, figuring it would be easier/quicker/cheaper to source a replacement spoke in the event of a breakage. (My rear RS10 has a single silver spoke because the right length black one was completely unavailable when I needed one. And it cost me a fiver!!)
When the spoke snapped on the drive side of my rear RS10 it went with such a bang. Couldn't even push the bike because the tyre was jammed against the chainstay. Which was handy as I was in a mobile phone signal black spot...0
