Number of spokes differences
- Thread starter roger89
- Start date
Hiya dude. Yup. Many. One of em' is weight and strength, that might be two actually, but who's counting! Fewer spokes will give you lighter wheels, but weaker wheels. 36 is used for cheaper bikes and downhill mtbs, 32 is the norm for most entry level road bikes and most mtbs and 28 is usually reserved for high end road bikes because the owners of such dream machines know how to ride em' properly. There must be a million variations on the number of spokes per wheel and different spoke patterns, but that, quite literally, is another book. Quite a thick book aswell!
Bill.
Bill.
Not necessarily cheaper wheels but certainly more durable wheels will have a higher spoke count. This is something for heavier riders to consider when shopping for a roadie, or new wheels. Those low spoke count wheels do look cool but they can be problematic for you (us) heavier guys...shannons dad said:Hiya dude. Yup. Many. One of em' is weight and strength, that might be two actually, but who's counting! Fewer spokes will give you lighter wheels, but weaker wheels. 36 is used for cheaper bikes and downhill mtbs, 32 is the norm for most entry level road bikes and most mtbs and 28 is usually reserved for high end road bikes because the owners of such dream machines know how to ride em' properly. There must be a million variations on the number of spokes per wheel and different spoke patterns, but that, quite literally, is another book. Quite a thick book aswell!
BTW I weigh 206lbs.
I was going to be a smart alec... well, I will anyway.
Yes, there is a difference. The wheels with many spokes have more spokes than the ones with few spokes.
Along with spoke count there is also the matter of what the spokes are made of, how large (or small) they are, and some are even aerodynamically shaped. Also, adding to the previous poster's counts, I believe I saw somewhere that some Tandem wheels have 40 spokes.
The differences are as noted, more tends to mean stronger, fewer tends to be lighter.
The reasons for going with fewer spokes seem to be related to lower weight, but there is also the factor of less wind resistance. The wind resistance is supposed to be especially important at high speed, since the spokes as they rotate through the top of the wheel's motion are going against the wind at twice the speed that the bike is moving. Of course, if you have really wide balloon tires, the spokes are probably not the part of the wheel that is creating the greatest amount of drag.
Yes, there is a difference. The wheels with many spokes have more spokes than the ones with few spokes.
Along with spoke count there is also the matter of what the spokes are made of, how large (or small) they are, and some are even aerodynamically shaped. Also, adding to the previous poster's counts, I believe I saw somewhere that some Tandem wheels have 40 spokes.
The differences are as noted, more tends to mean stronger, fewer tends to be lighter.
The reasons for going with fewer spokes seem to be related to lower weight, but there is also the factor of less wind resistance. The wind resistance is supposed to be especially important at high speed, since the spokes as they rotate through the top of the wheel's motion are going against the wind at twice the speed that the bike is moving. Of course, if you have really wide balloon tires, the spokes are probably not the part of the wheel that is creating the greatest amount of drag.
The following is based on non-scientific "This is what I think" ...roger89 said:
Short answer:
Probably 32
Long answer:
My hypothesis is that if wee were to do a statistical analysis, that the mode would be 32 spokes per wheel. The mode in statistics is the measure of the most common occurrence.
This is based on the previous message that most entry level road bikes, and MTBs have 32, and I suspect that most bikes fall into one of those categories and/or comfort/hybrid models which probably would follow that trend as well.
Given spokes of the same size and shape, you really have to be flying before the number of them makes any significant difference in drag.dgregory57 said:The reasons for going with fewer spokes seem to be related to lower weight, but there is also the factor of less wind resistance. The wind resistance is supposed to be especially important at high speed, since the spokes as they rotate through the top of the wheel's motion are going against the wind at twice the speed that the bike is moving. Of course, if you have really wide balloon tires, the spokes are probably not the part of the wheel that is creating the greatest amount of drag.
The rim profile and strength is a major factor in determining how few spokes you can get away with.
Given that a wheel has to be durable enough to do what it has to do (rider weight is a factor here) and stiff enough to efficiently transfer your energy onto the road, having less spokes does not save weight at all because low spoke wheels need heavier rims to survive and work efficiently. This in turn puts the weight to the outside of the wheel which is a disadvantage in all but flat time trial situations.
Lower spoke wheels are more aero-dynamic which again points to the time trial application. The trend towards deep rims with low spoke counts is as most wheel builders will tell you a fashion thing and is probably driven by the triathlon market which seems to attract flashy big spenders.
Generally for training use 32 spoke wheels (durability). For track racing use 36 spoke wheels (stiffness). For road racing you can get away as few as 20 front and 24 rear if you can ride well and don't weigh too much, but remember that less spokes means heavier rims for a given strength of wheel.
Less is not always more - good Luck Jay.
Given that a wheel has to be durable enough to do what it has to do (rider weight is a factor here) and stiff enough to efficiently transfer your energy onto the road, having less spokes does not save weight at all because low spoke wheels need heavier rims to survive and work efficiently. This in turn puts the weight to the outside of the wheel which is a disadvantage in all but flat time trial situations.
Lower spoke wheels are more aero-dynamic which again points to the time trial application. The trend towards deep rims with low spoke counts is as most wheel builders will tell you a fashion thing and is probably driven by the triathlon market which seems to attract flashy big spenders.
Generally for training use 32 spoke wheels (durability). For track racing use 36 spoke wheels (stiffness). For road racing you can get away as few as 20 front and 24 rear if you can ride well and don't weigh too much, but remember that less spokes means heavier rims for a given strength of wheel.
Less is not always more - good Luck Jay.
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