Spokes

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What is a spoke? You can define it in different ways: a piece of steel, a wire, a spring or, what we like best, the connection between the hub and the rim.  Being the link between the hub and the rim, the spoke has multiple functions:

  • Carry: spokes carry the weight of the bicycle as well as it load.
  • Absorb: spokes absorb the irregularities of the road and ensure the comfort of the rider.
  • Transmission: spokes transmit acceleration and braking effort of the rider.

When you see professional riders coming downhill at close to 90 km/h on their bike, you realize the vital importance to get the best quality of spokes and nipples.

We use different grade of steel, different diameters, heads, surfaces and, of course, length.  Producing with care and on highest quality standards we offer the widest range in the market. All our spokes are produced in Sapim facility located in Europe and in Asia.  In every production location we implemented an identical and strict quality control processes.

Spoke

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Head with bending

Our standard spokes have a bending length of 2,8 mm. This is optimal for at least 90% of the hubs in the market.
But sometimes the standard bendings

are wrong. Steel hubs need shorter bend. You can adjust this with our spoke washer (see page 34 for more details).

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Material

Sapim uses only high grade stainless steel specially drawn to our own specification of material and tensile strength. The long term experience and many trials insure that Sapim spokes last long.

Precise definition and small tolerances are constant point of attention in the production process. This guarantees the highest quality for millions of spokes Sapim produces every year.

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Thread

Spoke thread is rolled and not cut. Rolling the thread improve the strength. The name of the thread on a standard 2mm spoke is called FG 2,3 mm.

Options

The world of wheel building and the demand of the market can make spoke different to the standard. For some we have to add anti rotation parts, hammer head, torsion control squares (picture), colors (picture) or different bending length to the spokes (picture). Also a lot more different spoke models are available only for manufacturers. Our variety ensures that you can build up wheels with nearly all available rims and hubs and can repair all standard wheels. For repairs of special branded wheels you should contact your local distributor.

 

Straight and bending

Straight and bending

Silver and black

Silver and black

Torsion control squares

Torsion control squares

Many different lengths

Many different lengths

Surface treatment

Black oxidation is a chemical process that transfers the first few microns of the stainless steel surface into a black layer. This method has the advantage of being done in a bulk process, which has a positive effect on the price and capacity (availability and delivery time). This process is performed by high quality minded companies specially selected by Sapim to achieve the highest quality possible.