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Home   Blog   Spoke Angle

Spoke Angle

September 22, 2017 4 Comments

Nipples aim from their rim holes in order to align with spoke angle. The goal is to have no bend in the spoke as it enters the nipple because threading there is a weak spot. Spokes can fracture in thread roots after many loading cycles. Nipple and rim shape determine the amount of spoke angle that can be accommodated. The angle is a product of hub and rim size, spoke number, and crossing pattern.

Today, rims are frequently smaller (650 instead of 700, 20” for folding, cargo, and e-bikes, etc.). Hubs can be larger (generator, internal gear, e-motors, etc.). These combinations produce spoke angles that are more concerning.

 

e-motor wheels are here

 

A perfect spoke angle is 90deg with no bend in the spoke. Side angles generated by hub width and dishing are rarely below 80 and most nipple-rim combo’s handle them. The angles we need to address are in the rim plane and a function of rim and hub size.

 

Different wheels, different spoke angles. Adapted from Grin spoke calculator.

 Grin offers a great spoke calculator, among many valuable resources. It will determine the spoke-rim angle and, incidentally, works with paired spoking (another topic). Nipples can easily aim for entries of 80-90 degrees. Less than 75 may be accommodated. Below 70 is beyond most components and requires special attention. Solutions:

1/  Kink the spoke with a plier or wrench so it enters the rim at the nipple’s angle, a slow but effective process.

2/  Drill holes larger so nipples are freer to pivot, not an option or advisable on many rims.

3/  Reduce the lacing cross number to make an angle closer to 90. Despite sub-optimal torque geometry, many builders are doing it. As Grin says, “In spite of the popular wisdom not to use radial lacing on drive wheels, empirical experience has been that this isn't really an issue with the large hubs in small rims.” The burgeoning e-bike scene cannot be slowed down even though appropriate rims are not available.

 

Radial motor wheel, they are in use!

 

 4/  Rims could address this issue, for example, with a bulge at each nipple. Motorcycles figured this out 100 years ago. Drill the rim to accommodate the required angle. Here is a solution with optimal spoke angle and torque transmission. Cycling will certainly figure this out soon.

 

Rim drilled to match spoke angle.

 

Anticipate spoke angles and plan accordingly. An engineered solution to the situation requires initiative from rim makers. Let’s hope it is sooner than later so I can stop envying motorcycle wheels!



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4 Responses

Lawrence
Lawrence

November 02, 2021

What about the angle of the spoke relative to the hub?

Ideally the spoke should be tangent to the hub flange to maximize the area under shear in the hub flange. But do this matter if the hubs are the modern day star flange, direct pull design?

Alex
Alex

November 02, 2021

Alesa Columbia rims had a free-rotating spherical(ish) nipple holder that I believe were excellent to accomodate different spoke angles.

Still having a wheel with it (laced to a very rare Sachs Elan 12 speed gear hub) and is going strong… although nipple holes are cracking now. But still true.

Hriday Santos
Hriday Santos

November 02, 2021

I remember an old set of rims on my Schwinn High Sierra, they were single wall rims and had the bubble and angle drilled as shown above. It´s an elegant solution though I´m uncertain if it would work with double wall rims.

David Feldman
David Feldman

November 02, 2021

Weinmann and Araya made rims with dimpled/aimed spoke holes years ago. They were weak, flexible single wall rims. If a modern company such as Mavic or Velocity could do this without any weakening of the rim more power to them—but those of us who build wheels should pick lacing patterns appropriate to the rim—no 3x or 4x for 650c deep section rims no matter how much a customer says that’s what they want.

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