# Spokes - 1mm too short or 1mm too long ?



## Pierre (Jan 29, 2004)

When buying spokes from a place that doesn't have the right length (Performance - god forbid ! they mess up orders on spokes pretty much all the time), should I order 1mm too long or 1mm too short ? In practice, I want Revolution spokes, 291mm, to use with an Open pro rim. They have only 290 or 292.

Thanks !

Pierre


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## CFBlue (Jun 28, 1999)

*guess*

This is just a guess, but I'd say that since Revolutions stretch more, go a little short. As long as you have plenty of threads to grip, and can at least get the nipples started, you should be ok. Too long and the nipples could bottom out, but I doubt 1 mm would be long enough that the spokes would hit the rim tape. 

I've split the difference and got the same size when left and right called for different sizes on a track hub and it was ok. Could hardly tell.

Nonetheless, if someone really knows the answer to this, I'll readily defer.

Doug



Pierre said:


> When buying spokes from a place that doesn't have the right length (Performance - god forbid ! they mess up orders on spokes pretty much all the time), should I order 1mm too long or 1mm too short ? In practice, I want Revolution spokes, 291mm, to use with an Open pro rim. They have only 290 or 292.
> 
> Thanks !
> 
> Pierre


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## turbomatic73 (Jan 22, 2004)

*yep*

i'd probably go one 1mm below. sometimes when spokes are too long they end up bottoming out on the nipple they are a pain to turn. 

plus, over a 32 spoke wheel you will be saving the weight of over 3 centimeters of spoke material...AND THAT'S ROTATING WEIGHT!!!!


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## russw19 (Nov 27, 2002)

Pierre said:


> When buying spokes from a place that doesn't have the right length (Performance - god forbid ! they mess up orders on spokes pretty much all the time), should I order 1mm too long or 1mm too short ? In practice, I want Revolution spokes, 291mm, to use with an Open pro rim. They have only 290 or 292.
> 
> Thanks !
> 
> Pierre



Longer. If you have to pick one, go longer. It's better to have more of the spoke threaded into the nipple than the other way around. There are a few times when this is not true, but most of the time, go longer. If your rims are double walled, go long. If they are single walled and longer will make the spoke come thru the nipple and puncture your tube or if the spoke will bottom out on the nipple so you can't tighten it. If neither of those is happening, go longer between the two.

Russ


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## jw25 (Feb 23, 2004)

Well, it depends on your spoke calculator. I use Spocalc, which has been pretty much spot-on, giving me full threading of the nipples when up to tension. 
It gives spoke length to the tenth of a millimeter, so I always round down. Spokes stretch a bit when built, and having the spoke a fraction of a mm. shorter won't make much difference. If I were to round up, there's a chance, however slight, that the threads might bottom out before optimal tension can be reached. 
So, I'd say shorter, but qualify it with the above. If you've got measurements to the tenth, then use your judgement - half a mm off is better than 2, either way.
Or use a different spoke supplier. I've had great luck with Mike at oddsandendos.com and Thorsten at thorusa.com. Mike sells Wheelsmith, Thorsten Sapim, and both at very competitive rates. They also stock or will get the exact length you need, and no sales tax uless you're in Florida or Illinois, respectively.
Jon.


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## Al1943 (Jun 23, 2003)

*Spoke Length*

Doug's got it right. With Revolutions shorter is better than longer. I had some bottom out.
~Al


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## Dave_Stohler (Jan 22, 2004)

Shorter is better than longer *provided that* there are at least 6 threads inside the nipple.


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