# Bladed Spokes Worthwhile?



## Polyhedron (Jul 6, 2011)

I'm an infrequent poster ... please be kind.
I'm considering a wheel upgrade from my stock Mavic CXP22's to Boyd, Williams, or Soul. $1k approx budget.
Thinking about a low profile carbon for some aero, weight, and a cool look.

My bike is a $2k carbon Jamis. I ride 2-3 times per week at 30-60 miles per trip, rolling hills, mix of solo and group rides, averaging about 17mph. Starting to do some longer ride events. Not a racer. Improving my fitness and getting faster; want to reward myself with nice wheels.

My question is: do bladed spokes make a difference?


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## MR_GRUMPY (Aug 21, 2002)

Difference?.......Well, for one thing, they look cool....For another, they help at speeds over 25 mph.....For speeds under 20, not so much.



The idea of putting $1000 wheels on a $2000 bike seems a little strange, but hey, it's your money.
.
.


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## Zen Cyclery (Mar 10, 2009)

On paper, bladed spokes do make a difference. However in the real world, these differences are very minimal. Some can say they feel them, however I think this is simply placebo. 
A good double butted spoke will do you just fine.


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## sadisticnoob (Dec 6, 2009)

my LBS charges bladed spokes at 4x the price of the normal round spokes. i figured its not worth the $


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## Jay Strongbow (May 8, 2010)

Polyhedron said:


> Thinking about a low profile carbon for some aero, weight, and a cool look.
> 
> difference?


Maybe you and I have a different understanding of what low profile means and not that you asked but low profile carbon rims won't give you aero benefits (or a cool look for that matter, they'll just be black rims like aluminum could be). They will be light.
Assuming you are talking about clinchers, if you are going to get carbon clinchers and risk possible inferior braking you may as well take full advantage and get something deep with aero benefits. Especially with your rides being rolling hills. If you were into climbing mountains maybe a shallow carbon wheel would make it worth going carbon but for rolling hills aero would be better, I think.

anyway, regarding blade spokes. Just my opinion and not anything scientific but I'd say if the wheels you like happen to have them, fine, go for it, but I wouldn't seek them out or pay much extra for them either. I don't think they help in any meaningful way but by the same token they don't hurt. Although, I've never used them in a high crosswind, perhaps that's a potential downside to them.


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## danl1 (Jul 23, 2005)

If you want them for reasons of having the "-est" equipment, sure. 

If you are racing and need that extra tiny edge (less than the difference between having your race-fit jersey zipped to your sternum or all the way up the collar)? absolutely.

For enjoying the ride solo or with friends, for fitness or for fun? There's a lot of other toys that can be had for the money.


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## cxwrench (Nov 9, 2004)

we use DT Aerolite spokes(DT version of Sapim C Xray) on all of our lightweight custom wheels, both road and mountain. we don't use them because they're 'aero', but because they're light and strong and you can prevent them from winding up when tensioning a wheel, unlike DT Revolutions. they are expen$ive, but if you want light and strong, they're great. if you ask DT which spoke to use for light mtb disc brake wheels builds, they'll recommend the Aerolite. They weigh the same as Revolutions, because that's basically what they are, just flattened. 
so...they really won't get you much in the way of 'speed', but they're light and strong and you can get them in silver/black/red/white.


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## Kontact (Apr 1, 2011)

Tapered profile aero spokes are more aero than round. But flat, wide, rectangular cross section spokes like Mavic uses are probably less aero than round spokes.


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## Dresden (May 26, 2009)

According to Sheldon Brown, flat bladed spokes are more aero than elliptical spokes. Whether that's accurate or not, I don't know.

http://sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html


Edit: Zipp's take on spoke shape:

http://www.zipp.com/_media/pdfs/technology/spokeshape.pdf


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## rruff (Feb 28, 2006)

Polyhedron said:


> My question is: do bladed spokes make a difference?


Bigger than the difference between 30mm and 50mm rims. If you care about aero at all, and are spending >$500 on wheels, then it is a no-brainer.


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## woz (Dec 26, 2005)

I'm with Ron, if you're buying more than a cheap foul weather or beater wheelset it makes sense to go with a CxRay or Aerolite.


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## tednugent (Apr 26, 2010)

why not get a set of premade wheels?

picked up a nice set of mavic ksyrium elite....weight-wise, definitely a difference compared to the stock wheelset with mavic cxp-22 rims and has flat bladed spokes

the other big choice is which hubs????


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## geneseo (Nov 2, 2005)

MR_GRUMPY said:


> Difference?.......Well, for one thing, they look cool....For another, they help at speeds over 25 mph.....For speeds under 20, not so much.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I don't know about that. A new D/A bike goes for around 5k and a nice set of 404s runs ~2300. Spending half the cost of the bike on wheels isn't that out of the norm. Plus you'll have the wheels when you upgrade bikes.

I've still got a pair of ksyrium sls that I bought in 2003 that have been run on 4 different bikes and they're still running strong. they used to be my race wheels and they've proven more than durable enough for daily drivers.


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