# spoke count



## towerscum (Mar 3, 2006)

New to touring.I built a touring bike. Nice one too. Built it with a spoke count of 32 in the front and 36 in the rear thinking my load distribution would be heavier towards the rear per advice. Upon further research and reading,it looks like more weight should be loaded up front.
More up front? Is that true?How much more? Do I need to build another front wheel?

Thanks

towerscum


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## Scott B (Dec 1, 2004)

Weight distribution is sort of a personal thing. I tend to put about 35%-40% of my weight in front and the rest on the rear. My total load minus food and water on my last tour was around 20 pounds so I'm not toting a ton of weight, but it's not ultralight either. It all depends on the bike and how you want it to handle.

Front wheels aren't dished so they are stronger then rears because of that with the same number of spokes. Depending on how much you carry, how heavy you are and what the wheel build is 32 spokes is likely plenty. 

The punch line is you probably don't need a new front wheel unless you are pretty heavy and carry heavy loads. What is your wheel build? How do you intend to use the bike? How heavy of loads (ride and gear) are you looking at?


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## Waxbytes (Sep 22, 2004)

I believe a properly built 32 spoke wheel should be plenty strong enough. 
Having said that you might want to consider that when going down a steep hill and applying the brakes you are in almost the same state as doing a wheelstand on the front wheel.
Nearly all the weight is transfered to the front.


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## Reynolds531 (Nov 8, 2002)

Your 32 spoke undished front wheel is most probably a lot stronger than your dished 36 spoke rear wheel.

I'm sure it happens, but I've never had a broken spoke on the front wheel.


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## KWL (Jan 31, 2005)

Reynolds531 said:


> Your 32 spoke undished front wheel is most probably a lot stronger than your dished 36 spoke rear wheel.
> 
> I'm sure it happens, but I've never had a broken spoke on the front wheel.


And.....while one may carry a heavy load while touring, the engine adds more weight than anything else. Where is the majority of that load distributed?


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## bigbill (Feb 15, 2005)

I think you're fine with a 32 spoke front wheel. If you do decide on a second front wheel, I suggest a generator hub. With a loaded tourer you're not likely to notice the drag and you can charge your phone or other devices when you're not running a light.


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## Eben (Feb 6, 2005)

As long as you're not hauling everything including the kitchen sink, a hand built wheel with a modern rim and 32 high quality spokes can stand up to a lot of abuse. I weigh 190lbs and have toured extensively (admittedly mostly on well paved roads) with 32 spoke 700c wheels front and rear. I usually have about 30lbs on the rear rack and 10lbs on the front and have never even had to true my wheels.


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## towerscum (Mar 3, 2006)

Thank you for the replies. Pics to come.

towerscum


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