Another wheel day (and so on).
A customer left me a rear wheel built with a PowerTap hub.
The rim is a Mavic CXP33
Built with black Sapim Race spokes, 32H in 4-cross lacing,
but one outpoke on the non-freewheel side in the "anti-porcupine" direction is missing,
and two have been repaired with what's supposedly Sapim's own "Starbright #14 plain".
Mixing spokes of different weights on a single flange isn't ideal,
but they must have run out of stock.
This so-called Starbright attracts magnets pretty strongly,
but the other one didn't stick to the magnet at all.
When I disassembled them to investigate, they were exactly the same length.
The exact history is unclear, but
given that the black Race spokes have been repaired twice with silver Starbright,
I'd guess it's the same shop (nearby or a regular spot)
but apparently their Starbright stock has spokes with different magnetic properties mixed in.
If all spokes in a given lot (like a 100-piece bag) show one property or the other, that'd be fine,
but if they're mixed within a single bag, that's a problem.
I don't think that's happening though…
Well either way, I wouldn't use crappy spokes like these!
Inpoke marks are visible on all the flange holes,
so this wheel's been rebuilt at least twice.
Done. Since the rim is an XR200, this is Nomu Lab Wheel #5.
PowerTap Elite Plus hub, 32H, half-comp 4-cross Italian lacing.
I'll do the wiring later.
It was black spokes before the rebuild, but silver is fine with them.
I cut those so-called Starbright spokes to the same length and examined them.
Up close, the finish is different.
The one that doesn't attract to the magnet has more of a stainless-steel look—
it's distinguishable by eye, but in photos it's nearly impossible to tell.
The magnetic one snaps right to the magnet with a sharp *click*,
and no amount of waving the magnetic rod around will pull the spoke off.
The non-magnetic one doesn't attract completely—it does show a faint response—
but you have to be quite careful lifting it, or it just drops right off.
A customer left me a rear wheel built with a PowerTap hub.
The rim is a Mavic CXP33
Built with black Sapim Race spokes, 32H in 4-cross lacing,
but one outpoke on the non-freewheel side in the "anti-porcupine" direction is missing,
and two have been repaired with what's supposedly Sapim's own "Starbright #14 plain".
Mixing spokes of different weights on a single flange isn't ideal,
but they must have run out of stock.
This so-called Starbright attracts magnets pretty strongly,
but the other one didn't stick to the magnet at all.
When I disassembled them to investigate, they were exactly the same length.
The exact history is unclear, but
given that the black Race spokes have been repaired twice with silver Starbright,
I'd guess it's the same shop (nearby or a regular spot)
but apparently their Starbright stock has spokes with different magnetic properties mixed in.
If all spokes in a given lot (like a 100-piece bag) show one property or the other, that'd be fine,
but if they're mixed within a single bag, that's a problem.
I don't think that's happening though…
Inpoke marks are visible on all the flange holes,
so this wheel's been rebuilt at least twice.
Done. Since the rim is an XR200, this is Nomu Lab Wheel #5.
PowerTap Elite Plus hub, 32H, half-comp 4-cross Italian lacing.
I'll do the wiring later.
It was black spokes before the rebuild, but silver is fine with them.
I cut those so-called Starbright spokes to the same length and examined them.
Up close, the finish is different.
The one that doesn't attract to the magnet has more of a stainless-steel look—
it's distinguishable by eye, but in photos it's nearly impossible to tell.
The magnetic one snaps right to the magnet with a sharp *click*,
and no amount of waving the magnetic rod around will pull the spoke off.
The non-magnetic one doesn't attract completely—it does show a faint response—
but you have to be quite careful lifting it, or it just drops right off.