Today, a customer (sort of) brought me a Mavic open rim and a bundle of spokes.
By "open," I mean there was actually a rim model called OPEN that Mavic made before the Open Pro.
They wanted me to measure the inner diameter of that rim, and separately check what spoke length would be needed if built with an Araya Aero 4 rim using a 7400 hub.
So I looked up the required spoke length and investigated the provenance of the spoke bundle.
This customer (sort of) can actually build wheels themselves.
The spoke bundle included DT Revolution spokes based on #15 and other types,
but most were Hoshi Aero Starlight Bright (Aero SB).
↑Here's a bundle of Aero Starlight Bright Type III,
aka Aero SB3.
Aero SB3 is a square aero spoke that fits through the round holes of standard hubs.
Starlight has a capital H mark stamped on the spoke head,
while stainless has a ★ (star mark),
but while Aero SB does exist,
there's no such thing as Aero Stainless.
So the stamp is always an H mark.
However, this Aero SB3 has different production years mixed together,
and the height of the H emboss varies (see image above).
The lower emboss isn't just worn down—the vertical stroke of the H is actually different lengths too,
so it looks like they used completely different dies.
But magnetically they're the same.
Both respond powerfully to a magnet—*snap!*
Also, star aero spokes seem to have different lengths for the flattened butted section depending on the machining equipment used,
and depending on the length, the round spoke sections at both ends of the butted part can look awkwardly long,
or even though there's only a 2mm difference, the butted section length can vary significantly.
But this bundle with the different stamps had the same length overall, so the butted section range was identical too.
↑This is Aero Starlight Bright Type I, aka Aero SB1.
Aero SB1 and SB2 have identical flattened butted section dimensions,
and Aero SB2 has the same H-stamped spoke head as Aero SB3
but is only compatible with slotted flange holes.
Aero SB1, on the other hand, has a crank-shaped spoke end that hooks onto the hub flange,
allowing wheels to be built on round-hole flange hubs.
Oh, and while I'm at it, this Aero SB1
does have an awkwardly long round spoke section at the hub end.
I tried threading outpokes through a Toni front hub.
Radial lacing is better done with outpokes.
Tangential lacing is possible too, but
you have to accommodate the strong outward-facing tendency of the inpokes.
When I tried threading inpokes through the freewheel-side flange of a 660 rear hub,
they hit the hub body.
Plenty of hubs can't use Aero SB1 either.
Aero SB1 and SB2 have HOSHI embossing on the butted section,
and this is a relatively clean example from the spokes I got today,
but I saw quite a few where the HOSHI lettering
was shifted downward.
Also, on many of them the top of the fourth character H's horizontal bar was unclear,
making it look like a ladder.
And here's what surprised me: these spokes
barely respond to a magnet at all.
Earlier I wrote that star aero spokes only come in Aero Starlight Bright,
but I was just assuming that—turns out there are exceptions.
With Type I, since there's no spoke head as such,
I can't confirm the H stamp = Starlight.
Well, I actually have examples of H-stamped spokes in my shop that turned out to be the same company's stainless,
so there's no guarantee that an H stamp means they're making genuine Starlight for you.
Hoshi spokes as a manufacturer have no credibility in that department.
↑This is my personal Aero SB2
(and yeah, the round hub end is awkwardly long again),
and when I line up three butted sections into a sheer cliff,
a magnet-tipped rod *snap* sticks right to it.
Actually it sticks even with just one, and
it sticks to the short side (the blade side) of the butted section too,
not just the long side.
But with this so-called Aero Stainless 1 (or whatever to call it),
when I made a three-spoke cliff the same way,
the magnet-tipped rod wouldn't stick at all.
This magnet-tipped rod is the kind used for nipple and rim changes on Racing Zero and Bora wheels,
but I also use it to check spoke magnetism.
↑Top is fake Aero SB1 (let's call it that),
bottom is Aero SB3.
The Aero SB3 has some very light surface rust,
but the fake Aero SB1 has that stainless-like luster
and no rust at all.
↑This is Aero SB3
↑This is also Aero SB3
↑This is my personal Aero SB2. The round part is awkward,
but the stamp is clean and sticks well to magnets.
↑This is also my personal Aero SB2.
This one takes awkwardness to the highest level.
But the stamp is clean and sticks well to magnets (etc.).
↑This is also my personal Aero SB2, but
even though the spoke length (obviously uncut) is the same,
the round part length is different—talk about sloppy manufacturing.
If you put this in a radial front wheel,
the uneven light reflection off the spokes around the hub
when the wheel's rotating is really noticeable,
so you definitely can't mix them up.
But the stamp is clean (etc.).
The so-called Aero SB types 1 and 2 let you judge manufacturing period
by how crisp the HOSHI embossing is, especially the fourth character H,
and the ones with sloppy stamps are dubious as Starlight.
The customer (sort of) brought a substantial bundle of spokes,
and what I've shown here is just part of it,
but Aero SB2 and SB3 were all genuine Starlight,
and the only ones that barely responded to magnets were the fake Aero SB1.
Well, I suspect all Hoshi spokes anyway.
Once a manufacturer's messed up, you can never trust them again.
I've even seen rear wheels built with H stamps on both sides claiming to be Starlight,
with properly 2mm different spoke lengths,
but only one side—say, just the freewheel side—sticking to magnets.
That means only the freewheel-length spokes were genuine.
As far as I know, there is one exception: a spoke brand where every single so-called Starlight is genuinely 100% Starlight.
NJS-approved keirin track spokes.
I have two theories about this:
One is that keirin riders are generally sharp about their equipment,
so there's no fooling them, and manufacturers actually do it right.
The other is that NJS spokes are just selling old stock made years ago
and back then they actually made decent products.
I think the latter theory is pretty thin, though.
By "open," I mean there was actually a rim model called OPEN that Mavic made before the Open Pro.
They wanted me to measure the inner diameter of that rim, and separately check what spoke length would be needed if built with an Araya Aero 4 rim using a 7400 hub.
So I looked up the required spoke length and investigated the provenance of the spoke bundle.
This customer (sort of) can actually build wheels themselves.
The spoke bundle included DT Revolution spokes based on #15 and other types,
but most were Hoshi Aero Starlight Bright (Aero SB).
↑Here's a bundle of Aero Starlight Bright Type III,
aka Aero SB3.
Aero SB3 is a square aero spoke that fits through the round holes of standard hubs.
Starlight has a capital H mark stamped on the spoke head,
while stainless has a ★ (star mark),
but while Aero SB does exist,
there's no such thing as Aero Stainless.
So the stamp is always an H mark.
However, this Aero SB3 has different production years mixed together,
and the height of the H emboss varies (see image above).
The lower emboss isn't just worn down—the vertical stroke of the H is actually different lengths too,
so it looks like they used completely different dies.
But magnetically they're the same.
Both respond powerfully to a magnet—*snap!*
Also, star aero spokes seem to have different lengths for the flattened butted section depending on the machining equipment used,
and depending on the length, the round spoke sections at both ends of the butted part can look awkwardly long,
or even though there's only a 2mm difference, the butted section length can vary significantly.
But this bundle with the different stamps had the same length overall, so the butted section range was identical too.
↑This is Aero Starlight Bright Type I, aka Aero SB1.
Aero SB1 and SB2 have identical flattened butted section dimensions,
and Aero SB2 has the same H-stamped spoke head as Aero SB3
but is only compatible with slotted flange holes.
Aero SB1, on the other hand, has a crank-shaped spoke end that hooks onto the hub flange,
allowing wheels to be built on round-hole flange hubs.
Oh, and while I'm at it, this Aero SB1
does have an awkwardly long round spoke section at the hub end.
I tried threading outpokes through a Toni front hub.
Radial lacing is better done with outpokes.
Tangential lacing is possible too, but
you have to accommodate the strong outward-facing tendency of the inpokes.
When I tried threading inpokes through the freewheel-side flange of a 660 rear hub,
they hit the hub body.
Plenty of hubs can't use Aero SB1 either.
Aero SB1 and SB2 have HOSHI embossing on the butted section,
and this is a relatively clean example from the spokes I got today,
but I saw quite a few where the HOSHI lettering
was shifted downward.
Also, on many of them the top of the fourth character H's horizontal bar was unclear,
making it look like a ladder.
And here's what surprised me: these spokes
barely respond to a magnet at all.
Earlier I wrote that star aero spokes only come in Aero Starlight Bright,
but I was just assuming that—turns out there are exceptions.
With Type I, since there's no spoke head as such,
I can't confirm the H stamp = Starlight.
Well, I actually have examples of H-stamped spokes in my shop that turned out to be the same company's stainless,
so there's no guarantee that an H stamp means they're making genuine Starlight for you.
Hoshi spokes as a manufacturer have no credibility in that department.
↑This is my personal Aero SB2
(and yeah, the round hub end is awkwardly long again),
and when I line up three butted sections into a sheer cliff,
a magnet-tipped rod *snap* sticks right to it.
Actually it sticks even with just one, and
it sticks to the short side (the blade side) of the butted section too,
not just the long side.
But with this so-called Aero Stainless 1 (or whatever to call it),
when I made a three-spoke cliff the same way,
the magnet-tipped rod wouldn't stick at all.
This magnet-tipped rod is the kind used for nipple and rim changes on Racing Zero and Bora wheels,
but I also use it to check spoke magnetism.
↑Top is fake Aero SB1 (let's call it that),
bottom is Aero SB3.
The Aero SB3 has some very light surface rust,
but the fake Aero SB1 has that stainless-like luster
and no rust at all.
↑This is Aero SB3
↑This is also Aero SB3
↑This is my personal Aero SB2. The round part is awkward,
but the stamp is clean and sticks well to magnets.
↑This is also my personal Aero SB2.
This one takes awkwardness to the highest level.
But the stamp is clean and sticks well to magnets (etc.).
↑This is also my personal Aero SB2, but
even though the spoke length (obviously uncut) is the same,
the round part length is different—talk about sloppy manufacturing.
If you put this in a radial front wheel,
the uneven light reflection off the spokes around the hub
when the wheel's rotating is really noticeable,
so you definitely can't mix them up.
But the stamp is clean (etc.).
The so-called Aero SB types 1 and 2 let you judge manufacturing period
by how crisp the HOSHI embossing is, especially the fourth character H,
and the ones with sloppy stamps are dubious as Starlight.
The customer (sort of) brought a substantial bundle of spokes,
and what I've shown here is just part of it,
but Aero SB2 and SB3 were all genuine Starlight,
and the only ones that barely responded to magnets were the fake Aero SB1.
Well, I suspect all Hoshi spokes anyway.
Once a manufacturer's messed up, you can never trust them again.
I've even seen rear wheels built with H stamps on both sides claiming to be Starlight,
with properly 2mm different spoke lengths,
but only one side—say, just the freewheel side—sticking to magnets.
That means only the freewheel-length spokes were genuine.
As far as I know, there is one exception: a spoke brand where every single so-called Starlight is genuinely 100% Starlight.
NJS-approved keirin track spokes.
I have two theories about this:
One is that keirin riders are generally sharp about their equipment,
so there's no fooling them, and manufacturers actually do it right.
The other is that NJS spokes are just selling old stock made years ago
and back then they actually made decent products.
I think the latter theory is pretty thin, though.