Simple, objective, informative: thanks for making a quality video on the subject!

As a wheelbuilder of 40years experience, including professional team mechanics, this is exactly my opinion also. ProBikeMechanic UK

Thank you (only) 6minutes and very clear and to the point as good as it gets

I have an interesting discovery to add to the straight pull vs j bend comparison. I had a very high end mountain bike with carbon Reynolds rims laced to DT 240S hubs, which are straight pull. I had an issue that I took ages to solve, and it was this: in the 3 highest gears, as I would pedal, my rotor would rub every revolution on the brake pads. This did not happen in any of the other 8 gears. When the bike was in the stand, and I spun the wheel in any gear, the rotor was dead straight. So, there was something happening in the high gears that was causing the rotor to rub. I checked the frame, the pivot points, everything, but to no avail. I eventually determined that it must be hub flex, and so I was going to be upgrading my drivetrain, and I wanted the new 12 speed Microspline, so I built up a when with a j bend XTR hub. Lo and behold, the rubbing issue disappeared. It is my belief that a straight pull hub is going to flex and twist more than a j bend hub. It is the spokes bracing the hub flange of a j bend that resists the flex and twisting that the straight pull flange cannot resist. I'm curious to see if anyone else has encountered this issue, and if they agree with my assessment.

I looked at the timing of video...6 minutes and thought no way that he can pull it off in that time frame! But you did, awesome video, very informative and some of the best 6 minutes I ever spent watching content on YT! Subscribed and will recommend to friends and looking forward to more clips.

Thanks for a no bullshit video on this subject that gets right to the point.

Very well done. Defiitely a step above 99% of all other KZfaq videos.

Regarding weight, I found that straightpull isn't necessarily lighter in total. Yes the hubs are lighter, but the spokes tend to be at least 10mm longer. Multiplied by 28 or 32, and its a significant amount of weight that typically negates anything saved from the lighter hubs. In the case of DT 240 it actually came out lighter to build with j-bend.

Love the rapid fire format. Excellent production!

Thank you. Straight to the point and quick video.

This information is absolutely amazing for novice builder like myself. I would be interested in your guys take on interlacing or non-interlacing spokes. Thank you so much for amazing videos.

Thanks for the video guys!

Great video! Super clear and I’ve been wondering this for a while

amazing material!! thnks U Weelworks

Great video. Learn a lot. I've been very happy with all nine of my Wheelworks wheels. Four of them are road wheels with straight pull and Wheelworks have done a stellar job with making them perfectly.

A very well done video explaining the two spoke types. I am looking to start building wheels. I am now subscribed to your channel. Thank you!

Your videos are superb!!!. Great information that is really useful and easy to follow. You also speak really clearly. Your passion for what you do comes through. You make me want to move to NZ so that I can get my wheels from you. As much as I love my bikes and the research that goes with them, it would be good to be closer to knowledge heads like you guys so I could get to the truth faster. Cheers from Aus.

Just discovered this page. Excellent videos

Well this video made up my mind, thanks for that!!! I'll build my first wheel set with J-Bend spokes...

I have some old mavic wheels, 24 spokes, they are soft and mushy as hell. Ideal for city with 32mm tires :))

Uhhh, I asked for this in one of your last videos, thank you so much for the answer! ✌🏽

Great Video thanks👍

It's a 6+ minutes full of informations. Great video.

very informative, tnxu sir...

the video did it s exact purpose very well. well made video and thx. the reason they make them so much now is for profitability not bcs that they are better.

Great video - thank you! Would love to see you do a similar comparison on nipple types/materials.

Very interesting comparison! What would be really useful is a hands-on video about calculation of straight-pull length. I find trying to find a virtual point in space for calcs very confusing and nowhere as straightforwards as ‘J bend”. Thanks.

Not totally relevant to this video, but for future: bladed vs round spokes and thoughts on lubing spokes when building!

HI thanks for this movie simple and with god examples you have explain this topic thank you for that best regards

Thanks for posting this video, I recently bought a set of Enve wheels and was wondering if I was giving anything up with the J-bend spokes they use - nice to know I'm not . I actually had a spoke snap on me when I hit a crater and it was on an entry level set of rim brake wheels (Campagnolo Scirocco), not a great feeling when your doing 25mph on a busy road. The 16 spokes on the front wheel definitely factored in as did my 220lb weight, now I'll only use a minimum of 20 spokes (24 is preferred) and of course a much better wheelset.

If I need wheels professional done, I am great as I lace the wheel so they tighten same amount of turns when hand then to the pros to finish, I can get 0.2mm myself but sometimes I want more better

Thanks for that very useful video. When I got this right, j-bend should also work better with asym rims?

Nice informative video, thank you! I just broke a SP spoke on my gravel 24 spoke Al asymmetrical wheel on the cassette side while pedaling hard out of a roundabout. It broke at the hub end and I am worried other may follow since it a light wheel used a lot for routes where people ride even FS bikes. Should I change all spokes on that side since I tend to ride in remote areas as well?

Thanks Tristan! I've been inspired by you and Gav to try and build a budget bling set (hopefully a wheelworks set next). Do you think the spoke length (shorter for j-bend) wound compensate for the ~15g difference in hub weight? If I'm looking at trying to build the lightest set possible with the idea of reusing the hubs on a proper build in a year or two, is something like a 240 straight pull the path? Thanks, Liam - (XC wheel interest)

Very informative. There's a brand out there that says it uses straight pull spokes on some of its wheel types because of "excellent torsional strength." First, is "torsional strength" a twisting of the wheel or twisting of the spoke or something else? Second, is that a legit concern? Third, if so, is the torsional strength of straight pull spokes better than J-bend?

Snapped a few spokes out of the blue on my i9 wheelset, how would I go about fixing that? Rebuild whole wheel or ?

I’d say if you ride tubeless with Cushcore, it’s gonna be a win for J bend on “ease of replacement.” I’d take off 3 brakes and cassettes before I wanna mess with pulling MTB tires off and patching the tubeless tape, etc.

Great video! In relation to lateral stiffness- would you say that j bend for example work better with an alloy rim and a straight pull would work better with carbon? to compensate or mitigate the stiffness of the rim material

You left out: Double Butted Spokes..? which helps prevent impact on the Rim that causes the rim to crack near the spoke...? And what are the advantages of adding a washer under the nipple to disperse the stress over a wider space in the rim..? From what i understand, Straight-Pull are very stiff and do not allow flex so the entire impact of bumps is put on the rim which causes cracks. This video could have gone more in depth. And explained all the pros and cons of J-Bend vs Straigh-Pull vs Butted spokes.. You didn't give us a complete picture.. Please elaborate on ALL options and their unique advantages.

Sounded pretty bias towards the jbend that would come on a huffy . Which I've never seen straight pull on a huffy. I've bent more jbend rims than I have straight pull .

Excellent content, thank you! I would suggest not recording in a big room since it gives a big echo of the sound.

I really like your video's! Very good advice! 😁I have a question. I want to build my own wheels for my roadbike and I'm doing a lot of research for it. I picked DT Swiss 350 non-disc hubs (J-bend) and DT Swiss RR 411 28'' Rim front 28H and the asymmetric 411 rear 28H. I want a 1 over 3 spokespattern in the rear and a 1 over 2 or 1 over 1 spokespattern in the front. But I'm not sure what brand I need to choose for the spokes, so I was wondering what the difference is between Sapim Laser and DT Swiss Revolution. They are both double butted, 1.5mm in the middel and very light. What would you recommend and will this be a good wheelbuild that I have in mind?

Question about spoke count: I'm diving into wheel options for my Turbo Levo, specifically looking at DT Swiss HX 1700. I noticed the factory option comes with 28 straight-pull spokes, but there's an alternative to build the same wheels with 32 J-bend spokes on 350 hybrid classic hubs and XH 531/581 rims. How crucial is the spoke count in (e)MTB wheels, and would the shift to 32 spokes provide noticeable advantages in durability or performance? Keen to hear your experiences and insights.

Love to hear you go over the best HUB for working with an E-bike. Is the industry nine Hydra King? or are there competitors like DTSWISS 54T Ratchet? I'm not rich. But I want bulletproof wheel build. So I want to integrate Cushcore and use quality spokes. I don't have a huge Budget. Was considering Hope Pro4 Hubs( cheaper then most), with Dtswiss XM Rims., curious what you think.

Great video, I would add as a pro shorter overall spoke length for J-bend increases lateral stiffness and stability. There is also the physical contact at the cross off spokes with J-bend that increases stiffness and prevents spokes from turning under pressure. The weight pro for straight pull...the minuscule weight gain for straight pull hubs is in the center of the wheel so the rotational mass gain is actually nonexistent... I am all in for J-bend ✌

Hmmm. I'm considering getting a DT Swiss 350 hub straight pull because the flange diameter on the drive side is larger, meaning the bracing angles between the two sides will be improved. The J-bend version of DT Swiss 350 have the two flange diameters exactly the same. This is the only reason I'm considering the straight pull, and my current Hope Hub is so blooming noisy.

I had a mavic wheelset with straight-pull spokes and got a stick caught in the wheel and it ripped the spoke through the flange of the hub making the wheel virtually useless.

Does aluminium straight pull spokes require more tension than J bend spokes? Eg 305 wheels from Industry nine.

Hi there, great video! What are your thoughts on proprietary spokes? Ie the I9 system and the larger diameter alloy spokes? Obviously harder to source a replacement spoke etc but are they stronger, stiffer? Thanks 🤙🏻

Hey, I have a problem, that my wheelset from the brand XLR8 uses the straight pull spoke, and after riding it on bumpy tarmac for several kilometers, the spoke loosened and separated from the nipple. After fixing and truing it, the problem comes again and again. Is there any suggestions to solve this? Is it safe to over-tensioning the straight pull spoke while truing it? Thanks

so that would mean you choose dt 240 over dt 180?

Apparently you've never actually had to change a broken spoke on a straight pull setup. The clusterfuck of spokes around the hub make it impossible to easily slide the old one out and the new one in

Portuguese subtitles please 🙏

Hi thanks for the great video... Can I purchase DT swiss straight pull spokes from you for Shimano RS370 wheels for my road bike?

J-Bend hubs are easier to measure the hub dimension for wheel building..

Why are j-bend spokes used for high grade wheels?

I'm in the process of learning the art of wheel building. I've successfully built two j bend wheels without many hiccups. Then I tried to build a wheel with an existing straight pull hub I already had... what an absolute nightmare! Never again.

I broken spokes, I’m 260 pounds and pick bad lines. Not very often though, every few years

I'm wondering about 28 vs. 32 spokes...

straight pull is the same as t-head?

Straight pull hub is just a way to reduce cost for hub's manufacturer...

All I got from the video is that type of spoke does not matter

Mega easy to lace a straight pull wheel and fairly straight forward to replace a spoke without removing the rotor and cassette. Apart from that they are just terrible.

I'm so regretful not to watched this video before, just bought the lightest hub i found and was straight pull, hard to find the spokes and also is very difficult to build, do not worth the effort

I always hear the "easier to find a replacement" line in favor of j-bend... how often are y'all really breaking spokes in remote locations where bike shops don't carry what's now a common spoke type? This is a non-issue, and really if you're going to be in such a location, you should be carrying spares for things like that along on your trip.

All I hear is claims with no scientific evidence. Conveniently when comparing bracing angles you only showed the spokes facing the outside of the flange what about the ones facing the inside? Those are steeper. Also the lack of choice of lacing patterns is being sold as a negative while it's obviously a positive as it forces you to use the best possible lacing pattern: 2 cross for 24 hole and 3 cross for 28 and above. Lacing is 100% faster with straightpull and less prone to errors. Defending J bend really is mainly for retrogrouches, which a lot of cyclists seem to be. I am planning some experiments with a physics lab in Berlin to debunk fantastic claims like these.