Just say NO to straight pull. yes they work, after that they have no real advantages, just more agravation.

 

Are you building the wheels yourself? I found straight pull spokes easier to build over j bend but did notice a bit of spoke slipping at high tensions (not enough of a pain to stop me building another wheelset with straight pull spokes however).

I don't think you'd be able to tell the different if you had the same rims and spoke count wheelset between straight or j bend spokes, my only deciding factor would be replacement straight pull spokes are harder to come by at your LBS. I ordered a couple extra spokes so I have spares rather than having to rely on a shop.

 

J-Bends if you’re going custom. With some pre-built wheelsets, you don’t have a choice with spokes. That’s the only time I’ll tolerate straight pull spikes.

 

Decent shops have both sets of spoke blanks/at least a Hozan threader. There is still no guarantee silver/black/otherwise, straight/bladed/butted/weird size that they'll have something that matches YOUR spokes. Ditto for nipples.

That said, what the other people said. Straightpull offers no real advantage unless you are chasing super light weight wheels (and if you're buying 350's, you aren't). In order to build them quickly, you need a spoke holder, but for maintenance purposes, a pair of pliers with no jaw serrations works fine.

There is a tiny bit of truth in easier spoke changes, but I don't build wheels around something that happens infrequently if I do my job correctly. Catastrophic damage is not something to build a general use wheel around.

 

Bladed straight pull, 28 hole. Easiest wheels to build. No functional difference with j bend.

 

love my straight pulls, easy to build and plenty strong. no reason to say no

 

My take is SP is only worth it when they do something jbend can't. Mavic's UST for example allows for spoke replacement without taking the tire off, and no rim bed holes for tape free tubeless. I9 allows for easy wheel builds because there are no nipples and it's pretty much impossible to screw up the lacing pattern. Unless you get real benefits, SP isn't worth it because of cost and availability. As the market sits right now, jbend makes more sense. I personally wish Mavic's UST spoke design was the standard for tubeless rims. Because SP designs are all over the place, with the vast majority doing nothing better than jbend, they make little sense. If you really like the looks. Have at it. It really doesn't matter as long as you don't mind paying more for replacement spokes that will be harder to source.

 

I've got 350 straight pull hubs with Sapim laser spokes on one of my wheelsets. They look and function very well. I kinked a spoke on a rock last year that eventually broke on the ride. I carry a few extra spokes in my Camelbak because I like to get out in the middle of nowhere. I was able to replace the spoke on the trail in a couple of minutes by using the same nipple. I replaced the nipple, and tape, and fine tuned the tension after the ride. Good luck doing that with a J-bend. There is no sense in cutting a ride short. I know most guys aren't capable of what I did, but it is nice to know that the option is there.
The straight pull hubs also look better, in my opinion, and weigh less. I doubt it's much weight saved by the end of the build, and as you said the higher flanges on the J-bend may help provide stiffness, but I don't see myself going back to J-bend hubs on any of my builds in the future. Most good builders that I have talked to don't seem to think that the straight pull are much more difficult to bring up to tension.

 

My 2020 Giant Reign Adv (running '18 GR Adv 0 drivetrain & wheels)...

...has DT Swiss 240 hub, 28 straight pull spoked - wheels.

Been bomb proof so far... EX wheels, w/ 54 ratchet [emoji869]

Great wheels w/ 30mm ID & nice engagement.

Sent from my HD1900 using Tapatalk
View attachment 1376299

 

Waiting for black friday

Thanks guys, lot's of good info here. Can't say I've made up my mind though, but at least it sounds like it doesn't really matter - I'll be happy whether I go J-bend or SP.

I'm gonna wait til the end of the month to see if I can get any good discounts for Black Friday, so I've got a few more days to think about it...

 

I'd say that you should only go SP for the looks. That's how I look at it as a wheelbuilder.

When you compare the boost 350SP 6-bolt 28h to the boost 350 j-bend 6-bolt 28h there are some difference in spoke length due to the small SP flanges.

350SP 28h x3 : Front= L:304 R:304 & Rear= L:305 R:304

350 28h x3 j-bend: Front= L:296 R:297 & Rear= L:297 R:295

Do you really want long spokes on a 29er?

EDIT: I just chose a standard DT 502, 603ERD rim

 

Good info

I'd say that you should only go SP for the looks. That's how I look at it as a wheelbuilder.

When you compare the boost 350SP 6-bolt 28h to the boost 350 j-bend 6-bolt 28h there are some difference in spoke length due to the small SP flanges.

350SP 28h x3 : Front= L:304 R:304 & Rear= L:305 R:304

350 28h x3 j-bend: Front= L:296 R:297 & Rear= L:297 R:295

Do you really want long spokes on a 29er?

EDIT: I just chose a standard DT 502, 603ERD rim

This is precisely the kind of hard-facts-based opinion I was looking for... Thanks! I think you've swayed me to go with J bends after all. As I said, SP does look better, and I can get them for the same price. But this is just not worth it if it means a small sacrifice in performance.

Now for the real question: When will DT Swiss trickle down it's new tech and come out with a 350 hub with the new ratchet EXP...?!

 

I recently bought, off Ebay, a set of 32h wheels built with DT EX511 rims with DT 350 hubs. 32h 350 hubs are only available with J-bends, so that made the decision for me as I was wanting straight pull. The wheels are super-stiff, and I'm very happy with them. I think the stiffness primarily comes from the wheel itself, as it is a much wider and stiffer wheel than I was previously riding. Going from 28h to 32h I'm sure didn't hurt either.

 

I just built a set of of wheels with j-bends. My previous wheel set were shimano xt's with straight pull. Personally, when I am building a set of wheels, I go for jbends only because those spokes can be fo und just about anywhere. Otherwise, I don't notice the different on how they ride or their durability.

 

Why would you want the EXP ratchet? It's a downgrade.

 

How is it a downgrade ? More difficult to work on?

 

I have no major preference, but all else equal, I go with J.

 

Yep, those are the spoke angles taken from my calculator when building wheels. It's all fine that you doubt the numbers. I ended up with the values using the dimensions from the hubs as mentioned earlier.

As I also wrote it would take a direct comparison to feel any difference. Leyenda wanted hard facts and I provided hard facts. Then it's up to the reader of my answers if he or she wants to use them to make a decision - or just think it's all nonsense.

About J-bends i'll put it this way then. Bottom line - I have NO second thoughts using J-bends and I have yet to change a spoke due to failure at the bend or at all. Users range from 145 - 365lbs and quite different skills.

The paper clip makes an excellent example due to the simple cause that I just wanted to illustrate how to understand metal fatigue.