Help choosing spoke for my motor/rim

[petitdoudou]

Hello!
I have a MXUS 3000 V3 Turbo (45H) and a Trucky 30 (TRUCKY 30)
I'm not sure what size of spoke I should buy and diameter?
After some research it seems to me that 197mm would be nice, someone can confirm please ?
also i'm not sure about the diameter, 10G ? 9G ?
Please someone can help with that ?
Thanks!

 

[Chalo]

That rim is eyeleted for 13ga spokes. That means the thickest diameter you can use at the rim is 13ga (2.3mm). If it were my project, I'd use 13/15/14ga triple butted spokes (if available) or 13/14ga single butted spokes, with 2.5mm spoke washers and conical nipple washers to reconcile the oversized holes at both ends.

If you don't know that thinner spokes make stronger and more reliable bicycle wheels, well, they do. If you don't believe it, then go ahead and do it wrong so you can learn the hard way. That's a bicycle rim, so it will only deliver its potential with bicycle spokes (the thinner the better).

 

[petitdoudou]

Alright thanks, so should I use the thinner spoke that I can find ? why not using something like 20G, or 0.2mm spoke ? to make the wheel stronger

 

[petitdoudou]

Or maybe should I buy a better rim ?

 

[E-HP]

After some research it seems to me that 197mm would be nice, someone can confirm please ?

Which calculator did you use?

 

[99t4]

You will find very helpful information at this page:

Wheel Building - Learn

There are many good print and online references for lacing bicycle wheels. Many will defer to Sheldon Brown, Brandt's Bicycle Wheel Book, and others. However, a lot of the points and details with a conventional bicycle hubs don't necessarily apply to hub motors with their much larger flange...

ebikes.ca

ESPECIALLY study the three videos at the bottom of the page. Clear demonstrations of measuring your hub, how to build the wheel, and how to calculate spoke length (has to be pretty exact).

Alright thanks, so should I use the thinner spoke that I can find ? why not using something like 20G, or 0.2mm spoke ? to make the wheel stronger

Maybe you are being sarcastic, but if it is an honest question, Chalo's recommendation is based on plenty of experience and his suggestion provides you with a good solution, widely available and economical parts. I currently am enjoying excellent results on a wheelbuild based on his similar recommendations.

Or maybe should I buy a better rim ?

Possibly-- what is your planned environment and usage scenario? Your weight? Bike weight?

 

[Chalo]

Alright thanks, so should I use the thinner spoke that I can find ? why not using something like 20G, or 0.2mm spoke ? to make the wheel stronger

The spoke must be thick enough to withstand the necessary twisting to be tightened, and strong enough to tolerate maximum operating tension. 1.8mm (15ga) is more than adequate for that, 1.6mm (16ga) and 1.5mm (17ga) are marginal. There are 1.8/1.4mm butted spokes available, but they're too difficult and application specific for the average wheelbuilder.

So I recommend 2.0/1.8mm (14/15ga) double butted spokes for most wheels that need to be as strong as possible. Because you're dealing with oversized holes at both ends, and because you will probably need a very unusual short spoke length, for you I recommend 13/14ga (2.3/2.0mm) single butted spokes. Those are available cut to any length you need.

 

[calab]

MXUS 3000 V3 Turbo (45H)

Huge flange holes on those motors.
I used normal genuine Sapim spokes with washers on the flange for the 45h mxus dd, then I used flared spoke head spokes from Holmes, then I used the bigger spoke head spokes from Grintech. All 26" rims.

Buy the proper spoke tool from Park Tool thats only used for one gauge and dont bother with the multi-gauge spoke tool as its frustrating trying to find the right slot on the spoke tool when lacing. Multi-gauge spoke tools are good for the tool bag you carry when riding. The real bad ones are the 12 slotted tools vs the not so bad 6 slotted, no differientation between the slots. Lifelines got a 3 slot triangle tool with different colors thats a bit more helpful with the diff colors.

 

[amberwolf]

Huge flange holes on those motors.

Simple fix for that is drill new ones in between the originals; This is what I did for mine back in 2018 and they've worked for years on the heavy heavy-cargo SB Cruiser trike. (destroyed at least one rim from the road conditions, but the spokes didn't fail, and neither did the flanges) The SB Cruiser : Amberwolf's 2WD Heavy Cargo Trike & Dog Carrier

 

[DaLanMan]

The spoke must be thick enough to withstand the necessary twisting to be tightened, and strong enough to tolerate maximum operating tension. 1.8mm (15ga) is more than adequate for that, 1.6mm (16ga) and 1.5mm (17ga) are marginal. There are 1.8/1.4mm butted spokes available, but they're too difficult and application specific for the average wheelbuilder.

So I recommend 2.0/1.8mm (14/15ga) double butted spokes for most wheels that need to be as strong as possible. Because you're dealing with oversized holes at both ends, and because you will probably need a very unusual short spoke length, for you I recommend 13/14ga (2.3/2.0mm) single butted spokes. Those are available cut to any length you need.

Ok, not suggesting anyone is incorrect, but ages ago I was witness to a couple of guys arguing about alternative layout options and spokes that were tork absorbing. To be honest I did not really follow the arguement except understanding that most of the words were in english.

With that said, Is this actually a thing? is it not a bike thing?

I mean honestly, I hire the local shop to deal with issues with spokes, I have never successfully true'd a bent rim.

 

[amberwolf]

It's not about truing a bent rim. That's a tough job, and not really intended for the spokes to do. (and also not a problem mentioned in any other posts in the thread that I recall.)

The spoke thickness has to fit both the usage scenario and the rest of the parts used. If you use spokes that are too thick, they require so much tension to create the preload that the rim can't handle the stress and will be damaged, usualy at the nipple holes. Spoke flanges can also be damaged or broken off.

If all the parts are designed for the higher tensions that thicker spokes require, then a wheel can be strong with them (like with motorcycle parts vs bicycle parts)...but if all parts aren't made to handle the extra stress, the weaker parts will fail from it at some point.