Spokes

Joined
May 3, 2020
Messages
10
Hello,

I am a Dutchman living in China and I want to build my first trike. I this city of 2 million people I went to 7 bike shops to get spokes in my 20 inch rim and 20 mm open hub with 36 spokes. Not one shop can do it. I didn’t expect this but Now I found an old man ( he repairs bicycles on the street) who can do it but I have to get the right spokes for him. Can anyone tell me the length of the spokes I need.
thanks in advance.
walter
 
Joined
May 31, 2013
Messages
3,980
Location
South Benfleet, Essex, England, UK
Depends on many factors.
What cross pattern, what hub flange width, what is the rims ERD?
Spokes are determined down to the closest 1 or 2mm not 20" or 24".
There are many online spoke length calculators you can use to get the perfect length of spoke. But you must enter the correct parameters for them to determine the correct length.
I use this one.
https://www.wheelpro.co.uk/spokecalc/
 
Joined
May 3, 2020
Messages
10
Thank for your reply Danny. But I have no answers to your questions. I am glad I found someone who is willing to give it a try and I don’t think he even would know which method he is using as he probably only knows one. So if some could give me a rough answer, I could buy 3 or 4 sets with a different length. Maybe than one set might be the right one.
 
Joined
Oct 19, 2012
Messages
2,384
Location
Wakefield, UK
It's as simple as measuring. A vernier will help but a tape will just about do. Enter all the asked for dimensions into one of these calculators and they'll spit out the answer. I accept that for some of the measurements it's hard to see what actually needs to be measured in order to fill the box in. If you can't google the answer then ask specifically about the measurements you are unsure of referring to the spoke calculator you are using. Bear in mind though that we can only advise on what to measure we can't actually provide the answer as only you have the hubs and rims. A good starting point would be a std 3 cross pattern for the spokes. It's one of the more popular lacing patterns and is plenty strong enough. 3 cross simply means each spoke crosses three others between hub and rim.
 
Joined
Feb 7, 2008
Messages
4,572
Location
Nottinghamshire England
Joined
May 3, 2020
Messages
10
problem solved. The old guy got a set of spokes somewhere but they were too long. So I ordered a few shorter sets until we found the right size. Half way in the build I found a small company in China building trikes. A foldable with rear suspension I ordered one for my wife. Only usd 700
 
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