New DT Swiss RevoLite Spokes Strike Fluted Steadiness of Light-weight, Further-Energy & Aero
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DT Swiss has an all-new gentle & sturdy premium metal spoke with a cold-forged, fluted profile known as the RevoLite. One thing of a mash-up between their finest light-weight spherical double-butted spokes and their finest light-weight aero-bladed spokes – this one finally ends up with a spherical middle flanked by squared-off wings all through the lowered mid-section within the spokes’ general size.
So what do you get while you combine Revolutions and AeroLites? The result’s a spoke that mixes light-weight, elevated stiffness, and improved sturdiness – a really perfect stability for constructing gentle & sturdy off-road wheels.
DT Swiss RevoLite light-weight & sturdy, semi-bladed metal spokes
Can I simply nerd out for a couple of minutes on why DT Swiss created these really all-new RevoLite spokes? I imply, who amongst us thought that we actually wanted a totally new cold-forged metal spoke form that was someplace between aero and never, in an effort to extend power and maintain weight down on the identical time?
I construct all forms of wheels for my very own use – for highway, cyclocross, gravel, touring, XC, path & enduro – and I used to be completely pleased with both choosing DT AeroLite spokes after I wished to construct one thing extra aero or actually stiff, or choosing a DT Revolution spoke after I wished a light-weight wheel with a bit extra give for using tougher off-road, and with fewer sharp edges. Positive, I’d generally construct a wheel with Sapim spokes, however I by no means felt like DT’s choices didn’t do all the pieces I wanted for a chrome steel spoked wheel construct.
Plus, if I wished one thing ultralight, I’d probably activity a extra skilled builder to attempt one thing foolish like versatile fiber or bladed carbon spokes.
OK, spoke nerd rant over.
What’s Really New?
The RevoLite is made by DT Swiss in a brand new, and tightly-guarded course of much like their high bladed spokes. As we noticed after we toured DT Swiss’ HQ in Switzerland a couple of years in the past, coils of stainless-steel wire get straightened and lower into spoke lengths. Then, premium double-butted spokes undergo a cold-forging course of the place automated rotating and oscillating hammers smash the straight spoke blanks to make them skinnier and provides them butts – making the spoke a smaller diameter within the center than the ends, successfully growing elasticity. This course of aligns the construction of the steel and will increase its density (additionally a bit longer).
Premium DT AeroLite spokes then undergo a 2nd flat cold-forging step that hammers them one other time to provide their central butted part the aerodynamic blade, additionally making it stiffer and growing tensile power.
Now like these AeroLites, the brand new RevoLites additionally mix these a number of spherical & flat forging strategies (though DT is obscure on their exact patented course of). This time although, it appears a specifically formed mandrel should be used to create the brand new spoke’s distinctive pseudo-cross-shaped cross-section. The ensuing fluted form in part seems to have a factor round center, crossed with a box-shaped wing.
DT says this creates a spoke that’s further stiff like an aero wing spoke, lighter general as a result of thinner part from the cold-forged butting, and nonetheless as sturdy towards repetitive stress like a round-butted spoke due to the fixed round part via the thinnest a part of the spoke.
The place does it sit within the DT spoke lineup?
DT calls the brand new RevoLite the perfect mixture of sturdiness and light-weight of their MTB spokes. That’s an essential delineation, because the on-road-focused AeroLite is lighter and equally as stiff, and additionally it is not absolutely the lightest within the MTB line-up.
Weight-wise, DT claims the stiffer bladed RevoLite to be 4.45g per spoke (260mm), in comparison with the merely double-butted Revolution at 4.42g (264mm) or the thicker however nonetheless butted Competitors Race at 4.88g (260). In comparison with the aero-bladed highway spokes, the butted AeroLite is lighter at 4.34g (264), whereas the thicker however nonetheless butted AeroComp is 5.9g (264).
Value-wise amongst DT Swiss commonplace silver metal spoke choices, per 20-pack of spokes the brand new RevoLite is successfully the identical worth as the highest aero spoke at ~50€ for the AeroLite. The AeroComp prices ~30€, Revolution ~22€, and Competitors Race price round 18€ for a similar set of 20.
Unsurprisingly with it extra advanced cold-forged shaping, the RevoLite is clearly the top-tier of spokes for off-road wheels, whereas solely giving up a couple of 2.5g weight penalty over their absolute lightest spoke in a whole fashionable wheelbuild.
Tech particulars
The DT Swiss RevoLite is a double-butted, bladed (fluted?) stainless-steel spoke – 2mm in diameter at both ends, and first butted to roughly 1.57mm within the center earlier than the bladed shaping. The ensuing bladed/fluted cross part within the center is 1.3mm throughout within the smaller dimension (the round central form) and a pair of.3mm throughout within the wider dimension so it is going to nonetheless match via common spherical spoke holes in your hubs.
All spokes get a DT stamp on their head. J-bend spokes characteristic a 90-95° head with a low 6.2mm head peak (from outdoors of the pinnacle to outdoors of the spoke) to make sure a clean, tight match towards fashionable skinny hub flanges. Threads are rolled on the 2mm spokes to FG 2.3mm.
Even with the distinctive new bladed form, DT assures us that the brand new RevoLite spokes might be constructed up and tensioned with a regular aero spoke holder. And wheel builders can use their common spoke stress meters. DT has up to date the perfect stress numbers within the charts for his or her Tensiometer for the brand new spoke.
DT Swiss RevoLite – Pricing, availability & choices
The DT RevoLite spokes can be found in 194-316mm lengths with a standard J-bend or a straight pull head, in traditional silver or extra stealth black. Formally they promote beginning at $70 / 50€ for packs of 20, or $350 / 251€ in packs of 100. Get them now wherever you purchase DT Swiss wheelbuilding elements, or have a good wheel builder laced them into your subsequent mountain bike wheelset. I’ll for certain construct some new off-road wheels this summer time with the brand new RevoLites.
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