After 20+ years my unusual Shimano WH-M575 rear wheel has suffered a broken spoke.
The original part, Y-4AF98010 as far as I can tell, is long since discontinued
It's a bladed J spoke fitted "upside down" with the J hooked to the rim and the nipple embedded in the hub. Spoke dimensions as follows:-
Length, tip to inside of j bend - 260mm
Diameter of spoke 2.25mm (13 gauge?)
Diameter of threads - 2.45mm
Thread length - 10mm
Blade - 2.5mm x 1.8mm at right angle to j bend
All measurements taken with an uncalibrated Machine Mart digital caliper so not accurate to the Nth degree.
What has me perplexed is the thread diameter being larger than the spoke diameter. I think that it's probably a side effect of rolling the threads but I don't have enough wheel building experience to know. The nipples are pretty proprietary looking things so I'm also unsure if they use a proprietary thread pitch
I don't care about the bladed profile so I'm hoping a bog standard 13 plain gauge spoke will fit. Otherwise it looks like 7 quid a pop at custom spokes UK!
Hoping someone well versed in the mystic world of bespoke spokes can offer insights
Muito obrigado
Oddball spoke needed
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- Posts: 111
- Joined: 9 Jun 2022, 7:19pm
Re: Oddball spoke needed
Hi,
Sorry, too exotic, certainly for me. Good luck with the search, though I suspect you will be ‘biting the bullet’ and paying for the bespoke . . .spoke
Sorry, too exotic, certainly for me. Good luck with the search, though I suspect you will be ‘biting the bullet’ and paying for the bespoke . . .spoke
Re: Oddball spoke needed
Don’t stress about the threads - just buy the matching nipple and that element will be fine. As you say you’re not worried about the bladed profile that should make it quite straightforward. If you do want ‘aero’ then Sapim CX Sprint or CX Ray would do - but they might be difficult to buy individually.
Re: Oddball spoke needed
I bought one of these wheel sets in 2006 at the "Semaine Federale" (a distress purchase) .
Initially ok but then I broke a spoke - got a couple of spares - while waiting I managed to bodge a repair using a standard spoke.
The spoke nipple has a standard thread but the body is larger than a conventional nipple.
My wheels had a fairly heavy lump of metal inside the rim - nipple at hub as in your case.
Basically a stupid design - I continued to break spokes - those bladed spoke aren't any stronger at the ends where it counts.
You could probably rebuild the whole thing with standard db spokes with judicious use of washers.
Initially ok but then I broke a spoke - got a couple of spares - while waiting I managed to bodge a repair using a standard spoke.
The spoke nipple has a standard thread but the body is larger than a conventional nipple.
My wheels had a fairly heavy lump of metal inside the rim - nipple at hub as in your case.
Basically a stupid design - I continued to break spokes - those bladed spoke aren't any stronger at the ends where it counts.
You could probably rebuild the whole thing with standard db spokes with judicious use of washers.
Re: Oddball spoke needed
Brilliant info Astonish, thanks
I've ordered a couple of 13 gauge spokes, here's hoping...
If it goes well I might relace the whole lot as the wheels have become almost family members despite their unconventional design choices
I've ordered a couple of 13 gauge spokes, here's hoping...
If it goes well I might relace the whole lot as the wheels have become almost family members despite their unconventional design choices
Re: Oddball spoke needed
I would expect the spokes and thread to be 14 guage. 13g is tandem territory, and even then usually single butted 13/14g
Re: Oddball spoke needed
Well I hope that works for you.
I took the cannibalized the freehub from the rear wheel and the wheelset sits in my garage as reminder not to buy another like it.