DT Swiss Champion 14 Gauge Spokes
The DT Swiss Champion is the plain 2.0mm straight-gauge spoke, and there is nothing plain about how it is made. DT Swiss cold-forges every Champion from chrome-nickel stainless steel and rolls the threads rather than cutting them, so the grain of the steel runs unbroken from head to tip. That is why a Champion spoke is the one we reach for when a wheel has to be reliable above all else: touring bikes, cargo bikes, tandems, downhill and e-bikes.
This page covers the DT Swiss Champion 14 Gauge Spokes. We do not sell spokes loose. Pick the rim, hub and nipples in the configurator and the spokes are cut to length and built into the wheel here in Georgia.
Design and construction
A straight-gauge spoke is 2.0mm from the elbow to the thread. Compared with a double-butted spoke like the Competition, which thins to 1.8mm in the middle, the Champion is a little heavier and a little stiffer, and it gives up nothing in strength. DT Swiss also makes a 2.34mm Champion for e-bike and tandem loads, which is the strongest J-bend spoke in its range.
The head and elbow are cold-forged, which work-hardens the steel exactly where a spoke usually fails, and the rolled thread mates cleanly with brass or alloy nipples. Champion spokes come in silver and black and in every length we need in half-millimetre steps.
The Champion comes from the factory in lengths from about 150mm to over 300mm, which covers everything from a 20in recumbent wheel to a 36-spoke 29er, and in both J-bend and straight-pull versions. The J-bend Champion has a 2.0mm elbow and a standard 14-gauge head that seats in any conventional hub flange; the straight-pull version drops the elbow for hubs that need it. Threads are 2.0mm standard and fit every 14-gauge nipple in the catalog.
How it rides
A wheel built on Champion spokes feels solid and stays that way. The stiffness of a straight-gauge spoke is small compared with a butted one, but on a loaded touring bike or a cargo bike it adds up to a wheel that tracks straight and does not go out of true. On a lightweight road or cross-country wheel we would suggest the Competition or Aerolite instead; the Champion is the spoke for wheels that carry weight and take abuse.
On a tandem or a cargo bike the difference shows up over months rather than minutes. A Champion wheel that was built to even tension tends to still be at even tension a year later, because there is no thin section to stretch and settle. That is why so many touring wheels that have crossed continents were laced with this spoke.
Specifications
| Gauge | 14G |
|---|---|
| Profile | Straight gauge |
| Material | Stainless Steel |
| Spoke head | Jb14 |
| Finishes | silver, black |
Which version this is
What this listing covers: the the gauge listed above straight gauge Champion in the J-bend pattern. A J-bend spoke has the elbow formed into the head and drops through a drilled flange, which is the older and far more common pattern. It fits almost any hub, replacements can be found in any decent shop anywhere in the world, and the elbow is the part that eventually fails - which is why it is seated properly and the wheel stress-relieved before it leaves us. If your hub has drilled flanges, this is the one you want.
Sizes, fit and compatibility
The DT Swiss Champion 14 Gauge Spokes is cut to length for your build; the configurator reads the rim's ERD and the hub's flange dimensions and works out the length. Champion spokes suit any J-bend hub and any rim with standard spoke holes, and DT Swiss makes a straight-pull Champion for hubs that need it.
We pair Champion spokes with brass nipples on touring, cargo and e-bike wheels, and with DT Swiss alloy Prolock nipples where weight matters more than corrosion resistance.
DT Swiss spokes, and how we choose them
DT Swiss draw and forge their spokes in Biel, Switzerland, and they have filmed the whole process end to end - from the steel that arrives as raw material, through wire drawing and straightening, cold forging the butted mid-section, forming the head and rolling the thread, to flat-forging a bladed spoke and blackening the finish. If you have ever wondered why a good spoke costs what it does, the series below is the clearest answer anyone in the industry has published.
Some years ago a graduate student at Georgia Tech pulled five spokes to failure on a tensile tester, five samples of each, for Snyder Cycles. Snyder has since closed; we asked for permission to use the footage and were given it. It is worth more than a test we could run ourselves, because nobody in it was selling spokes. The averages line up like this: Sapim Race 303.15 kgf, Sapim Leader 299.37 kgf, DT Swiss Champion 289.80 kgf, DT Swiss Competition 276.95 kgf. The two pairs worth reading are the like-for-like ones. Among the plain-gauge 2.0 mm spokes, Sapim Leader averaged about 3% above DT Champion, and its weakest sample still pulled higher than DT's strongest. Among the double-butted spokes, Sapim Race averaged about 9% above DT Competition. Where they broke is as interesting as the number: the Race failed at the J-bend head, which is where a spoke is expected to go, while the Competition failed at the outer butting transition.
Treat it as what it is. One test, five pulls per spoke, measuring yield load on a straight pull in a machine rather than a laced wheel under a rider - and it does not capture fatigue life, which is what actually ends most spokes in service. It is also not new; it predates Snyder closing. But it is a real measurement, on real samples, by someone with nothing to sell, and it is part of why Sapim is what we reach for.
An independent spoke strength test
DT Swiss's videos
Manufacturing detail is the maker's own account; any load figures above are measurements, not marketing. Which one goes into your wheel is our call, and we are happy to talk it through.
Building it at ProWheelBuilder
DT Swiss makes the Champion spoke; ProWheelBuilder is an independent wheel builder in Georgia, not the manufacturer. We cut Champion spokes from the measured ERD of the rim in hand, lace the wheel by hand, bring it up in stages with a tension gauge, stress-relieve it and true it before it ships.
The configurator recommends a spoke gauge and count from your bike type and weight, and only shows spokes that fit the hub you choose. A Champion wheel is one of the quickest to build well, because a straight-gauge spoke does not wind up under the nipple the way a thin butted spoke can; we still hold each spoke as we bring the tension up.
Champion 14 Gauge Spokes questions
Should I take this in J-bend or straight-pull?
Whichever your hub takes - it is decided by the hub, not by preference. A J-bend spoke drops through a drilled flange and is what the large majority of hubs use, which also makes a replacement easy to find anywhere. If your hub holds the spoke head directly with no drilling, you need the straight-pull Champion, which is a separate listing.
When should I choose Champion over Competition?
Champion for loaded touring, cargo, tandem, downhill and e-bikes where stiffness and reliability come first. Competition for road, gravel, cross-country and trail wheels where a little less weight and a little more compliance is welcome.
What is the 2.34mm Champion?
A heavier-gauge straight spoke for e-bike and tandem loads. Tell the configurator it is an e-bike or tandem and it will offer it.
Silver or black?
Purely cosmetic. Both are the same chrome-nickel stainless steel; black is a coating.
Brass or alloy nipples with Champion spokes?
Brass for touring, cargo, e-bike and any wheel that sees salt or wet; alloy where weight matters and the wheel is kept clean.
Can I mix Champion and Competition in one wheel?
Yes, and we sometimes do: Champion on the drive side of a rear wheel for stiffness and Competition on the non-drive side for a little compliance. The configurator keeps it simple with one spoke per wheel unless you ask.
Do I choose the spoke length?
No. The configurator calculates the length from the rim's ERD and the hub's flange geometry; we cut and thread the spokes here.
Not sure? Email info@prowheelbuilder.com (fastest) or leave a voicemail on 470-253-0929 — you will be talking to the people who build the wheels.
