Sapim Race Straight Pull Double Butted 14|15|14g - 2.0|1.8|2.0mm Spokes
The Sapim Race is the spoke we build more wheels with than any other. It is a 2.0/1.8/2.0mm double-butted stainless spoke, cold-forged in Belgium, and it hits the balance of strength, elasticity and weight that suits road, gravel, mountain and touring wheels alike. At about 362 grams per 64 it is a little heavier than a Laser and a good deal stronger.
This page covers the straight-pull Sapim Race Straight Pull Double Butted 14|15|14g - 2.0|1.8|2.0mm Spokes, the version with no elbow for straight-pull hubs from DT Swiss, Industry Nine, Hope and others. We sell Race spokes only as part of a wheel we build, cut to length; choose your rim, hub and nipples in the configurator and the wheel ships from Georgia laced, tensioned and trued by hand.
Design and construction
Butting a spoke moves the strength to where it is needed. The elbow and the thread carry the stress concentrations, so the Race keeps them at 2.0mm; the middle of the spoke sees only tension, so it is drawn to 1.8mm. The thinner middle also stretches a little more under load, which lets the spoke share shock with its neighbors instead of the nipple or the rim taking it, and it winds up less during building than a 1.5mm Laser.
How it rides
A Race wheel is the reference point most riders know without realizing it. It is lighter than a straight-gauge wheel, a touch more compliant over rough surfaces, and it holds tension for years. We use the Race on road, gravel, cross-country, trail and enduro wheels, commuters and touring bikes; it is the all-purpose spoke.
For the lightest wheels the Laser and CX-Ray are lighter; for loaded touring, e-bikes and tandems the Strong is stiffer at the elbow.
A good test of a spoke is how the wheel looks after a year, and a Race wheel built to even tension usually needs nothing at its first check. We have customers on Race spokes with fifty thousand miles on the same wheel.
Specifications
| Gauge | 14/15/14G |
|---|---|
| Profile | Double-butted |
| Material | Stainless Steel |
| Spoke head | Sp14|15|14 |
| Finishes | silver, black |
This version
This listing is the straight-pull version in a 14/15/14g butted section. A straight-pull spoke has no elbow: it leaves the hub in a straight line and the flange holds the head directly. That removes the bend that J-bend spokes break at, and it keeps the spoke loaded purely in tension. It only fits hubs built for it, and it is not interchangeable with J-bend - so check the hub before ordering, because a straight-pull spoke will not go into a drilled flange at all.
Sizes, fit and compatibility
The Sapim Race Straight Pull Double Butted 14|15|14g - 2.0|1.8|2.0mm Spokes is cut to length for your build; the configurator reads the rim's ERD and the hub's straight-pull flange dimensions and works out the length. Straight-pull Race spokes fit straight-pull hubs only; pick a straight-pull hub and the configurator offers them automatically.
We pair straight-pull Race spokes with brass Polyax nipples on trail, gravel and carbon-rim wheels and alloy Polyax nipples on lighter road builds.
How Sapim makes its spokes
Sapim has been drawing spoke wire in Belgium since 1918, and the range is built around one idea: the same wire and the same head, drawn to different middles. A Leader is 2.0 mm all the way through. A Race is 2.0 mm at the ends and 1.8 mm in the middle. A Laser takes the middle down to 1.5 mm. A CX-Ray is a Laser that has then been flat-forged into a blade, which is why it is light and aerodynamic without being a fragile spoke. Every one of them keeps a full-diameter head and thread, because those are the two places a spoke actually fails.
The butted middle is not about saving weight so much as giving the spoke somewhere to stretch. A thinner mid-section elongates more for the same tension, so it holds that tension through pot-holes and hard corners instead of going slack and loosening the nipple. That is why a well-built wheel on Laser or Race spokes often stays true longer than the same wheel built with plain-gauge spokes, and it is why we reach for a butted spoke on almost every build where the rider's weight allows it.
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.
An independent spoke strength test
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
The Race is made in Belgium; ProWheelBuilder is an independent wheel builder in Georgia, not the manufacturer. We cut Race 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.
Spoke length is where most wheel problems start, so we do not trust a catalog ERD. Every rim is measured in the shop before spokes are cut, the hub's flange diameter and center-to-flange are checked against our own database, and the two are run through the same calculator we publish on this site. A spoke that is a millimeter short pulls the nipple threads; a millimeter long pokes through the rim bed. We cut to the half millimeter.
Warranty
Manufacturer's warranty. Sapim Spokes warrants this product against defects in materials and workmanship. The duration, conditions and claim process are set by Sapim Spokes and can change without notice, so ask us and we will confirm the current terms before you buy.
ProWheelBuilder. Any wheel we build on this part carries ProWheelBuilder's one-year warranty in addition to the manufacturer's. Broken spokes are replaced for a year whatever the cause, and all wheel-side labor is included - truing, re-tensioning, rebuilding. Where the maker covers a failed rim or hub we handle that claim for you; where they decline, an eligible replacement comes at 25% off current retail. The customer covers shipping in both directions. Components supplied by the customer are not covered.
Full terms are on our Policies & Warranty page.
Race Straight Pull Double Butted 14|15|14g - 2.0|1.8|2.0mm Spokes questions
Will this straight-pull spoke fit my hub?
Only if the hub was built for straight-pull spokes - the flange holds the head directly and there is no drilled hole for an elbow to sit in. It is not a preference, it is a fit: a straight-pull spoke cannot be made to work in a J-bend flange. Check the hub, or send us the make and model and we will tell you which pattern it takes. The same Sapim Race spokes is listed separately in J-bend.
Race or Laser?
Race for most riders and most wheels; Laser for the lightest build on a lighter rider. The Race is stronger and easier to keep true.
Race or DT Swiss Competition?
They are the same spec, 2.0/1.8/2.0mm double-butted stainless, and we build with both. Choose by color and availability; the wheel will ride the same.
Is the Race strong enough for e-bikes?
For lighter e-bikes, yes, with brass nipples. For heavy e-MTBs, cargo bikes and tandems we recommend the Strong or E-Strong.
Silver or black?
Cosmetic only; both are the same 18/8 stainless steel.
Which nipples go with Race spokes?
Brass Polyax for trail, gravel, touring and carbon rims; alloy Polyax where the last few grams matter and the wheel is kept clean.
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? Text or leave a voicemail on 470-253-0929 or email info@prowheelbuilder.com — you will be talking to the people who build the wheels.
