Spoke Sizes

[NewDeparture]

Hello all,

I need to lace a few rims and its my 1st time doing so.

Now - I need help. I cannot for the life of me work out the spoke size number. Whats the difference between spokes that are 10 9/16" and 10 5/8" and also what is the "ga" eg 14ga - 15ga etc?

I'm out of my depth, but if anyone can help me out, its THE CABE!!

The wheels I am re-lacing are all 26" prewar, drop center balloon wheels.

ALL ADVICE WELCOME.

Thanks

 

[bikemonkey]

Spoke gauge (thickness or diameter) is referred to either in mm or American Wire Gauge (ga) sizing (spokes are essentially wires). 14 ga spokes are 2.0mm in diameter and 15 ga spokes are 1.8mm. Old school guys often use the gauge term and bike shops/distributors often use metric.

A lot of wheels use butted (single or double) spokes which are thicker on the ends and thinner in the middle. The common gauge for this is 14/15/14.

There is only a 1/16" difference in the first sizes you mentioned which is negligible when wheel building.

 

[Barto]

Awesome, I just bought one of these gages at a barn sake...I had no idea what it was for

 

[NewDeparture]

Thank you @bikemonkey !

An excellent, clear and informative reply.

The CABE is the best!