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Following on from my earlier question about truing them, I was wondering if anybody could point out the advantages (and perhaps disadvantages) of flat spoked wheels?

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Anthony K
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3 Answers3

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When building or truing a wheel, it's easier to notice if you put a twist in to a flat spoke.

Jay Bazuzi
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From what I've read, they claim an aerodynamic advantage, but sometimes at the expense of extra weight. I've been told that they're recommended for flat-land riders, where aero is more important than weight, and to avoid them if any climbing is involved...

Brian Knoblauch
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    The bladed spokes on my father-in-law's bike don't appear to have more metal than the round spokes on mine, just that the metal they have is flattened out for said aerodynamic advantage. – alesplin Nov 17 '10 at 23:14
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    November Bicycles did some wind tunnel tests with flat spokes: "the wheel with the CX-Rays was a smidge faster, generating about 11 fewer grams of drag on average at 30mph. If you recall the calculations from yesterday's blog, you'll see that 11 grams of drag at 30mph is - yep - 1 aero watt." If you're capable of sustaining 30 mph, using flat instead of round spokes saves you one whole, entire watt of power. If you're going slower, you're watt savings will be less, probably a lot less. – Andrew Henle Nov 08 '18 at 16:22
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Advantage? They make more money for the spoke company.

Daniel R Hicks
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