Rims Spoke Length Right/Left Sides

Puzzlewuzzle

New member
Local time
6:45 AM
Joined
Apr 2, 2025
Messages
8
Location
Pennsylvania
Need advice on spoke length.
I am building a rear wheel for my ebike conversion.
DT Swiss spoke calculator indicates different lengths for right and left sides...289mm for right and 291mm for left spokes.
I am having a hard time locating these spoke sizes.

Can I use 290mm spokes to "split the difference" between 291 mm left and 289mm right side?
 
Are they Jbend or straight pull? What is the gauge? I'm no expert on wheel building, but I would think dishing a rear wheel is hard enough without fudging the parameters. If it's a wierd gauge, I can look around for you.
 
J-bend spokes 2.34 gage.
Thanks...I chose 290mm left and 288mm right which should work fine.
I have built front wheels but this is my first rear wheel build.
 
Need advice on spoke length.
I am building a rear wheel for my ebike conversion.
DT Swiss spoke calculator indicates different lengths for right and left sides...289mm for right and 291mm for left spokes.
I am having a hard time locating these spoke sizes.

Can I use 290mm spokes to "split the difference" between 291 mm left and 289mm right side?
If the rim is double wall where the spoke nipples sit well underneath the outside diameter of the rim, I would go with a full set of the longer spoke size. It is very rare to impossible to bottom out on the threads of spokes only 2mm longer. I’ve even done the same thing on single wall rims and just trimmed the protruding spoke thread with a dremel or 3” cutoff wheel. I’ve built hundreds of wheels and never had an issue. Make sure you grease the spoke threads and rim holes where the nipples seat. That helps immensely when tensioning and trueing the wheel. The wheels also seem to hold true better and longer when lubicating those areas.
 
Back
Top