DT Swiss has an all-new mild & sturdy premium metal spoke with a cold-forged, fluted profile referred to as the RevoLite. One thing of a mash-up between their greatest light-weight spherical double-butted spokes and their greatest light-weight aero-bladed spokes – this one finally ends up with a spherical middle flanked by squared-off wings all through the decreased mid-section within the spokes’ total size.
So what do you get if you combine Revolutions and AeroLites? The result’s a spoke that mixes light-weight, elevated stiffness, and improved sturdiness – a really perfect steadiness for constructing mild & sturdy off-road wheels.
DT Swiss RevoLite light-weight & sturdy, semi-bladed metal spokes
Can I simply nerd out for a couple of minutes on why DT Swiss created these really all-new RevoLite spokes? I imply, who amongst us thought that we actually wanted a totally new cold-forged metal spoke form that was someplace between aero and never, in an effort to extend energy and preserve weight down on the similar time?
I construct all sorts of wheels for my very own use – for street, cyclocross, gravel, touring, XC, path & enduro – and I used to be completely proud of both selecting DT AeroLite spokes once I wished to construct one thing extra aero or actually stiff, or selecting a DT Revolution spoke once I wished a light-weight wheel with a bit extra give for driving tougher off-road, and with fewer sharp edges. Positive, I’d generally construct a wheel with Sapim spokes, however I by no means felt like DT’s choices didn’t do every part I wanted for a stainless-steel spoked wheel construct.
Plus, if I wished one thing ultralight, I’d possible process a extra skilled builder to strive one thing foolish like versatile fiber or bladed carbon spokes.
OK, spoke nerd rant over.
What’s Truly New?
The RevoLite is made by DT Swiss in a brand new, and tightly-guarded course of much like their prime bladed spokes. As we noticed after we toured DT Swiss’ HQ in Switzerland a number of years in the past, coils of chrome steel wire get straightened and lower into spoke lengths. Then, premium double-butted spokes undergo a cold-forging course of the place automated rotating and oscillating hammers smash the straight spoke blanks to make them skinnier and provides them butts – making the spoke a smaller diameter within the center than the ends, successfully growing elasticity. This course of aligns the construction of the steel and will increase its density (additionally a bit longer).
Premium DT AeroLite spokes then undergo a 2nd flat cold-forging step that hammers them one other time to offer their central butted part the aerodynamic blade, additionally making it stiffer and growing tensile energy.
Now like these AeroLites, the brand new RevoLites additionally mix these a number of spherical & flat forging methods (though DT is obscure on their exact patented course of). This time although, it appears a specifically formed mandrel have to be used to create the brand new spoke’s distinctive pseudo-cross-shaped cross-section. The ensuing fluted form in part seems to have a factor round center, crossed with a box-shaped wing.
DT says this creates a spoke that’s further stiff like an aero wing spoke, lighter total as a result of thinner part from the cold-forged butting, and nonetheless as sturdy in opposition to repetitive stress like a round-butted spoke due to the fixed round part by means of the thinnest a part of the spoke.
The place does it sit within the DT spoke lineup?
DT calls the brand new RevoLite the very best mixture of sturdiness and light-weight of their MTB spokes. That’s an essential delineation, because the on-road-focused AeroLite is lighter and equally as stiff, and it is usually not absolutely the lightest within the MTB line-up.
Weight-wise, DT claims the stiffer bladed RevoLite to be 4.45g per spoke (260mm), in comparison with the merely double-butted Revolution at 4.42g (264mm) or the thicker however nonetheless butted Competitors Race at 4.88g (260). In comparison with the aero-bladed street spokes, the butted AeroLite is lighter at 4.34g (264), whereas the thicker however nonetheless butted AeroComp is 5.9g (264).
Value-wise amongst DT Swiss customary silver metal spoke choices, per 20-pack of spokes the brand new RevoLite is successfully the identical worth as the highest aero spoke at ~50€ for the AeroLite. The AeroComp prices ~30€, Revolution ~22€, and Competitors Race value round 18€ for a similar set of 20.
Unsurprisingly with it extra advanced cold-forged shaping, the RevoLite is clearly the top-tier of spokes for off-road wheels, whereas solely giving up a few 2.5g weight penalty over their absolute lightest spoke in a whole fashionable wheelbuild.
Tech particulars
The DT Swiss RevoLite is a double-butted, bladed (fluted?) chrome steel spoke – 2mm in diameter at both ends, and first butted to roughly 1.57mm within the center earlier than the bladed shaping. The ensuing bladed/fluted cross part within the center is 1.3mm throughout within the smaller dimension (the round central form) and a couple of.3mm throughout within the wider dimension so it should nonetheless match by means of common spherical spoke holes in your hubs.
All spokes get a DT stamp on their head. J-bend spokes function a 90-95° head with a low 6.2mm head peak (from exterior of the pinnacle to exterior of the spoke) to make sure a easy, tight match in opposition to fashionable skinny hub flanges. Threads are rolled on the 2mm spokes to FG 2.3mm.
Even with the distinctive new bladed form, DT assures us that the brand new RevoLite spokes will be constructed up and tensioned with a normal aero spoke holder. And wheel builders can use their common spoke rigidity meters. DT has up to date the perfect rigidity numbers within the charts for his or her Tensiometer for the brand new spoke.
DT Swiss RevoLite – Pricing, availability & choices
The DT RevoLite spokes can be found in 194-316mm lengths with a conventional J-bend or a straight pull head, in traditional silver or extra stealth black. Formally they promote beginning at $70 / 50€ for packs of 20, or $350 / 251€ in packs of 100. Get them now wherever you purchase DT Swiss wheelbuilding elements, or have a good wheel builder laced them into your subsequent mountain bike wheelset. I’ll for certain construct some new off-road wheels this summer time with the brand new RevoLites.
