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Chris H
Chris H
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You don't need to mis-match, but if you choose carefully, you should be able to.

D-light come in both black and silver (links are to my local supplier/wheel builder, but demonstrate that they exist). That would be a good option especially on low spoke-count wheels, which are fussier.

Shocka spokes sell powder-coated D-light in any colour you want, so you're not even restricted to a black/silver combination if you live somewhere they ship.

If you really want to buy something different, you should find one that's double-butted with the same centre thickness as well as end thicknesses. The exact details of the taper are less important but if they're not butted in nominally the same way, tensioning and truing the wheel will be a little harder. I do only mean a little, if the spokes are broadly similar; they'll just respond slightly differently to tension. You should be avoiding vastly different tension anyway. My 36-spoke touring wheels could get away with a lot more variation than one with a minimal spoke count (they stay almost true with a broken spoke). I would avoid matching to the cheap un-butted spokes on AliExpress. They're probably weaker as well as tensioning very differently

An alternative, which may not do what you're after but is worth mentioning, is to just use a coloured nipple. That's good if it's as an indicator of where the valve is, not the same if it's about looks.

You don't need to mis-match, but if you choose carefully, you should be able to.

D-light come in both black and silver (links are to my local supplier/wheel builder, but demonstrate that they exist). That would be a good option especially on low spoke-count wheels, which are fussier.

Shocka spokes sell powder-coated D-light in any colour you want, so you're not even restricted to a black/silver combination if you live somewhere they ship.

If you really want to buy something different, you should find one that's double-butted with the same centre thickness as well as end thicknesses. The exact details of the taper are less important but if they're not butted in nominally the same way, tensioning and truing the wheel will be a little harder. I do only mean a little, if the spokes are broadly similar; they'll just respond slightly differently to tension. You should be avoiding vastly different tension anyway. My 36-spoke touring wheels could get away with a lot more variation than one with a minimal spoke count (they stay almost true with a broken spoke).

An alternative, which may not do what you're after but is worth mentioning, is to just use a coloured nipple. That's good if it's as an indicator of where the valve is, not the same if it's about looks.

You don't need to mis-match, but if you choose carefully, you should be able to.

D-light come in both black and silver (links are to my local supplier/wheel builder, but demonstrate that they exist). That would be a good option especially on low spoke-count wheels, which are fussier.

Shocka spokes sell powder-coated D-light in any colour you want, so you're not even restricted to a black/silver combination if you live somewhere they ship.

If you really want to buy something different, you should find one that's double-butted with the same centre thickness as well as end thicknesses. The exact details of the taper are less important but if they're not butted in nominally the same way, tensioning and truing the wheel will be a little harder. I do only mean a little, if the spokes are broadly similar; they'll just respond slightly differently to tension. You should be avoiding vastly different tension anyway. My 36-spoke touring wheels could get away with a lot more variation than one with a minimal spoke count (they stay almost true with a broken spoke). I would avoid matching to the cheap un-butted spokes on AliExpress. They're probably weaker as well as tensioning very differently

An alternative, which may not do what you're after but is worth mentioning, is to just use a coloured nipple. That's good if it's as an indicator of where the valve is, not the same if it's about looks.

Source Link
Chris H
Chris H
  • 62.4k
  • 2
  • 97
  • 270

You don't need to mis-match, but if you choose carefully, you should be able to.

D-light come in both black and silver (links are to my local supplier/wheel builder, but demonstrate that they exist). That would be a good option especially on low spoke-count wheels, which are fussier.

Shocka spokes sell powder-coated D-light in any colour you want, so you're not even restricted to a black/silver combination if you live somewhere they ship.

If you really want to buy something different, you should find one that's double-butted with the same centre thickness as well as end thicknesses. The exact details of the taper are less important but if they're not butted in nominally the same way, tensioning and truing the wheel will be a little harder. I do only mean a little, if the spokes are broadly similar; they'll just respond slightly differently to tension. You should be avoiding vastly different tension anyway. My 36-spoke touring wheels could get away with a lot more variation than one with a minimal spoke count (they stay almost true with a broken spoke).

An alternative, which may not do what you're after but is worth mentioning, is to just use a coloured nipple. That's good if it's as an indicator of where the valve is, not the same if it's about looks.