Spoke Length Help - First Wheel Build

Question

I bought a pair of Ryde Andra 30 28" Rim(ERD=598mm) and Hope RS4 Road Bicycle Hubs(Rear/Front Specs, Front-Type(100mm), Rear-Type(130mm)).

I then used the prowheelbuilder spoke length calculator with the following results:

I have been learning a lot about hubs and wheels, but I don't want to mess up buying the wrong spoken lengths.

Did the calculator give me reasonable Spoke lengths? I couldn't find one with the HOPE RS4 Specifications, so I did manual inputs based on the specifications of each manufacturer.

I noticed the calculator has decimals in the result, but Spokes are sold as integers. If it's 289.8, should I get 290?

Also about material, what is recommended for a touring bike?

Answer 1

You do have some margin for error with spoke lengths, so do round off fractional lengths.

For spoke type, a double-butted 14/15/14 spoke would probably be ideal, short of that a straight-gauge 14-gauge spoke (straight-gauge is cheaper; double butted is preferable because it puts extra material where you need it, so the spoke is more evenly stressed over its length). If you feel you really need something beefy, go for 13/14/13, although that may be harder to find. Get stainless spokes and brass nipples (aluminum nipples are more prone to corrode).

DT and Sapim are the big names in spokes. The only spokes I've seen that I would specifically dis-recommend had S-hooks at the end instead of a J-bend (and those were hooked because they were aero spokes, so probably not an issue for you).