On Wednesday, July 17, 2019 at 6:48:14 PM UTC-7, jbeattie wrote:
On Wednesday, July 17, 2019 at 5:47:23 PM UTC-7, Chalo wrote:
The length of spokes has little to do with tension; it's all about how tightly you do them up.

Sometimes, I use spokes that are a couple or three mm too long so that interference between the tops of the nipple threads and the unthreaded shank of the spoke serves as a mechanical threadlocker. This can keep non-drive side spokes in highly dished wheels from unscrewing, without resort to adhesives that complicate later service.

If your spokes are so overlong that you don't have several intact threads engaged when you reach your desired tension, that's a reason to switch to shorter spokes. But if you don't have more than 3mm of spoke thread poking out the back of the nipple, you haven't come close to using up your leeway.

In the case of janky plastic rims from anonymous Chinese manufacturers, the concern would not be proper spoke length, but whether the rims can tolerate normal operating tension. You may be set to discover why the manufacturer left your wheels so loose to begin with.

Janky is such a harsh term! We call it a value rim! I think Tom said he bottomed out the spokes. Maybe they only have a few threads to save money.. Who knows.

1. In the process of testing carbon handlebars some GCN affiliate was demonstrating how the handlebars could have internal voids leading to failures of the handlebar. Then he just happened to show cross sections of the Chinese rims and the Enve American rims of he same type. The Enve had several voids showing. What would lead you to believe that Made in China would automatically mean less professional workmanship when most carbon fiber parts are being presently made in China? I bought a Look handlebar/stem one piece for 12% of the cost simply because it didn't have the Look decals on it.

2. I have stated in many postings that the spokes were bottoming out in the nipples. In what universe do you suppose Chalo lives in which I have all of the proper wheel building tools and skills and it wouldn't occur to me to tighten the spokes up? I have said here many times that I can build an aluminum wheels and true it in a half hour. But he wants to tell me about wheel building?