Spokes

[Adriano Vazzoler]

Are there two lengths of spokes?  I ordered two sets of spokes(front and rear )from Retro Guzzi but the wheel builder said they were too short. They looked fine by me. I have had the wheels built using SS spokes. Thank you 

[RICHARD YAMANE]

There can be a few variables if simply ordering spokes off the shelf. A change in a wheel, rim or hub. There can also be different lacing patterns. Single sided and conical hubs will have at least two different sizes on the same wheel and if including the bend, could have four different spokes. Any change will affect the spoke length.

The wheel builder has the advantage of being able to lay the new spoke and old spoke alongside eachother. To further complicate things, if you handed the builder a bare hub and rim, he cannot compare original spoke length but might be misplacing pattern wise. 
Simple stuff, ehh?

I’ve relaced all sorts of wheels starting from my teenage bicycle wheels up to wide super moto wheels. I usually order spokes from a big wheel builder in Southern California. Despite their vast experience they often request photos and dimensions of the hub I’m using. I have had times when I think they have sent too long or too short of spokes but in every case, it was my mistake in pattern.

 

Rick Yamane
Importer of Vape/Powerdynamo ignition systems and Polisher of bikes at Motion Pro

On 08/09/2026 10:47 AM PDT Adriano Vazzoler <fuzz...@gmail.com> wrote:

 

 

Are there two lengths of spokes?  I ordered two sets of spokes(front and rear )from Retro Guzzi but the wheel builder said they were too short. They looked fine by me. I have had the wheels built using SS spokes. Thank you 

 

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[Don West]

I suspect that there are 2 very different hubs used on the Airone, earlier ones had a different sprocket carrier arrangement when compared to the later ones.  Maybe you or Guzzi Retro have got the years mixed up.  

Don 

On Sunday, 9 August 2026 at 18:47:54 BST, Adriano Vazzoler <fuzz...@gmail.com> wrote:

Are there two lengths of spokes?  I ordered two sets of spokes(front and rear )from Retro Guzzi but the wheel builder said they were too short. They looked fine by me. I have had the wheels built using SS spokes. Thank you 

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[Alan Comfort]

A lot of restorers cut the spokes with an angle grinder in order to save time in dismantling the wheel. I always try to salvage the original spokes and re-use them whenever possible. It also helps to measure the offset before dismantling the wheel. Worse case scenario is to carefully cut four spokes from each wheel and carefully label them inside left, inside right, outside left and outside right. In some cases they are all the same, in other cases there are only two patterns and other cases they are all different. Getting this right at the outset saves a lot of time when truing up the wheel and getting the correct offset. I just re-laced a Norton wheel that had heavier spokes on the disc brake side of the wheel. It took several tries to get this wheel right until I figured that out.

When the only option is polished stainless steel spokes, I often dull them down with a scotch-brite pad. In my humble opinion, shiny spokes can look silly on some bikes. Remember to use some anti-seize paste on stainless steel spokes so that you can re-tension them when so required. 

Alan in Roberts Creek

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