Press Release

DT Swiss Introduces All-New Complite Spokes 26

The most durable DT Swiss spoke in its weight category to date.

iceman2058
3/6/2024 7:16am
DTSwiss Complite Spoke Keyvisual 240122 1920px.jpg?VersionId=Io H6FhCY6RVWM.JQd8

The DT Complite will stand you in good stead for many rounds of your favorite trails and will be ready for the next rounds right after. This spoke takes shape following numerous production stages, making it the most durable DT Swiss spoke in its weight category, with enhanced resistance to repetitive stresses. Its ingenious shape comes from a unique blading process, which also densifies the material. Through a patent-pending process, the spoke features a uniform transition from the butted to the forged area of the spoke. Weight: From 365 g for 64 spokes at a length of 264 mm. Available in J-bend and straight pull versions.

PHO EBBJ complite 006 jbend WEB SHO 006.jpg?VersionId=ZQS.tIQAnhqWNcqVyqdZf2j6HjSC2
PHO EBBJ complite 008 straightpull WEB SHO 008

For more information and to find your spoke, head to dtswiss.com.

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26 comments

View replies to: DT Swiss Introduces All-New Complite Spokes

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Cashman76
9 months ago

I love DT Swiss products, but I won't go past Pillar Quad butted spokes ever again. 

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MK_
9 months ago

Sapim claims their bladed spokes have the best fatigue life of any of their spokes.
DT may lay similar claims, I've been on bladed spokes since CX-Rays came out so have gone by Sapim claims for a couple decades now.

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TEAMROBOT
9 months ago

Honest question to the spoke nerds: why would I use bladed spokes on a j-bend MTB wheel?

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TEAMROBOT
9 months ago

Truing or tensioning a straight-pull spoke that isn't bladed can be maddening because the spoke will twist round and round as you try to tighten the spoke. Resisting the twist on a round spoke requires gripping and clamping onto the spoke itself, which is kinda sketchy, so bladed spokes are often preferred for straight-pull wheels. No such constraints on a j-bend wheel, which is why I asked what the argument is in favor of bladed spokes on a j-bend MTB wheel

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Jon_Angieri
9 months ago

Bladed spokes on an enduro carbon rim sucks. I’ve broken countless on my rear Union. Also, they don’t seem to help at all in the compliance aspect. T-Bob, what would be your choice if you had to pick between DT Comp’s or DT SuperComps? And why? 🙏

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Roots_rider
9 months ago

I use bladed spokes on my front wheel builds, symmetrically laced, with the leading spokes inside the flanges. The extra forging of the bladed spoke theoretically means less potential for stretch. So using it this way creates a stiffer wheel with less deflection under hard braking. In more theory they have better lateral compliance, especially laced a little under max hub tension. So it creates a front wheel with better compliance. I use comps or alpine 3 on rear wheels at maximum recommended hub tension in an asym lace, for the stiffest rear wheel possible. I’ve run this setup on my last 3 bikes and feel like it’s the best riding wheels I’ve had for myself. 
 

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FilipK
9 months ago

TEAMROBOT
If you choose to go thin centre section (D light, competition race, revolution), they are going to wind up during building. Even J-bend.
It's nice to build a wheel with bladed because, as you have to hold the spoke anyway, it doesn't wind at all. Especially with those DT Swiss holding tools. Any movement of the spoke key, results in changing tension and has an immediate effect on trueness rather than a twist and a ping later.
You can of course do the same with a round spoke holder as well. Bit more cumbersome, maybe a bit cheaper. In the case of revolution spokes, I'm quite sure they would just wound to eternity. Aerolite is the same weight and easier to build.

Whether blades have other benefits - less deformation when crossing or some esoteric stiffness claims - is not worth arguing for I think... Part of the appeal is that Sapim's claims make it seem like their top spoke.

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MK_
9 months ago

y'all need to nerd up on your spokes.
I'll interpret the tea leaves for you.

These new Complites are what Revolites are to Revolutions and Aerolites.
The same profile of the Revolites (not bladed like Aerocomps but with the + cross section of Revolites; kinda bladed, kinda weird plus thing) with the butting of Competitions; likely a little thicker overall.

Strong and relatively heavy.  Strongest in their heavyweight class.  Welterweight class?

Aerolites are 278g for 64 @260mm
Revolites are 285g
Aerocomps are 380g
Complites are 365g
Competitions are 311g

_MK

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JCL
9 months ago

They look like Revolites but I guess they're a cheaper version? Would love to know more as I'm not a fan of Sapim and I have a set of 240's under the desk waiting to be built.

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Simcik
9 months ago

DT Employee here

Thats a pretty fair point. They use the similar spoke tech developed in the Revolite but weigh a little bit more and come with a bit of cost savings. Depending upon the wheels you are building, we have a lot of spoke options. Personally if I were going to build up a set of enduro style wheels with 240's, I would either go Competitions or Revolites. Hope that helps.

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bman33
9 months ago

So, this promotion really says nothing...sort of like a politician.  "The most durable DT Swiss spoke in its weight category to date.."   What is the "category'?  DH, XC, 'enduro'....?  What is the targeted application?  Are they 2.0, 1.8 or different?    I have DT on most of my bikes since forever, but this is a pretty lame press release. 

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Roots_rider
9 months ago

Press release is lacking. The link to details at the bottom has everything on the website. New bladed 2.0 spoke offering, 2.3/1.5 blade. Need to compare them to aerocomps, those have been my go to option for front wheels the last few builds 

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TEAMROBOT
9 months ago

Frankly, I don't get what's unclear about this press release. What I got from it is that DT Swiss strives to synergistically innovate across core competencies to explore new categories and achieve unprecedented benchmarks of holistic performance.

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Simcik
9 months ago

Full disclaimer! I work at DT Swiss in the US office in OEM sales.  I am not into landscaping so no astroturfing here. 

The goal of this spoke is to be a more cost effective spoke with the technology and shape developed in the Revolite. It is not specifically a bladed spoke in the traditional sense, it has additional material in the bladed area forming a unique shape that is far more durable from impact. The machine that forges these is absolutely massive.

There is a lot going on with the shape of these. Dimensions 2.0/1.75/2.0 1.5/2.3

Stealing from @MK_
Not the only applications but these are generally where I point folks. 
Aerolites are 278g for 64 @260mm - road focus
Revolites are 285g - MTB focus
Aerocomps are 380g - road focus
Complites are 365g - MTB focus
Competitions are 311g - *EDIT* MTB focus

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TEAMROBOT
9 months ago

Thanks for the detailed response, Nick. I've been building my MTB wheels with exclusively Competitions for a while because I assumed a double-butted spoke would create a stronger spoke than the Champions I used before. Are you suggesting that a Complite would actually be more durable for MTB than a Competition, which is listed as "road focused?" (EDIT- thanks for clarifying!)

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Milton 26"
9 months ago

so the press release says a few things about comfort, I am wondering how these compare to a 1.6 mm comp? It's a combination of the cross-section area and the length of the segment that has this cross-section area. Are these more compliant or stronger than a 1.6 mm comp?

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Simcik
9 months ago

These will be stronger than a 1.8/1.6mm Comp. They have more material in the area where the 1.6mm section is because of the bladed shape compared to the round butted on the Comp. As to a direct comparison of compliance, I have not yet ridden the new Complite so I can not make any claims from personal experience yet. 

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