A visit to DT Swiss: Insights into spoke production

It all started with spokes: today's company DT Swiss entered the bicycle business on its own with this product area in 1994 with a management buy-out. Ride took a close look at the factory in Biel to see how spokes are made from wire in numerous work steps.

The raw material for the spokes - stainless Swedish steel wire - is ready on rolls in the production hall and the employees are careful to make the product description of each roll of wire disappear during the factory tour. The wire manufacturer is part of the success of the spokes, with which the Biel-based company is estimated to cover half of the global market.

DT Swiss produces up to 300 different types of spokes, not including the different spoke lengths within these types. The production process is not limited to the well-known types such as Competition, Revolution or Aerolite; DT Swiss focuses on OEM customers and manufactures specific spokes with individual material thicknesses, spoke heads and spoke head bends. Gauges can be used to check the dimensional accuracy of the various types in terms of material thicknesses and bending angles. DT Swiss does not produce on stock, all spokes or rims produced are already sold. DT Swiss manufactures all spokes with multiple, reduced diameters and all bladed spokes exclusively in Biel.

The spoke with continuous material thickness is the cheapest version of all spokes. A "butted spoke" with a reduced center section or an aero spoke with a flat center section is more expensive, as it undergoes a more complex manufacturing process. The production of a black spoke always involves an additional work step, as the starting material is always silver wire.

In a machine specially manufactured for DT Swiss, the wire is first cut to length for a conventional spoke, the spoke head is punched into it and then this head is bent. Finally, the machine rolls a thread onto the wire. This rolling strengthens the material and does not form a breaking point - as happens when the thread is cut. There are 16 spoke production machines on the factory floor in Biel, which constantly produce fresh spokes day and night. DT Swiss has around 50 such machines worldwide.

The manufacturing process for tapered spokes is really loud. Here, the starting material - wire of the same thickness throughout - is tapered using rotating hammers. As the material is not drawn, the spokes emerge stronger from the tapering process and can react more elastically to load peaks due to the thinner middle section.

Previously, Ride reported on the company's history and rim production.

www.dtswiss.com