Spokes are spokes, right? That may have been true at one point, but thanks to the world of composites, spokes are getting lighter, stronger, and in some cases, even more durable. The 2026 Sea Otter Classic seemed like a hotbed of composite spoke innovation this year, with at least three brands debuting new technology. It wasn’t just small bespoke wheel manufacturers either – Sapim, one of the bigger names in steel spoke production, is also getting into the composite spoke game.
Sapim RC-1 Flexible Spoke
When you see the folks from both Wolf Tooth Components and Boyd Wheels in another booth checking out something behind the scenes, you pay attention. That was the case when I spotted all of them in the Sapim tent, which was little more than two empty tables with a few freestanding banners.
It turns out they were both interested in the new Sapim RC-1 spoke, and for good reason. The RC-1 is made with technology from Applied Fiber, which makes products for everything from offshore mooring, mining, humanoid tendons (used by NASA and others), and seemingly every military, aerospace, and defense contractor in the United States.
We weren’t told how the RC-1 spoke is made, only that it’s fully pre-tensioned and won’t stretch like steel or other flexible spokes (and reminiscent of the Spinergy Spox). At 1.9g for a 260mm spoke, it’s 3g lighter than a CX-Ray steel spoke, and 1g lighter than their CX-Carbon spoke. It will also add vertical compliance to the finished wheel.
Sapim is apparently bringing in the machinery to build these in-house in Belgium as we speak, and it sounds like it will be OEM only for the time being. Judging by the interest from other wheel brands, we might be seeing these in wheels before you know it.
In other Sapim spoke news, they mentioned that Sapim USA is bringing in 340mm long barrel steel spokes that they can cut and thread for industry partners to fit 32″ wheels. They’ll offer Leader, Race, and CX-Sprint options, so if you’ve been looking for longer spokes for your big wheel builds, hit up Sapim USA.
Partington’s New R-Series with Continuous Carbon Fiber Spokes
Based out of Australia, Partington is already known for unapologetically high-end wheels with advanced carbon spoke tech. Their existing R-Series wheels use their proprietary ‘In-Tension’ spoke tech, which wraps 108,000 continuous carbon filaments from the rim, around the hub, and back to the rim at another spot. The tech provides an extremely light and high-performing wheelset, but it also comes with all the pitfalls of a wheel with spokes that are bonded in and can’t be adjusted or replaced.
That’s where the new R-Series (MKIII?) comes in. The spokes still involve continuous carbon fiber, only this time, that carbon is in a loop that extends the length of the spoke with eight layers. The spokes have a loop at the hub, in which a little pin is inserted and threaded into the hub with an Allen key. Those pins are eccentric, which allows a small range of tension to be added by turning the allen screw.
On the rim side, there is a key lock so the spoke goes into a slot, then twists to lock in place. That leaves an unpunctured rim bed which doesn’t need tape for tubeless. The goal is to provide a similar ride to the In-Tension spokes, but with the ability to fine-tune or replace the spokes if needed.
Of course, these proprietary spokes will need a proprietary hub, but a similar obsession with the details has been employed here as well. An external lockring for Centerlock is used to allow wider bearing spacing, and the main load bearing is a needle bearing for increased durability. The freehub ratchet is a helical spline design with very low drag, but the design means the harder you pedal, the harder the ratchet engages. Even the end caps have been given an overhaul with PEEK plastic, which they claim is 4x stronger than aluminum but is still kinder on carbon frames and won’t corrode.
The 50mm deep rims will use their foam core design with a crochet hook profile, and are 23mm internal with a 34mm external profile optimized for 28-32mm tires.
The new R-Series wheels will officially launch on June 1. While they may be slightly less expensive than the $7,500 R-Series MKII, don’t expect them to be cheap – or even remotely affordable.
Gulo’s New Straight Pull Braided Carbon Spokes
Gulo’s new spokes aren’t exactly a new technology, but it’s a new way for them to build their braided carbon G-Spokes into far more wheels. Based and manufactured in Brevard, North Carolina, Gulo was born from KEIR manufacturing, which has 40+ years of composites and ceramics experience. The G-Spoke is a braided carbon tech that utilizes the same principle as a braided commercial cable. The patent-pending spokes are triaxially braided carbon with an additional material, which they say is a trade secret.
With 900lbs of pull strength and 8% reduction in vibration, their own drop testing shows that the spokes are far more impact resistant than other carbon spokes and even steel spokes.
But the previous design was a dual-threaded spoke, which required specific hubs. Now, they’re offering a straight pull spoke meant for any carbon spoke-compatible hub (like Industry Nine). The spokes feature titanium hardware on each end with a threaded internal nipple.
Available soon with the new straight pull spokes, Gulo wheels range in price from $2,295-2,695, and are as light as 1,035g for the GMX SL XC wheel with a 30mm internal width. And of course, since it’s Sea Otter 2026, there is a 32″ option as well. The GMX 32 starts at $2,395 with a 30mm internal rim and was shown still using their dual-threaded spokes.
