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Aug.2026 31

Super-Light Product Offering: Aero-Optimized Carbon Spokes for Performance Road Wheels

Introduction

When building a lightweight road wheelset, every component matters. Beyond the rim and hub, spoke selection can have a meaningful impact on the final weight, stiffness, and aerodynamic performance of the wheel.

Details

Sapim, the renowned Belgian spoke manufacturer, recently expanded its range with the Advanced Fiber Spokes category. Among them, the CX Carbon has attracted significant attention from performance-oriented wheel builders.

With CX Carbon spokes now available to us, we inspected the spoke construction and measured the actual weight of different lengths to help wheel brands better understand what they can offer in a lightweight carbon spoke wheel build.

CX Carbon: Key Features

CX Carbon is designed to combine low weight, aerodynamic efficiency, stiffness, and strength in a single spoke.

1. Aero Wing Profile

The bladed center section features a 3.0 × 1.5 mm aero profile, designed to reduce aerodynamic drag compared with a conventional round spoke.

2. Lightweight and Stiff

The carbon section measures approximately 2.0 mm in diameter at the hub end and 2.3 mm at the rim end. The larger diameter at the rim end provides a substantial carbon section for stiffness while keeping the overall spoke weight low.

At approximately 2.9 g per 260 mm spoke, CX Carbon offers a significant weight advantage over many conventional steel aero spokes.

3. Carbon Fiber Construction
According to product information, each CX Carbon spoke contains approximately 10,000 individual carbon fibers. The carbon construction is designed to provide the high strength required for a performance-oriented wheel build.

For wheel brands, this combination makes CX Carbon particularly interesting for lightweight road wheelsets where both weight and performance are priorities.

Inspecting CX Carbon

For our test build, we received CX Carbon spokes in 266 mm and 281 mm lengths.

We inspected the spokes and measured their individual weights to see how the actual weight compares across different lengths.

Our measurements:

266 mm: approximately 2.8 g per spoke
281 mm: approximately 2.9 g per spoke

The small difference between these two lengths illustrates how little additional weight is added as spoke length increases, making CX Carbon well suited to lightweight wheel builds.

How Does CX Carbon Compare With Other Lightweight Carbon Spokes?

For wheel brands developing a carbon spoke wheelset, CX Carbon is a strong option when aerodynamics, stiffness, strength, and low weight all need to be considered.

However, it is not necessarily the lightest carbon spoke available. For brands pursuing an absolute minimum wheelset weight, lighter options with smaller profiles and titanium hardware may offer additional weight savings.

Model	Brand	Bladed Dimension	Round Section Diameter	Hardware Material	Weight @260mm
CX Carbon	Sapim	3.0*1.5mm	2.0/2.3mm	Stainless steel	2.9g
Carbolite	Alpina	3.10*0.98mm	1.82mm	Titanium	1.8g
CS01T	NTP	2.9*1.0mm	1.80mm	Titanium	1.8g

Building a Lightweight Carbon Spoke Wheelset

For a high-performance road wheelset, choosing lightweight spokes is only one part of the equation. A carefully selected combination of rims, hubs, spokes, and nipples can help brands achieve a lower system weight without compromising the characteristics that matter to their target riders.

At NTP, we can support wheel brands with carbon rim selection, lightweight hub options, carbon spoke wheel building, and complete wheelset assembly.

Whether your priority is aerodynamic performance, low system weight, or a specific combination of both, we can help you develop a wheel configuration around your target specifications.

Planning your next carbon spoke wheel project? Contact NTP to discuss your target weight, rim specifications, spoke configuration, and complete wheelset requirements!

Super-Light Product Offering: Sub-220g Road Hubset for a Sub-1kg Wheel Build

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