| "Alpina" Alpina Raggi S.p.A. Via Piave, 10 - 23871 LOMAGNA (Lecco) Italia http://www.alpinaraggi.it info@alpinaraggi.it Upper-case "A". There appears to be a slight emphasis on triangle and left leg. Considered both a vintage and contemporary spoke. | Universal Common Knowledge |  |  |
| "AC" American Classic 5420 Airport Blvd. Tampa, FL 33634 USA http://www.amclassic.com sales@amclassic.com Overlayed upper-case "A" and "C". "A" is diagonally up to the left. Made in-house according to website. | Company Website Photo and "heads-up" provided by John Hurley. |  |  |
| "Asahi" Asahi Spoke Manufacturing Company. Japan Upper-case "A". Quality stainless steel vintage spoke. Linked with Wheelsmith in the early 80s. Their production machinery was bought, moved to, and used in the USA by Wheelsmith sometime thereafter. Considered a vintage spoke. | Universal Common Knowledge Update: Photo provided by Ranulf Lisenbee 12/16/2011. |  |  |
| "Berg-Union" Berg-Union Altena (Westphalia) Germany http://www.wws-speichen.de/en/portrait Sometime after its founding in 1885, Berg formed a sales union with Union and all the way up to 1995? Berg, Union, and Berg-Union spokes were pretty much the same spoke. They were also contracted producers for other companies including the well-known Schwinn in the United States. A vintage spoke. | WWS-Speichen Visit the URL for WWW-Speichen to the left to view a "protrait" of the Berg-Union history. eBay seller "navyman26" has graciously given persmission for our use of a listing photo in the pane to the right. Update: Via email from John Hurley 11/7/2011, Wayne Davidson has provided a Berg-Union spokehead photo and the following box photos: Blue and Green Box White and Blue Box |  |  |
| "Berg" Wilhem Berg Altena (Westphalia) Germany http://www.wws-speichen.de/en/portrait After the establishment of the company in 1885, the 4-leaf "clover" became the recognized trademark and symbol for Berg spokes worldwide as shown on flyers, boxes, advertisements and on the spoke head. A vintage spoke with a very long existence. | WWS-Speichen Visit the URL provided to the left to view the portrait of the new company that has made use of an old factory in Altena (Westphalia) Germany and has managed to re-acquire the old "clover" trademark rights as of Spring 2007. |  |  |
| "Bradkiss" Bradkiss LTD-20-28 Brearly Street Newtown - Birmingham United Kingdom Unknown marking. | When "B. Dance" popped up on October 27, 2012, he also followed up with two
additional spoke brands to add to the chart - in all likelihood - the same company:
Bradkiss and Hipkiss. He dug up and provided links to eBay UK listings belonging
to eBay UK seller "craig_vintage_bikes". On November, 12, 2012, "craig_vintage_bikes"
gave the okay to use the photos shown. |  |  |
| "CN" Chun Nuan Co., Ltd. Taiwan R.O.C. http://www.cnspoke.com Upper-case "N" inside circle. An entry-level or standard spoke. Mark is usually used for 15g spokes. | Robert Shackelford Wheels By Fleming San Jose, CA USA mrrabbit@mrrabbit.net Wheels by Fleming is one of several importers alongside several major bicycle distributors in the United States. |  |  |
| "CN" Chun Nuan Co., Ltd. Taiwan R.O.C. http://www.cnspoke.com Lower-case "n" inside upper-case "C". An entry-level or standard spoke. | Robert Shackelford Wheels By Fleming San Jose, CA USA mrrabbit@mrrabbit.net Wheels by Fleming is one of several importers alongside several major bicycle distributors in the United States. Update: On October 27, 2012 "B. Dance" presented himself from the Cambridge side of the "pond" to provide additional photos for existing entries: Old stock photo. |  |  |
| "CN" "mac" Chun Nuan Co., Ltd. Taiwan R.O.C. http://www.cnspoke.com Lower-case "m" with a vertical tail on the first leg of the "m". Their "better" quality spoke. | Robert Shackelford Wheels By Fleming San Jose, CA USA mrrabbit@mrrabbit.net Wheels by Fleming is one of several importers alongside several major bicycle distributors in the United States. |  |  |
| "CN" Chun Nuan Co., Ltd. Taiwan R.O.C. http://www.cnspoke.com Simple straight upper-case "N". An entry-level or standard spoke. | Robert Shackelford Wheels By Fleming San Jose, CA USA mrrabbit@mrrabbit.net Wheels by Fleming is one of several importers alongside several major bicycle distributors in the United States. |  |  |
| "DT" DT Swiss AG. Solothumstrasse 1 CH - 2504 Biel/Bienne http://www.dtswiss.com mail@dtswiss.com Overlayed upper-case "D" & "T". "T" is slightly up and to the right. Vintage and contemporary spoke. | Universal Common Knowledge Update: On October 27, 2012 "B. Dance" presented himself from the Cambridge side of the "pond" to provide additional photos for existing entries: Old stock with raised marking. Old stock with indented marking. Old stock raised and indented together. |  |  |
| "Echelon" Echelon (Private Label) DIN Industries - DIN Importers Mountain View, CA USA Made In Japan Three parallel bars. Found on all guages produced. Butted spokes used a very abrupt transition from thicker to thinner portion resulting in a "knobbish" shape at the butt point. Like Wheelsmith a high-polish finish stainless steel was utilized. | Robert Shackelford Wheels By Fleming San Jose, CA USA mrrabbit@mrrabbit.net Bicycle Express of San Jose went through approximately a hundred boxes of various guages and lengths from the late 1980s through the early 2000s. Wheels by Fleming has a "wheels worth" of 2.0/1.8/2.0 double butted on hand. Update: Hugh Enox sent Robert Shackelford an email on 7/30/2011 noting that "Echelon" spokes were a DIN label - operating in Mountain View, California, USA from roughly 1978 to 1985. He is also pretty certain that the spokes were actually made by Hoshi in Japan. Furthermore, an archived Classic Rendezvous list discussion thread with more details from Hugh Enox can be viewed here! |  |  |
| "Fafnir" Fafnir Made in Germany Raised upper-case "F". Both horizontal bars are even lengthwise. | Robert Shackelford will be attempting to get in touch again
with eBay Seller "robertociclismo" who back in mid-March of
2011 was selling a box of "Fafnir" zinc spokes. Hopefully
"robertociclismo" or someone else can nail down the
Fafnir spoke head marking or this particular spoke head
marking. Update: Buyer of noted eBay auction "Douglas Ogle" confirmed via email on 7/10/2011 that the marking shown in the graphic and the particular spoke shown in the photo is "Fafnir". |  |  |
| "FinnSpoke" FINNSPOKE Rymattyla, Finland Upper-case "Y" underneath a "dot". | Submitted by BikeForums member "wroomwroomoops" September 22, 2012. Member
indicates that FinnSpoke existed from 1988 to 1996 and operated out of
Rymattyla, Finland. As can be clearly seen in the photo, this spoke is of two piece
construction. Spoke material is zinc plated steel. Box Photo |  |  |
| "Formulas" Formula Made In Italy Upper-case "F" with separation between vertical and horizontal bars. | Ranulf Lisenbee http://www.bikefix.org [Website Under Construction] On November 9, 2011, Ranulf Lisenbee popped up from somewhere in the remote wilderness of the Internet and posted some galleries of various spoke heads and spoke boxes followed by a "heads-up" email to Robert Shackelford. He believes this particular version of an "F" spoke as shown in photo is a Formula from Italy. |  |  |
| "Hipkiss" Hipkiss LTD-20-28 Brearly Street Newtown - Birmingham United Kingdom Unknown marking. | When "B. Dance" popped up on October 27, 2012, he also followed up with two
additional spoke brands to add to the chart - in all likelihood - the same company:
Bradkiss and Hipkiss. He dug up and provided links to eBay UK listings belonging
to eBay UK seller "craig_vintage_bikes". On November, 12, 2012, "craig_vintage_bikes"
gave the okay to use the photos shown. |  |  |
| "Hoshi" Hoshi Industries Co., Ltd. Japan Upper-case "H". | Wayne Davidson Box photo provided by Wayne Davidson via an email exchange with John Hurley 2/15/2011. Please do not use or redistribute without the expressed permission of Wayne Davidson. |  |  |
| "Hoshi" Hoshi Industries Co., Ltd. Japan Basic star that is slimmer than what you might see on a Hoshi "Wingstar" spoke. | Wayne Davidson Photo provided by Wayne Davidson via an email exchange with John Hurley 10/27/2011. Please do not use or redistribute without the expressed permission of Wayne Davidson. |  |  |
| "HT's" Hsing Ta Industrial Co., Ltd. Taiwan R.O.C. http://www.hti-pedal.com.tw sales@ms.hti-pedal.com.tw Flower or rose petal style wavy "star". Pedals and spokes since 1954. Qualifies as a vintage spoke - but does it qualify as a "classic" spoke? | Company Website |  |  |
| "OHIO" Unknown Made in USA? 3 raised "dots" arranged on the head of a very ugly plain stainless steel spoke. Had absolutely no finish whatsoever resulting in a "smeared" and "mottled" finish. However, it was just as reliable as a DT Swiss spoke. Not to be confused with other "3 dot" spokes out there with semi-polished and polished finishes. | Robert Shackelford Wheels By Fleming San Jose, CA USA mrrabbit@mrrabbit.net Bicycle Express of San Jose purchased approximately 1000 of these from Trek USA back in 1991. They were on closeout in the Trek letter mail catalog addendum as "OHIO Spokes" at $.01 apiece - no nipples were included. It was just a single line entry - no manufacturer info provided. Update: Photo provided by user "leftthread" at bikeforums.net on 8/15/2011 via forum private message. Update: Hugh Enox sent an email to Robert Shackelford on 7/30/2011 stating matter-of-factly that OHIO spokes were made by Ohio Rod in the USA. |  |  |
| "Performance" Performance USA Upper-case Century Schoolbook "P". | Robert Shackelford Wheels By Fleming San Jose, CA USA mrrabbit@mrrabbit.net On March 16, 2011, Robert Shackelford received a late 1980s or very early 1990s Campagnolo Athena/Chorus rear hub built up with these 2.0/1.7/2.0 double-butted spokes in a "new label" Mavic MA-40 that had as a wheel suffered an unfortunate accident. The rim carried the white and blue "Performance" label indicating a custom build from Performance Bicycle (Performance, Inc.). In all likelihood, this is the "rumored" "Performance" branded spoke as indicated on John Hurley's base document used at the start of this project. Confirmed shortly after by the appearance of a similar Performance built bicycle wheel photo presented on the Classic Rendezvous Discussion list shortly after the list moved to Google Groups. |  |  |
| "Phil" Phil Wood & Company 385 E. Taylor Street, Suite 110 San Jose, CA 95112 USA http://www.philwood.com sales@philwood.com Cursive style upper-case "P". Plain stainless steel spokes are provided with a very semi-polished finish. | Universal Common Knowledge |  |  |
| "Phil" Phil Wood & Company 385 E. Taylor Street, Suite 110 San Jose, CA 95112 USA http://www.philwood.com sales@philwood.com Sapim style marking of "PHIL" on the shank of the spoke adjacent to or short of the head. Marking is on the "outside" or away from the head and is read by holding the spoke with the threads oriented up and the head hanging down and away. Spoke is of semi-polish finish for plain stainless steel. | Universal Common Knowledge |  |  |
| "Pillar" Shar Dar Accessories Co., Ltd. No. 4-2 Lane 20, Pae-Nae Street Shu Lin City, Taipei, Taiwan R.O.C. http://www.pillarspoke.com Upper-case "P" with an open back. These spokes are easily confused with Phil Wood spokes when powder-coated. Pillar spokes are standard and mid-range quality spokes like with CNspoke. Like CNspoke, Pillar offers "in-metal" color spokes and powder-coated spokes. However, Pillar also provides "in-metal" color for nipples and powder-coated nipples. | Company Website Robert Shackelford Wheels By Fleming San Jose, CA USA mrrabbit@mrrabbit.net Wheels by Fleming imported Pillar nipples in 2010. Nipples imported were 16mm "in-metal purple", 12mm "in-metal gold" and 16mm powder-coated white. |  |  |
| "Raleigh" Raleigh Nottingham, England http://www.raleigh-group.com Upper-case "R". The lower right leg goes down and out without any beginning or ending curvature. | Glenn Davgin Piermont Bicycle Connection Piermont, New York, USA http://www.piermontbike.com Robert Shackelford found Glenn Davgin of Piermont Bicycle Connection on eBay 3/10/2011 and Glenn graciously provided a larger and comprehensive photo of the spoke heads and the accompanying box 3/12/2011. Original Donated Photo Early 1980s Version Photo A history profile write-up can be found at the current website for the Raleigh Group at the website noted to the left. Furthermore, more photo samples of older Raleigh products and Raleigh history can be found at: Sheldon Brown Classic Rendezvous Update: On October 27, 2012 "B. Dance" presented himself from the Cambridge side of the "pond" to provide additional photos for existing entries: Old stock photo displaying head contruction that says, "Strong!" |  |  |
| "Redaelli's" G. F. Redaelli S.p.A. Made In Italy Very "boxy" or "block" style upper-case "R". | Photo and graphic provided by Carlos Ovalle On 7/14/2011 via the Classic Rendezvous list, Carlos Ovalle provided the photo and graphic for modification as part of a response to another CR list member. |  |  |
| "Richman's" Shar Dar Accessories Co., Ltd. No. 4-2 Lane 20, Pae-Nae Street Shu Lin City, Taipei, Taiwan R.O.C. http://www.pillarspoke.com Modern script-style fast-looking rabbit-like upper-case "R". | Unknown Via email 2/20/2011, Dale Brown suggests this might be a Rampar spoke. (Rampar being a re-label of various sourced parts and distributed by Raleigh.) Update!!! Via an email June 7, 2012, Jono Church of Wide Open Distributors in New Zeland suggests this spoke may be made by Pillar (Shar Dar Accessories). This spoke apparently is available from Demolition and AtomLab with the Demolition product specifically accompanied by packaged nipples bearing the Pillar logo. Update!!! Via an email December 7, 2012, a source who prefers to remain anonymous from an OEM and distributor piped in to note that these are "Richman" spokes and are indeed made by Shar Dar Accessories, manufacturer of Pillar spokes. |  |  |
| "Ritchey Logic" Ritchey Design, Inc. 620 Spice Island Drive Sparks, NV 89431 USA http://www.ritcheylogic.com Overlayed upper-case "T" and "R". "R" slightly below the "T". Manufactured by DT Swiss. Plain stainless steel is of semi-polish finish as like with DT Swiss spokes. | Universal Common Knowledge |  |  |
| "Robergel Sports" Robergel France "Crescent" moon marking. The insides of the tips are typically a little "dirty". Stray marks and smudges on the outline edges are not unusual either. A vintage spoke. | Universal Common Knowledge Photo provided per the good graces of Bob Hanson of Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. Please do not copy or redistribute separately from this chart without his expressed permission. Thank you in advance! Photo of Box |  |  |
| "Trois Etoiles" Robergel France Upper-case "E" with the middle bar of the "E" noticeably stubbed. "E" represents the word "Etoiles". A vintage spoke. | Universal Common Knowledge Photo provided per the good graces of Bob Hanson of Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. Please do not copy or redistribute separately from this chart without his expressed permission. Thank you in advance! Photo of Box |  |  |
| "Robergel 3 Etoiles" Robergel France "Ninja-spear" or 3-pointed star marking. Very slim in the body and points as shown in the photo - unlike the other "ninja-spear" entry. | Chuck Schmidt and Ranulf Lisenbee Chuck Schmidt On 8/13/2011 and 8/17/2011 CR list member Chuck Schmidt provided a photo or scan of an old Robergel advertisement noting various Robergel spoke models and markings. The "star" marking and "ninja-spear" markings suggested that two Robergel spokes were still outstanding and needed to be hunted down: Chuck Schmidts's Robergel Spoke Advertisement Photo Ranulf Lisenbee http://www.bikefix.org [Website Under Construction] On November 9, 2011, Ranulf Lisenbee popped up from somewhere in the remote wilderness of the Internet and posted some galleries of various spoke heads and spoke boxes followed by a "heads-up" email to Robert Shackelford. Ranulf Lisenbee provided the photo shown on the right of a "ninja-spear" Robergel spoke head and the box of spokes that it originated from. |  |  |
| "ROC's" ROC Switzerland Relaxed upper-case "C". Inox 18/8 Stainless Steel. | "Caleb" Wednesday, November 27, 2013, "Caleb" introduced himself and provided the info and photo shown. We are currently awaiting a photo of the box itself. |  |  |
| "Sapim Indians" Sapim Terbekehofdreef 65 2610 Wilrijk (Antwerpen) Belgium http://www.sapim.be info@sapim.be Very roughly done and "bulky" upper-case "I". The "I" is raised as opposed to another Sapim "I" spoke that is indented. Tobit Linke dates this spoke as a pre-1990 spoke. | Photo provided by Tobit Linke. Via email exchange with John Hurley 2/10/2011, Tobit Linke provided the sample photo and general information noted on the left courtesy of a box-on-hand.. Please do not use or redistribute the provided photo without his explicit permission. |  |  |
| "Sapim Leader" Sapim Terbekehofdreef 65 2610 Wilrijk (Antwerpen) Belgium http://www.sapim.be info@sapim.be Very fine and narrow indented upper-case "I". The "I" is indented as opposed to another Sapim "I" spoke that is raised. Tobit Linke dates this spoke as a post-1990 spoke. | Photo provided by Tobit Linke. Via email exchange with John Hurley 2/10/2011, Tobit Linke provided the sample photo and general information noted on the left courtesy of a box-on-hand.. Please do not use or redistribute the provided photo without his explicit permission. |  |  |
| "Sapim Leader" Sapim Terbekehofdreef 65 2610 Wilrijk (Antwerpen) Belgium http://www.sapim.be info@sapim.be Very fine and semi-narrow raised upper-case "L". Tobit Linke dates this spoke as a post-1990 spoke. | Photo provided by Tobit Linke. Via email exchange with John Hurley 2/10/2011, Tobit Linke provided the sample photo and general information noted on the left courtesy of a box-on-hand.. Please do not use or redistribute the provided photo without his explicit permission. |  |  |
| "Sapim" Sapim Terbekehofdreef 65 2610 Wilrijk (Antwerpen) Belgium http://www.sapim.be info@sapim.be " S A P " or " S A P I M " on the shank of the spoke short of the elbow or shortly before the head of a straight pull spoke. Established in 1918, likely considered a vintage spoke in Europe proper. | Company Website Full "S A P I M" Example Photo |  |  |
| "ACI's" or "Ay-Chee's" A.C.I. Made in Italy Spoke head is marked with an upper-case "A". It is believed by many that there is a link to Alpina (Alpina Raggi). Alpina Raggi has yet to reply to a translated email sent 1/31/2011 inquiring about any link they may have to this product. See update in the related "S-Brand" "Sacchetti" entry. | Box photo from a listing provided with permission
by eBay seller "rangleton_tan". "rangleton_tan" as a source reports that the markings on these spokes is an upper-case "A". Note the "Prym" and "Niro" labels on the right side of the box!!! |  |  |
| "ACI's" or "Ay-Chee's" A.C.I. - Sacchetti Made in Italy Relaxed and open-ended and very small upper-case "S" or an upper-case "A". The "S" version will be very small and cover only 30-40 percent of the spoke head at the very center. It is likely the case that older boxes have the "S" and newer boxes have the "A". It is believed by many that there is a link to Alpina (Alpina Raggi). Alpina Raggi has yet to reply to a translated email sent 1/31/2011 inquiring about any link they may have to this product. See update in the related "S-Brand" "Sacchetti" entry. | Box photo from a listing provided with permission
by eBay seller "rangleton_tan". When user "weta" at CTC Forums UK successfully contacted Alpina in regards to the "S" version of the spoke, Alpina Raggi's response was: "I'm sorry but that is not our production." Source Link In an email exchange with John at Spa Cycles UK 2/8/2011, John reports that some boxes have spokes with the "S" while others have spokes with the "A". Note the "ACI" and "Alpina" labels on the left side of the box." |  |  |
| "Prym" Stag Brand Made in Western Germany Upper-case "Y" with a wishbone like appearance. See update in the somewhat related "S-Brand" "Sacchetti" entry. | Box photo from a listing provided with persmission of
eBay seller "mideb40". Box and spokes shown are older
issue and were listed as "NOS". "mideb40" Box Photo Via an email exchange 2/6/2011, "mideb40" confirms the use of an upper-case "Y" as the spoke head marking. Note the "Stag Brand" label at the bottom center of the box. The "S-Brand-ACI-Alpina-Prym-Niro" box photo shown above suggests that "S-Brand" IS "Stag-Brand". Due to the update provided in the somewhat related "S-Brand" "Sacchetti" entry, disregard the "suggestion" noted in the previous note. Update: Wayne Davidson via email 11/7/2011 from John Hurley has provided his own box photo: Wayne Davidson's Box Photo |  |  |
| "S-Brand" Sacchetti Made in Italy Relaxed and open-ended and very small upper-case "S". The "S" is very small and covers only 30-40 percent of the spoke head at the very center. | UPDATE!!!: We have verification thanks to CR list member
George Allen who on May 17, 2011 happened to come across eBay auction item
number 110686620855 as listed by eBay Seller "BajaJohn1959". Linked photos below
clearly establish "Sacchetti" as the founding company followed later by
"A.C.I. - Sacchetti". As hinted in the related and later generation
iterations of this spoke - "A.C.I." went on a buying or merger spree that
included "Alpina", "Prym" and "Nirosta". Many "Thank You's" to eBay Seller "BajaJohn1959" for permission to provide these photos. Same regard for providing the "proof in the pudding" as well. Please do not use these photos elsewhere without the expressed written permission of eBay Seller "BajaJohn1959". Photo 1 Photo 2 Photo 3 The overlay of the Vintage S-Brand box is from an unknown eBay seller who did not reply to any email inquiries sent out by Robert Shackelford. The actual base photo of the S-Brand spoke head is provided courtesy of member "weta" at the CTC Forums in the United Kingdom. Source Link As noted in the linked discussion, these spokes are often called ACIs which is understandable in that later versions are delivered in a box carrying the "ACI" label. "Alpina", "Prym" and "Niro (Nirosta) labels appear some time thereafter. See the other "S-Brand" entries for further information and sample photos. |  |  |
| "Schwinn" Schwinn Bicycle Company (c. 1967) Parts Division Chicago, Illinois 60639 USA Four-leaf clover. Zinc double-butted. Made in West Germany. There's a .01 percent possibility that Beuchel & Roeder made these but in all likelihood Berg-Union produced these vintage spokes for Schwinn USA. | Bicycle Express of San Jose 131 E. William Street San Jose, CA 95112 USA http://www.bicycleexpress.net Half-dozen boxes in stock 1/26/2011. |  |  |
| "SLE Spoke" Shuhn Lih Enterprise Co., Ltd. No. 65, Dong Suen St. Sulin City, Taipei Hsien Taiwan R.O.C. Upper-case and broad "S" that covers approximately 70-80 percent of the spoke head. Shuhn Lih spokes cover all quality and butting variations from very cheap entry-level high-polish straight guage spokes all the way up to semi-polished butted quality spokes. The very cheap entry-level straight guage spokes are often found in a high-polish finish and without a spoke head marking. | Robert Shackelford Wheels By Fleming San Jose, CA USA mrrabbit@mrrabbit.net Wheels by Fleming for one year was one of several importers alongside several major bicycle distributors in the United States. At this time in writing, 3/7/2011, several brands of bicycles sold in the United States use Shuhn-Lih spokes with the upper-case "S" spoke head marking. Included in the photo is a photo of an "unmarked" Shuhn-Lih spoke from April of 2005. |  |  |
| "Stella" Stella Made In Italy Full-bodied "star" in "circle". Vintage. "Star" is well defined. "Star" AND "circle" are raised. A vintage spoke. | John Hurley and the Internet Via email 2/18/2011, CR list member Carlos Ovalle provided 3 photos, with photo #2 being selected as shown. Note how it clearly details the fact that the "star" is surrounded by a raised "circle". In other words, the edge of the head is not the circle - there is an actual circle running along the inside of the circumference of the spoke head. Please do not redistribute or use the photo without the permission of Carlos Ovalle. |  |  |
| "Torrington" Torrington, Connecticut USA A "cross" or "+" or "x" depending upon how you look at it. In existence before WWII and well into the 1970s and possibly early 1980s. Considered a vintage spoke. | eBay Members hiwheelr5 navyman26 On 1/31/2011 via email exchanges, both "hiwheelr5" and "navyman26" having the noted spoke listed for sale on eBay report only a "+" or "x" on the spoke heads. Ranulf Lisenbee http://www.bikefix.org [Website Under Construction] On November 9, 2011, Ranulf Lisenbee popped up from somewhere in the remote wilderness of the Internet and posted some galleries of various spoke heads and spoke boxes followed by a "heads-up" email to Robert Shackelford. He provided a half dozen Torrington spoke head photos which when put together in the montage to the right cleary shows the variation that occurs within and across boxes. |  |  |
| "Tung Ho's" Tung Ho Uknown Country of Origin Somewhat crude upper-case "T". | Ranulf Lisenbee http://www.bikefix.org [Website Under Construction] On November 9, 2011, Ranulf Lisenbee popped up from somewhere in the remote wilderness of the Internet and posted some galleries of various spoke heads and spoke boxes followed by a "heads-up" email to Robert Shackelford. This spoke shown in the photo came out of a spoke box labelled "Tung Ho". |  |  |
| "Union" Union (Later Berg-Union) Wilhelm Feuerhake Frondenberg (Ruhr) Germany http://www.marwi.com.tw http://www.wws-speichen.de/en/portrait Upper-case "U" in ia United States federal highway style "shield". This was the Union side of the Berg-Union sales group merger. Up until 1995? Berg, Union and Berg-Union were pretty much the same spoke. Marwi Group (Taiwan) has been the owner of the Union label side as of 1995. The original Union spoke as covered here is a vintage spoke. | Marwi Group (Taiwan) WWS-Speichen Visit the URLs for Marwi Group (Taiwan) and for WWW-Speichen for the story. Photo provided by John Hurley. |  |  |
| "Union" Union (Later Berg-Union) Wilhelm Feuerhake Frondenberg (Ruhr) Germany http://www.marwi.com.tw http://www.wws-speichen.de/en/portrait Upper-case "U" in a smooth simple "shield". This was the Union side of the Berg-Union sales group merger. Up until 1995? Berg, Union and Berg-Union were pretty much the same spoke. Marwi Group (Taiwan) has been the owner of the Union label side as of 1995. The original Union spoke as covered here is a vintage spoke. | Marwi Group (Taiwan) WWS-Speichen Visit the URLs for Marwi Group (Taiwan) and for WWW-Speichen for the story. eBay seller "navyman26" has graciously given permission to use a listing photo for our use in the right pane. |  |  |
| "(unknown)" Unknown Manufacturer Unknown Country of Origin Rough looking dash "-". | Photo provided by BikeForums member "sk0tt" December 7, 2012. |  |  |
| "(unknown)" Unknown Manufacturer Unknown Country of Origin Number "1". | Photo provided by BikeForums.net member "sk0tt" December 17, 2013. |  |  |
| "Sturmey Archer???" United Kingdom 2-piece process spoke in zinc or zinc "finished" steel. Spoke head consists of a drilled button "mashed", "forged", "fused" or "pinned" to the end of the wire. | Robert Shackelford Wheels By Fleming San Jose, CA USA mrrabbit@mrrabbit.net Bob Shackelford paid a visit 3/8/2011 to someone the CR list is well acquainted with who is in possession of a very old Hercules equipped with its original 32/40 wheelset with a 3-speed Sturmey Archer rear hub. Rims are steel and like the hubs are made in England. Viewing the photo to the right, you can see the residual presence of the wire in the center of the head while the surrounding portions of the head has its own characteristics and grain. You can also see what are likely stress induced cracks on the edges of the heads. Closeup Photo In an email exchange 3/7/2011, Bob Shackelford was informed by eBay seller "minneapolisbikewarehouse" that Sturmey Archer .80 guage 11 23/32 spokes and nipples manufactured in Nottingham England sometime around 1981 have no visible markings on the spoke heads. |  |  |
| "(unknown)" Unknown Manufacturer Unknown Country of Origin Two dots as "eyes" with a "nose" biased to one "eye" at an angle. Spoke is of two piece construction. | Unknown |  |  |
| "(unknown)" Unknown Manufacturer Unknown Country of Origin A raised "three-pointed star" or "ninja spear." | Unknown |  |  |
| "(unknown)" Unknown Manufacturer Unknown Country of Origin A fine circle with 3 roughly evenly placed dots around the edge. The edge and circumference of the circle matches exactly that of the wire circumference on the other side suggesting that this is a two piece constructed spoke with finish work obscuring the usual smudge and/or bump present in most two piece constructed spokes. | Unknown |  |  |
| "(unknown)" Unknown Manufacturer Unknown Country of Origin 5 "dots" in a star arrangement with 2 "dots" closer together. | Robert Shackelford Wheels By Fleming San Jose, CA USA mrrabbit@mrrabbit.net These are frequently found on Trek built wheels on Trek bicycles from the early to late 1990s. More often than not the wheels consist of Matrix 700c rims supplied by Trek with both the Matrix and Trek labels applied. From April through June of 2011 Robert Shackelford had to rebuild several of such wheels and is forced to consider the possibility that these may be the "OHIO" spoke and that the "3-dot" spoke may just be something else. |  |  |
| "(unknown)" Unknown Manufacturer Unknown Country of Origin These are listed as separate entries elsewhere. A combo entry is provided here as these two spokes are from same wheel and show a number "1" or "7". Same spokes? Or different spokes? | Photo provided by BikeForums.net member "sk0tt" December 17, 2013. |  |  |
| "(unknown)" Unknown Manufacturer Unknown Country of Origin Number "7". | Photo provided by BikeForums.net member "sk0tt" December 17, 2013. |  |  |
| "(unknown)" Unknown Manufacturer Made in France? Raised 8 point "star" inside of a raised circle. | CR List Member Carlos Ovalle Via email 7/5/2011, Carlos Ovalle submitted the photo and graphical representation as shown. The spoke in question comes from some steel AVA rims laced to New Star hubs on a French made "Payan" circa late 1940s to early 1950s. Please do not use the provided photo or graphic without the expressed written permission of Carlos Ovalle. |  |  |
| "(unknown)" Unknown Manufacturer Unknown Country of Origin Number "8". | Photo provided by BikeForums.net member "sk0tt" December 17, 2013. |  |  |
| "(unknown)" Unknown Manufacturer Unknown Country of Origin An upper-case "H" that looks like an airplane flying from left to right. | Photo provided by BikeForums member "sk0tt" January 24, 2013. |  |  |
| "(unknown)" Unknown Manufacturer Unknown Country of Origin Upper-case backwards "P" or a lower-case "b". | Unknown |  |  |
| "(unknown)" Unknown Manufacturer Unknown Country of Origin Upper-case "S" with the diagonal utilizing a line sharply intersecting the top and bottom arches. | Photo provided by BikeForum member "sk0tt" December 7, 2012. |  |  |
| "(unknown)" Unknown Manufacturer Unknown Country of Origin Very nicely done almost closed "calligraphy" or "script" upper-case "C". | Ranulf Lisenbee http://www.bikefix.org [Website Under Construction] On November 9, 2011, Ranulf Lisenbee popped up from somewhere in the remote wilderness of the Internet and posted some galleries of various spoke heads and spoke boxes followed by a "heads-up" email to Robert Shackelford. Photo shows the very "tight" or "almost closed" nature of the "C". Spoke is French threaded. |  |  |
| "(unknown)" Unknown Manufacturer Unknown Country of Origin Either conjoined "C" and "H" or conjoined "H" and "D". | Unknown Found in the wild from a very cheap machine built wheel imported from somewhere in East Asia. |  |  |
| "(unknown)" Unknown Manufacturer Unknown Country of Origin Circle with an attached bump inside a rounded parallelogram. | Unknown |  |  |
| "(unknown)" Unknown Manufacturer Unknown Country of Origin (Unable to determine marking.) | Ranulf Lisenbee http://www.bikefix.org [Website Under Construction] On November 9, 2011, Ranulf Lisenbee popped up from somewhere in the remote wilderness of the Internet and posted some galleries of various spoke heads and spoke boxes followed by a "heads-up" email to Robert Shackelford. The spoke shown came out of a red box with black lettering. The primary label is "Raggi Lario" while the source label is "G. F. Redaelli S.p.A." A search for "Raggi Lario" in Google results in alot of pictures of beautiful countryside, nice motorcycles and pretty women. |  |  |
| "(unknown)" Unknown Manufacturer Unknown Country of Origin One view presents what appears to be a raised number "8". However, upon closer examination the marking comes across more as "conjoined twin ovals". | Unknown |  |  |
| "(unknown)" Unknown Manufacturer Unknown Country of Origin Upper-case "N" with both corners filled in. | Photo provided by BikeForums.net member "sk0tt" December 17, 2013. |  |  |
| "(unknown)" Unknown Manufacturer Unknown Country of Origin Marking appears to be a somewhat skinny version of the Gingerbread Man. Most likely to be a Chinese symbol or character used in calligraphy. This spoke is often found on factory produced electric motor wheels used on e-bikes imported to the United States. | Unknown |  |  |
| "(unknown)" Unknown Manufacturer Unknown Country of Origin Eerily similar to the other "heart" shaped spoke markings, this one seems to be free of any side and inside marks or smudges. | Ranulf Lisenbee http://www.bikefix.org [Website Under Construction] On November 9, 2011, Ranulf Lisenbee popped up from somewhere in the remote wilderness of the Internet and posted some galleries of various spoke heads and spoke boxes followed by a "heads-up" email to Robert Shackelford. Photo shown is of a heart stamped spoke head free of inside and outside marks or smudges. Spoke is French threaded. |  |  |
| "(unknown)" Unknown Manufacturer Unknown Country of Origin Eerily similar to the other "heart" shaped spoke marking, this one seems to be free of any side and inside marks. However it does have a "smudge" or "dot" above the "heart". This marking is raised as is the case with the other "heart" entry. | Unknown On June 21, 2011, a Carlos Olivares popped up out of the woods and delivered via email his photo of this spoke head from a recently acquired 1972 Motobecane Grand Record. Linked below is the original photo: Closeup Photo Please do not use this photo without the expressed written permission of Carlos Olivares. |  |  |
| "(unknown)" Unknown Manufacturer Unknown Country of Origin Slightly open heart with dot in middle?. Dot in middle possibly a mini-heart? Mark to the outside left. 13g spoke shown in provided photo is typically found on factory built electric bicycle wheels used on electric bikes imported from China to the United States. | Unknown |  |  |
| "(unknown)" Unknown Manufacturer Unknown Country of Origin Upper-case "K" inside of a heart. | Photo provided by BikeForums member "sk0tt" September 25, 2012. |  |  |
| "(unknown)" Unknown Manufacturer Unknown Country of Origin Incomplete upper-case "B". Bottom half of vertical bar is often missing, but sometimes part of it is there and once in awhile it appears a complete "B" is there. Varies from spoke to spoke as shown in photo. | Unknown |  |  |
| "(unknown)" Unknown Manufacturer Unknown Country of Origin 3 closely quarted indented dots in a triangular arrangement. | Photo provided by John Hurley John Hurley took this photo of the noted spoke as used in a wheel consisting of a "Schwinn Approved Made in France" stamped Maillard hub and Weinmann 27" alloy clincher rim made in Belgium. The wheel is from a 1986 Schwinn Le Tour. John raises the possibility that this spoke might have been made by Union. |  |  |
| "(unknown)" Unknown Manufacturer Unknown Country of Origin Upper-case italic "J" with a rather small hook. | Photo provided by BikeForums member "sk0tt" December 7, 2012. |  |  |
| "(unknown)" Unknown Manufacturer Unknown Country of Origin Upper-case "T" with an extra, shorter horizontal bar off the left side. | Photo provided by BikeForums member "sk0tt" September 25, 2012. |  |  |
| "(unknown)" Unknown Manufacturer Unknown Country of Origin Loosely assembled upper-case "M" or "W". | Photo provided by BikeForums member "sk0tt" September 25, 2012. |  |  |
| "(unknown)" Unknown Manufacturer Unknown Country of Origin Upper-case arched "A" with a downward bowed lower rung. | Photo provided by John Hurley. |  |  |
| "(unknown)" Unknown Manufacturer Unknown Country of Origin Upper-case "M". | Photo provided by BikeForums.net member "sk0tt" December 17, 2013. |  |  |
| "(unknown)" Unknown Manufacturer Unknown Country of Origin What appears to be a pivot based table top mirror. | Ranulf Lisenbee http://www.bikefix.org [Website Under Construction] On November 9, 2011, Ranulf Lisenbee popped up from somewhere in the remote wilderness of the Internet and posted some galleries of various spoke heads and spoke boxes followed by a "heads-up" email to Robert Shackelford. Photo shown suggests marking is of a table top mirror with a pivot base. Is it possible this is an early Prym due to the pivot forming an upper-case "Y"? |  |  |
| "(unknown)" Unknown Manufacturer Unknown Country of Origin Raised lower-case "n". It could be interpreted as a lower-case "u", however when turned around in that fashion it just doesn't look like a proper "u". | Unknown |  |  |
| "(unknown)" Unknown Manufacturer Unknown Country of Origin Irregular donut-like ring shape. Other spokes on same wheel differ slightly. | Photo provided by BikeForums member "sk0tt" December 7, 2012. |  |  |
| "(unknown)" Unknown Manufacturer Unknown Country of Origin Upper-case "N" on edge of head. Usually off center to lower-left. | Unknown Robert Shackelford of Wheels by Fleming talked with his contact at Chun Nuan (CNspoke) via an email exchange 2/8/2011 who thinks it is really a "Z" on the edge and is pretty certain that it came out of mainland China. |  |  |
| "(unknown)" Unknown Manufacturer Unknown Country of Origin One raised dot. | Unknown |  |  |
| "(unknown)" Unknown Manufacturer Unknown Country of Origin Upper-case "R" with short legs and the horizontal bar extending to the left. | Photo provided by BikeForums.net member "sk0tt" December 17, 2013. |  |  |
| "(unknown)" Unknown Manufacturer Unknown Country of Origin Rough upper-case "V" unlike the other better defined entry elsewhere on this page. | Photo provided by BikeForums member "sk0tt" January 24, 2013. |  |  |
| "(unknown)" Unknown Manufacturer Unknown Country of Origin A parallelogram with rounded corners. | Photo provided by BikeForums.net member "sk0tt" December 17, 2013. |  |  |
| "(unknown)" Unknown Manufacturer Unknown Country of Origin A very bold or thick-bodied upper-case "S". | Photo provided by BikeForum member "sk0tt" December 7, 2012. |  |  |
| "(unknown)" Unknown Manufacturer Unknown Country of Origin Large upper-case "S" but with a small solid diamond appended to the back side near mid-section. | Photo provided by BikeForums member "sk0tt" January 24, 2013. |  |  |
| "(unknown)" Unknown Manufacturer Unknown Country of Origin Slightly slanted upper-case "N" with one corner filled in. | Photo provided by BikeForums member "sk0tt" September 25, 2012. |  |  |
| "(unknown)" Unknown Manufacturer Unknown Country of Origin Two upper-case "S's" side by side, slightly merged with the rightmost "S" almost halfway below the leftmost "S". | Ranulf Lisenbee http://www.bikefix.org [Website Under Construction] On November 9, 2011, Ranulf Lisenbee popped up from somewhere in the remote wilderness of the Internet and posted some galleries of various spoke heads and spoke boxes followed by a "heads-up" email to Robert Shackelford. Spoke shown in photo came out of a Union box. |  |  |
| "(unknown)" Unknown Manufacturer Unknown Country of Origin Upper-case "T" inside knight's shield. | Photo provided by John Hurley Per Bill McGann via Todd Linscott by way of an email exchange January 26, 2011, this is NOT a spoke produced by or for Torelli Imports. Despite all attemtps to date, 1/31/2011, this spoke has not panned out as a Torrington. |  |  |
| "(unknown)" Unknown Manufacturer Unknown Country of Origin Upper-case "E" with the middle horizontal bar extended. Or an upper-case "T" with a vertical bar either end of the top. | Photo provided by BikeForums member "sk0tt" September 25, 2012. |  |  |
| "(unknown)" Unknown Manufacturer Unknown Country of Origin Raised, empty and somewhat well-defined equilateral triangle. | Photo provided by BikeForums member "sk0tt" January 24, 2013. |  |  |
| "(unknown)" Unknown Manufacturer Unknown Country of Origin (Unable to determine marking.) | Photo provided by BikeForums member "sk0tt" September 25, 2012. |  |  |
| "(unknown)" Unknown Manufacturer Unknown Country of Origin (Unable to determine marking.) | Photo provided by BikeForums member "sk0tt" September 25, 2012. |  |  |
| "(unknown)" Unknown Manufacturer Unknown Country of Origin Narrow upper-case "V". | Unknown |  |  |
| "(unknown)" Unknown Manufacturer Unknown Country of Origin What appears to be a zinc spoke of two piece construction with a "wingtip" marking that might also be interpreted as a sin/integral stretched out "S". | Ranulf Lisenbee http://www.bikefix.org [Website Under Construction] On November 9, 2011, Ranulf Lisenbee popped up from somewhere in the remote wilderness of the Internet and posted some galleries of various spoke heads and spoke boxes followed by a "heads-up" email to Robert Shackelford. This may be an Oxford spoke as that was the label on the box it came out of. However the box was a box "contaminated" with other spokes so Ranulf is hesitant to call it an Oxford. |  |  |
| "(unknown)" Unknown Manufacturer Unknown Country of Origin Lower-case "y", or is it an upper-case "J" with a smaller upper-case "T" offset to the left? | Photo provided by BikeForums member "sk0tt" September 25, 2012. |  |  |
| "(unknown)" Unknown Manufacturer Unknown Country of Origin Times New Roman lower-case "y" with a semblence of a devil's tail hooking to the left but without the devil's tail fork. Often found on factory produced electric motor wheels of e-bikes imported to the United States. | Unknown |  |  |
| "(unknown)" Unknown Manufacturer Unknown Country of Origin Upper-case "Z". | Photo provided by BikeForums.net member "sk0tt" December 17, 2013. |  |  |
| "Wheelsmith" Hayes Bicycle Group - Parent Company Wheelsmith Fabrications 5800 W. Donges Bay Rd. Mequon, WI 53092 USA http://www.wheelsmith.com Upper-case "W" with a slightly taller center. Older spokes tended to have rough stamp. Today's stamps are cleaner and may be confused with or indistinguishable from spokes made by WWS Drahtspeichen GmbH (Germany) who produced spokes with a "W" from 1995/1996 through Spring 2007. Started out using Asahi machinery in the early 1980s and shortly after purchased and imported Asahi machinery to the United States. Vintage and current since 1984, it is provided in high-polish finish for non-colored spokes. | Universal Common Knowledge Company Website Photo provided by John Hurley. Via an email exchange with John Hurley 2/9/2011, Russell Jobs, head wheelbuilder at Wheelsmith confirms that John Hurley's information is mostly correct. Russell Jobs notes that production was originally by Asahi Japan, then 2 lines of equipment were purchased and moved to Big Timber, Montana, USA. Asahi also stated their intention to retire. A Wheelsmith technician spent a month at Asahi Japan learning the "Asahi" trade. After Asahi was done with production 14g and 15g machinery was purchased and shipped to Milwaukee, WI, USA. After setup, the head two spoke makers from Asahi spent 2 weeks stateside USA ensuring setup was proper along with providing further training. The Asahi equipment is still used at this date producing Asahi spec spokes using the same raw source materials originally used by Asahi. |  |  |
| "Wingstar" Wing Star Made in Japan Full-bodied "star" that looks like the squeezable yellow stars that your boss awards you with for "Employee of the Month". The trademark on the packaging is also found on old Hoshi boxes making it very likely that Hoshi Industries Co., Ltd. was the manufacturer of Wing Star spokes. | Wayne Davidson Via an email thru John Hurley 10/24/2011 Wayne Davidson provided two new Wingstar photos: One of a Wingstar spoke without the curled leg and that of the source bag. Source Bag Photo Please do not use or redistribute the photo on the right without the expressed permission of Wayne Davidson. |  |  |
| "Wingstar" Wing Star Made in Japan Full-bodied "star" with the lower-right point curled as though the star is moving or is a falling star or shooting star. The trademark on the packaging is also found on old Hoshi boxes making it very likely that Hoshi Industries Co., Ltd. was the manufacturer of Wing Star spokes. | Wayne Davidson Via an email exchange with John Hurley 2/15/2011 Wayne Davidson provided two photos of a Wing Star bag with spokes and a Wing Star spoke head which have been merged and provided as a single photo to the right. Wayne Davidson also provided a photo of a Hoshi Industries Co., Ltd. spoke box showing the same trademark found on the Wing Star bag. Please do not use or redistribute the photo on the right without the expressed permission of Wayne Davidson. |  |  |
| "Wippermann" Wippermann jr. GmbH Delsterner Str. 133 58091 Hagen http://www.wippermann.com Upper-case "W" inside of what appears to be a freewheel cog. | "neon10" On Monday, July 30, 2012, "neon10" popped up out of the Internet woods so to speak and provided the heads up for Wippermann for this spoke head marking that was originally marked as "unknown". He also included a nice photo. Photo |  |  |
| "WTB" Wilderness Trail Bikes 475 Miller Avenue Mill Valley, CA 94941 USA http://www.wtb.com/news The WTB logo. A very complex two layer stamp - yet despite the complexity in such a small footprint and everything that can go wrong - the detail is very clear and easy to make out. | Photo provided courtesy of user "qmsdc15" at bikeforums.net In the midst of a forum thead regarding broken spokes, "qmsdc15" took an interest in our Spoke Head Identification Chart and of course had something unique to offer. Photo was posted at bikeforums.net on September 16, 2011. Update!!! Via John Hurley, "Jaakko in Finland" piped in on June 4, 2012 to inform us that this spoke head marking originally noted as "unknown" was none other than Wilderness Trail Bikes. No sooner than we receive that heads up, Jono Church of Wide Open Distributors in New Zealand informs us of exactly the same on June 7, 2012. Shortly thereafter, Robert Shackelford talked to a contact by phone at WTB who agrees this marking is the WTB logo. An initial email was sent around by a "Jaclyn" to other members of WTB for the purpose of obtaining a short historical "blurb" on this spoke. So far as of August 9, 2012, we are still waiting on the "blurb". |  |  |
| "WWS" WWS Drahtspeichen GmbH Altena (Westphalia) Germany http://www.wws-speichen.de/en This company is the successor to the original Berg, and the later Berg-Union having assumed one of the old factory locations. Was prevented for copyright reasons from using the tradtional "4-Leaf Clover" associated with Berg and Berg-Union until Spring 2007. The Marwi Group (Taiwan) owns the "Union" brand. This entry has been placed here as a "Thank You!" to Dirk Czech of WWS-Drahtspeichen GmbH for the generous samples provided at his and his company's expense. | Company Website On January 29, 2011, Robert Shackelford put in a request with WWS Drahtspeichen for some sample spokes. A few days later a Dirk Czech responded indicating he would be happy to do so. Robert Shackelford waited, and sure enough good things come to those who wait. A package arrived early September 2011 containing six sample spokes and a letter with a short historical summary of the timeframe for the three markings evident on the sample spokes. Thank you very much Dirk!!! |  |  |
| "WWS" WWS Drahtspeichen GmbH Altena (Westphalia) Germany http://www.wws-speichen.de/en The traditional 4-leaf "Berg" clover. WWS-Drahtspeichen transitoned to this marking in Spring 2007 after obtaining the copyright for its use. Previously from 1995 to Spring 2007 two other markings were in use - first a lower-case "s" inside an upper-case "W", then a standalone upper-case "W". This company is the successor to the original Berg, and the later Berg-Union having assumed one of the old factory locations. Was prevented for copyright reasons from using the tradtional "4-Leaf Clover" associated with Berg and Berg-Union until Spring 2007. The Marwi Group (Taiwan) owns the "Union" brand. | Company Website Update!!! On January 29, 2011, Robert Shackelford put in a request with WWS Drahtspeichen for some sample spokes. A few days later a Dirk Czech responded indicating he would be happy to do so. Robert Shackelford waited, and sure enough good things come to those who wait. A package arrived early September 2011 containing six sample spokes and a letter with a short historical summary of the timeframe for the three markings evident on the sample spokes. Thank you very much Dirk!!! |  |  |
| "WWS" WWS Drahtspeichen GmbH Altena (Westphalia) Germany http://www.wws-speichen.de/en After the initial lower-case "s" inside an upper-case "W" in 1995, the lower-case "s" went away and this standalone upper-case "W" marking continued on thereafter up until Spring 2007. This company is the successor to the original Berg, and the later Berg-Union having assumed one of the old factory locations. Was prevented for copyright reasons from using the tradtional "4-Leaf Clover" associated with Berg and Berg-Union until Spring 2007. The Marwi Group (Taiwan) owns the "Union" brand. | Company Website Update!!! On January 29, 2011, Robert Shackelford put in a request with WWS Drahtspeichen for some sample spokes. A few days later a Dirk Czech responded indicating he would be happy to do so. Robert Shackelford waited, and sure enough good things come to those who wait. A package arrived early September 2011 containing six sample spokes and a letter with a short historical summary of the timeframe for the three markings evident on the sample spokes. Thank you very much Dirk!!! |  |  |
| "WWS" WWS Drahtspeichen GmbH Altena (Westphalia) Germany http://www.wws-speichen.de/en Lower-case "s" inside an upper-case "W". This was the initial marking in 1995. This marking was replaced shortly after with a standalone upper-case "W" until Spring 2007. This company is the successor to the original Berg, and the later Berg-Union having assumed one of the old factory locations. Was prevented for copyright reasons from using the tradtional "4-Leaf Clover" associated with Berg and Berg-Union until Spring 2007. The Marwi Group (Taiwan) owns the "Union" brand. | Company Website Update!!! On January 29, 2011, Robert Shackelford put in a request with WWS Drahtspeichen for some sample spokes. A few days later a Dirk Czech responded indicating he would be happy to do so. Robert Shackelford waited, and sure enough good things come to those who wait. A package arrived early September 2011 containing six sample spokes and a letter with a short historical summary of the timeframe for the three markings evident on the sample spokes. Thank you very much Dirk!!! |  |  |