04/12/2025
A brand’s global reach is not normally measured in stainless steel spoke wire, but for DT Swiss there’s no better metric. The Biel-based company uses 40,000 kilometres of it every year – which is almost exactly the circumference of the earth. And the state-of-the-art machinery that produces 50,000 to 70,000 spokes per day in the Swiss facility has capacity to make even more. During the Covid boom of 2020 the factory made enough to go one-and-a-half times around the globe. “It was crazy,” remembers Peter Saegesser, DT Swiss’s head of production, his eyes widening in mock horror as he relives running two shifts concurrently, day and night, which he never thought he would have to do. Just once around the world is enough.
DT Swiss’s business is more than just spokes of course – it also makes hubs and rims and supplies entire wheels to major brands such as Canyon as an OEM (original equipment manufacturer) and is the wheel sponsor to the Tudor Pro Cycling and Uno-X pro teams. It makes suspension systems – forks, shocks and dropper posts. It has subsidiaries in Germany, France, Poland, Taiwan and the USA. DT Swiss is now considerably greater than the sum of its parts. But spokes is where it all started. From watchmaking wire to WorldTour wheels, DT Swiss has built its global reputation on precision, passion... and a staggering number of spokes — Read more in Issue 139 of our magazine, on our website or on the Rouleur 🔗📱
The article was produced in collaboration with
✍️ Simon Smythe
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