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Possibly stupid question about spoke lacing
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ST wisdom request.

I'm a total dunce with wheel building. I wrench virtually everything on my bikes including the odd freehub service/bearing replacement, but I've never gone near the spokes.

Trying to track down an annoying noise on my bike and this caught my eye. Is this normal? It is a Flo 60 which is laced in a two-cross pattern. There is a noticeable bend where the two crossed spokes over/under lap.



Is this normal? Could it be a source of noise?

Thanks ST, Rich.
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Re: Possibly stupid question about spoke lacing [knighty76] [ In reply to ]
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If you look it is the opposite pattern as the two crosses in front of it. Over under when the other two are under over (or vice versa I guess). I don’t know if that is right or wrong but under correct tension Ive never seen that. What does it look like in a truing stand?
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Re: Possibly stupid question about spoke lacing [turningscrews] [ In reply to ]
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turningscrews wrote:
If you look it is the opposite pattern as the two crosses in front of it. Over under when the other two are under over (or vice versa I guess).
I don't know what you're seeing but that's not what I'm seeing.

yes interlacing spokes is normal.
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Re: Possibly stupid question about spoke lacing [knighty76] [ In reply to ]
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Yes, that is correct for 2 cross. Crossing a head out over a head in is how you get the spokes to share loads.
Just put a tiny bit of lube on the junction if you think it might be the source of noise
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Re: Possibly stupid question about spoke lacing [knighty76] [ In reply to ]
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This is correct lacing. The reason is you want the spokes in compression against each other where they cross. If they are loose, they will rattle when you ride as individual spokes go in and out of tension from the road force as you ride. (I know this because I screwed it up in the first set of wheels I built... then I researched it and laced them correctly.)
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Re: Possibly stupid question about spoke lacing [exxxviii] [ In reply to ]
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Great, thanks guys. Don't have a truing stand unfortunately and my other rear wheel is out of commission waiting for new bearings, otherwise I'd throw it on to see if the noise goes.

Tried almost everything else - replaced crappy pressfit BB86 with Wheels Mfg threaded BB, greased and torqued everything including chainset bolts, cassette is pretty new and has been refitted, freehub body looks good and hub has been serviced, pawls greased and checked etc. Put a new chain on, have re-greased the speedplay pedals which aren't too old. Derailleurs are in good adjustment and limit screws set properly with no chain rub. Chain line looks good. Etc etc. Dont suspect headset or seat post as I can get the noise riding no handed or out the saddle (but not both at the same time..!).

But when I'm pedalling with high torque - mainly ascending - I get a tinny noise. It is not perfectly in-phase with crank rotations. It could be in time with wheel rotations. I'll try dabbing some grease in the overlaps as suggested. The spokes seem to be under fair tension but I might get the LBS to check it over.

Hate bloody unidentified noises on a bike, bane of my life.

Cheers, Rich.
Last edited by: knighty76: May 21, 20 4:07
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Re: Possibly stupid question about spoke lacing [knighty76] [ In reply to ]
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Looks fine. What is the noise you are getting?
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Re: Possibly stupid question about spoke lacing [knighty76] [ In reply to ]
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There are about a million things that can cause creaks but I doubt its the wheels. The lacing looks correct and it you had a spoke really bouncing around you would probably be able to notice the tension difference just but plucking the spokes.

In my experience the shoe, cleat, pedal interface is a common culprit of irritating and difficult to track down noises. One leg drills can help isolate if this is the case and its often a matter of cleaning and adjusting the cleat bolts.
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Re: Possibly stupid question about spoke lacing [turningscrews] [ In reply to ]
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turningscrews wrote:
If you look it is the opposite pattern as the two crosses in front of it. Over under when the other two are under over (or vice versa I guess). I don’t know if that is right or wrong but under correct tension Ive never seen that. What does it look like in a truing stand?

When I looked at it at 4am in the dark it looked like the crossing pattern changed. But the problem was that I was looking at this at 4am and you are right.
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Re: Possibly stupid question about spoke lacing [knighty76] [ In reply to ]
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Alright I just went through this yesterday as I was finally fed up with a clicking sound I had had for 3 months. After regreasing and reassembling everything in the drivetrain, I did some googling and found the speedplay cleat/pedal interaction is often the cause. Popped the speedplay cleats off of the 3 bolt adapter and checked for level on the side that was clicking. Turns out it was very slightly out of level. I swapped the front shim for one thicker, reinstalled, and voila, dead silent. It's not like I had just altered anything when the clicking started though, they had been the same for months, it just developed. And the sound didn't sound at all like it was coming from the pedals, I thought for sure it was a spider/bottom bracket thing for awhile.

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