I’m very soon going to order my wheels (as soon as the campy stuff comes in, hopefully it won’t take too long, I’m sooooooooo tired of this already) and I was wondering if I should just go with a ‘standard’ 3X lacing or if I should consider something like straight lacing in front and/or something funky in the back?
What are the advantages/disadvantages of different types of lacing patterns? I’ve read the page on sheldonbrown’s website but unless I completely missed it I can’t find a list of every lacing pattern with pros/cons of it.
I would say that 2 or 3x would be the most conventional. A lot of hub manufacturer’s state that the hub warranty will be voided if radial lacing is used. It puts a lot of stress on the hub flange and “can” fail. Although, I have seen a few built radial anyway. If it is an everyday training wheelset, you can always ride home on a broken spoken with 2x or 3x. However, a broken spoke on a radial lacing will cause the true to go way out; possibly making it unable to ride. Just make sure that the wheel builder is experienced, thats the main thing.
Getting new stuff is very exciting, expecially wheels.
The type of riding you will use these wheels for should dictate what lacing pattern thay you use. Wheel size and rider weight will make a difference too.
Training where road will be medium rough, I would go with 24 to 28 radial spoked front 14/15 guage spokes for someone that is less the 180lbs. Much over that I would 2 or 3 cross. If the roads are allways smooth 16 to 20 radial spoked front.
Rear wheel for training is a bit different. Rough road training, 3 cross 28 to 32 spoke. Smoother roads for training, 24 to 28 spoke 2 cross drive side and radial non-drive side. The reason for radial non-drive side is to keep the spokes tighter and they will have less of a chance to loosen up and let the wheel come out of true. Under acceleration and braking the spokes will all have more tension.
Racing wheels, 16 to 20 front, bladed DT Swiss aero speed 15/17 guage. Rear 20 to 24 spoke bladed spokes. Expect to put out quite a few dollars for bladed spokes. They are not cheap.
Sheldon Brown’s site has much more on lacing patterns. I like the crows feet pattern.
I haven’t built up campy hubs in quite a while. The last set I did were C Record hubs and they have cutouts for the spoke head on the outside of the hub. That may limit you to only cross patterns.
I’m sooooooo tired of your whining rants about what stuff to buy and how the shops mistreated you. Have you considered that they treated you poorly because you came across as a wanker? Are you getting the triple? They’re great for people who spend a lot of time on the computer talking about riding, but never really get out much. It will be nice once you get your bike going…maybe it will keep your whining on this forum down a bit.
I always go radial front cause it’s easier and faster. For the back, I usually go 3 cross as it’s pretty strong and sort of the standard. Unless you are exceptionally heavy or abusive and have a fair number of spokes (28+), any lacing pattern other than radial drive-side should work okay.