Spokes: To Interlace or Not to Interlace?

[ichitan]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fX5mAOzJVU

[GirishH]

This is interesting, ichitan. Thanks for sharing. This helps me understand more about my bicycle wheels and helps me understand/get over the fear when it's time to true my wheel..

[ReapThaWhirlwind]

I don't find advice on spoke cross is accurate to my experiences.

Many will recommend certain cross, more or less, depending on the spoke hole count; but like it's actually better to go by what your needs are. If you're heavy, or doing heavy riding, you want more cross despite whatever the spoke hole count it. If you have a single wall rim, going more cross helps you get a stiffer lateral wheel. Lateral stiffness is really important, as I feel it will slow you down even more from the potential flex when you get up on it (especially on a climb).

If your needs are lesser, going less cross on a high spoke hole count helps to shed some weight. Since you have more spokes, you'll have a wheel plenty strong enough anyways. I can't say it's a ton of weight either, but can be as much as a couple ounces per wheel.

Certain cross patterns also give you better build schematics with certain spoke hole counts (despite whatever the recommended is). I think this is why many people prefer three cross, because with larger wheels (26" and up) the measurements tend to be very easy and favorable. Otherwise, you can get very unfavorable odd ends that you'll have to sew up on a miracle (being over or under by 0.4~0.6). For smaller 20" wheels, I don't find this tends to apply. Going 4 cross tends to be the easiest and most favorable values then. I think 4 cross is better for smaller wheels, despite that they are naturally pretty rigid when they true up (due to tighter constrained proportions). It's better because the wheel will take more impact pressure under those constrained proportions and have less material than a large wheel to brunt the damage. Makes me want to shout-out people like Dave Mirra, whose body was a machine that turns perfectly built wheels into mangled wheels of death. In my building experience for 20" wheels, 4 cross in the back and 3 cross up front is excellent.

Lateral lacing does make wheels that are stiffer on both axis, but just like how they become a mess under torsion, I think they also become a mess under impact more. I wouldn't recommend it unless your wheel are going to stay on the ground, and aren't going to be jumping on and off curbs or ramps or anything.

[ichitan]

(09-27-2023, 09:51 AM)GirishH Wrote:  This helps me understand more about my bicycle wheels and helps me understand/get over the fear when it's time to true my wheel..

Learn what you can. When something needs repairing, make it a learning experience.

Because of the wider hub, and the greater angle of the spokes, fat bike wheels tend to go out of true less then bikes with narrow hubs. So you may never need to true your wheels.

I would like to be able to put a wider hub on my mountain bike. The wheel would be really tough.