Radial wheel question

[Zog The Undeniable]

I have a radially spoked front wheel that was built for me some years
ago, but has few miles on it because it's only used for time trialling.
It's a Campag Omega V rim (the "aero" type) on a Shimano 600 front hub
- which I believe is forged, so it should be pretty strong. There are
32 spokes, which are DT d/b.

Having seen a few nasty pictures of failed radial wheels, what are the
chances of the hub flange being torn off in my lifetime - I'm fairly
average weight at about 180lb? If it's likely to be a problem, which
hub manufacturers actually guarantee their hubs for radial spoking?

I know the aerodynamic advantages of radial spoking are minimal over 10
miles, but as I can't afford any real aero wheels, I'll take whatever
few seconds' saving I can. Anyway, it does look nice.

 

[[email protected]]

Hroth Gar writes:

> I have a radially spoked front wheel that was built for me some
> years ago, but has few miles on it because it's only used for time
> trialling. It's a Campag Omega V rim (the "aero" type) on a Shimano
> 600 front hub - which I believe is forged, so it should be pretty
> strong. There are 32 spokes, which are DT d/b.

> Having seen a few nasty pictures of failed radial wheels, what are
> the chances of the hub flange being torn off in my lifetime - I'm
> fairly average weight at about 180lb? If it's likely to be a
> problem, which hub manufacturers actually guarantee their hubs for
> radial spoking?

That depends on the hub and how it was made. Phil Wood hubs, for
instance, are made of aluminum plate that can take the loads. Most
others are castings or forged castings. That is they are cast and
then forged for increased density.

> I know the aerodynamic advantages of radial spoking are minimal over
> 10 miles, but as I can't afford any real aero wheels. I'll take
> whatever few seconds' saving I can. Anyway, it does look nice.

There is NO aerodynamic advantage in radial spoking.

Jobst Brandt
[email protected]

 

[Ted Bennett]

Zog The Undeniable <[email protected]> wrote:

> I have a radially spoked front wheel that was built for me some years
> ago, but has few miles on it because it's only used for time trialling.
> It's a Campag Omega V rim (the "aero" type) on a Shimano 600 front hub
> - which I believe is forged, so it should be pretty strong. There are
> 32 spokes, which are DT d/b.
>
> Having seen a few nasty pictures of failed radial wheels, what are the
> chances of the hub flange being torn off in my lifetime - I'm fairly
> average weight at about 180lb? If it's likely to be a problem, which
> hub manufacturers actually guarantee their hubs for radial spoking?
>
> I know the aerodynamic advantages of radial spoking are minimal over 10
> miles, but as I can't afford any real aero wheels, I'll take whatever
> few seconds' saving I can. Anyway, it does look nice.

**********

> There is NO aerodynamic advantage in radial spoking.
>
> Jobst Brandt



Jobst is right. At the same time I also like the appearance and have
used (and used up) several radially spoked wheels.

Your level of risk is increased riding them, but personally I accepted
the risk, figuring the increment was small, especially since I know how
to inspect and maintain my equipment. The only thing that makes be a
little uneasy is that the failure mode can be catastrophic. Ouch.

Two radially spoked wheels of mine did fail in the spoke flanges. One
broke out a section with a loud bang, but the wheel didn't collapse.
(Hard braking on a rough surface. Yikes.) The other cracked silently
and was found during inspection. Both had 36 spokes.

--
Ted Bennett
Portland OR