Steve Sauter writes:
>> I am amidst building a recumbent bike for a little road riding.
>> Anyhow - I am using a 20" drive wheel with a disk brake, 36
>> holes. I want to lace the drive side radially and brake side using
>> X2 or X3 pattern.
>> Does this wheel have a chance to hold?
> Radially lacing the drive side will help even out the difference in
> tensions between drive and non-drive especially if you lace with
> heads in on the drive and have a larger flange dia. Generally it
> will only even out tensions by a maximum of 100n over a 3x drive and
> non-drive wheel. This will depend largely on flange diameter. A
> smaller flange diameter will even out spoke tensions to a lesser
> degree.
With a small diameter wheel, lateral spoke angles are greater and the
difference with spoking heads-in radially makes little difference.
The main problem with that method is that flange stresses are
significantly higher and can cause break-out. 36-spokes is a fairly
dense mesh of spokes anyway, so it doesn't require as high tension as
a 700c wheel.
> The disadvantages are that the drive side will have to wind up a
> decent amount before it can create enough torque to counter the
> drive forces. This will decrease the fatigue life of the spoke
> causing premature spoke failure. Also most hubs are not designed to
> take the stress of radial lacing which can cause flange failure.
If there is any wind-up, the damage will appear as hub shaft failure,
not something to do with spokes. I don't know how large the hub
center diameter is, but for such spoking it should be large enough to
withstand all torque going to the left side... which will occur.
> As for your final question, yes, your wheel does have a chance of
> holding up but it is awful risky just to achieve that cool look or
> slightly more even spoke tension.
Is this about appearance or function?
Jobst Brandt
