Nice deal.....

I just scored a nice deal at a LBS with some mid eighties classic tubular rims. They were mostly Omega Strada Hardox Aero 32h but also a few Mavic Mach 2 CD 2. $13 each. That ain't bad. I know some stores charge $120 for those, witch again is sick, but still.

Lacing pattern.......Again

Yes, but listen up. There is a few things to know about radial and tangential lacing. We all, or most of us at least, know that radial is lateral stiffer and tangential torsional stiffer, so why shouldn't one run radial DS and tangential NDS.

In fact. Many do just that. Mavic with their Ksyriums (SSC and ES) and Shimano with their sets. It takes a stiffer hub shaft to make it work properly, but it is kind of a win win situation. You get a stiffer wheel where it counts. The torsional forces compared to the vertical ones aren't that big anyway.

In terms of stiffness. What do one win with going radial DS. The spokes gets nearly 20mm shorter and the angle from the rim toward the flange increases with 6.9%. The elasticity/spoke elongation is reduced by the same factor (6.9%)*. This is compared with 28h 3X. 2X vs 3X will give a difference in length of 10mm.(ERD=600 Flange=46 FD=19)

Does it matter. Wouldn't 3X both sides still be stronger?

Yes and no. Due to the increased lateral stiffness and improved angle, we can increase the tension NDS. This will improve the wheels capability to carry heavy loads without the NDS spokes loosing control of the rim.

So why don't I build my wheels radial DS? because not many hubs are designed to take that kind of load. But. What you'll very often see me do is use a thinner spoke NDS. this way, the spoke will stretch / warp more and you'll have a stronger wheel. Not stiffer, but stronger. An other way of doing more or less the same thing is Campa / Fulcrums 2:1 lacing.

So. A rear wheel with a whole bunch of radial spokes NDS is not at all neccesarily a strong wheel. Some very well know very expensive brands' NDS spoke tension can be meassured as low as 40N. And lower!. That's far below any tension-meter-conversion-table I have!

*Most of the elongation is at the swagged area and the difference in length is not necessarily in this area only. It could be less or in fact more.

High Flange or Low Flange

2X, 3X or rad. What gauge spokes to chose, how many......

It ain't easy, is it? Or is it really that hard?

Let's start with the flanges. Early days flanges were kept high to benefit from shorter spokes and less wind up, causing less wear to the spokes. Especially the elbows. Down side -> Makes a heavier hubs. If used tangential lasing, the spoke gets an unfortunate angle toward the rim.

So. What about a low flange. No problems there. But in these days of 9 speed and 10 speed hubs, the angle from DS spokes gets very low causing very little tension NDS witch again leads to a weak wheel unless very high tension DS.

And, here's my favourite. High (medium) flange DS with spokes crossed 1 less the what you usually would and low flange NDS. This will give a slightly better angle out from the flange and makes it possible to have some more tension NDS making the wheel stronger (read: carry more weight)

The wheel will also be stiffer, mostly because of the shorter spokes. We might be talking about 10mm which is quite noticeable. That would make it possible to go for a thinner spoke DS without loosing any lateral stiffness. Not that it really matters. If a wheel is strong enough, it's stiff enough.

Very often, the best upgrade would be to go for a thinner spoke NDS and that alone would cause the wheel to stand higher loads. When you experience a 'flimsy' wheel, I might measure to be stiff, but what you really feel is the spokes NDS going slack -> loosing control of the rim. Higher tension and thinner spokes NDS would help that matter

Tension By Pitch - Does it work?

The answer is yes. It does work. There's been a lot of discussion around the subject, but really. What's there to discuss? It's not freaking rocket science. Its pure plane physics.

You have a tensioned steel 'string' where the steel itselves has a density of approx. 7.83 g/cm^3. The length can easily be measured, but remember. If the spokes are crossed, the cross can work as clamp-of. For butted spokes, the effective length is the butted part only (add a little). The frequency you want to hear while plucking the spoke is given by the formula:


Using a tensiometer, the actual cross sectional shape of the spoke is very critical. Using pitch, it's only mass and length. My-selves. I do most often use tensiometer for determine the absolute tension, and pitch for relative tension. When in doubt what table to use, I calculate the pitch and take it from there. I've done this several times and later given the tables from manufactures. I've been pretty much spot on every time!! So to you self-proclaimed myth-busters. Sorry guys. It works ;). It's no less accurate than a tensiometer!!

Careful with the units. DYN/cm/grm, Newton/meters/kg or lb/in

You can even take it a bit further. A rev. spoke and a Comp spoke will nearly give the same tone. The mass of the Comp is higher given its larger diameter, but the butted part is shorter. No need to calculate for'em both (unless you want it really accurate).

SS/Fixie - The Wheels

Well OK. I already had some wheels done, and this bike should of course be fully campy track equipped as they all used to be back in the days. Anyways. In the mean time. Waiting for someone to throw me some campy goodies but still wanting some nice quality, here's what the wheels gonna be like. Shimano 7600 track hubs and NISI Sprint rims. As you can see, the rims are actually factory drilled to shave some weight. Nice! :-) I haven't decided on the spokes yet, but I'll probably end up using 2-1.5-2 and alu nipples. I might go for a slightly thicker spoke rear.

CF Wheels

Here's some pics of the finished CF wheel set.




Weight: 1266g (scaled)

Tune / Mavic Reflex / Aero spokes II

Just figured I'll give you a view of the finished build


Real weight is 1402g (scaled). 12g more than estimated

Tune / Mavic Reflex / Aero spokes

That's what my next build's gonna be. Here's a little teas of the hubs. It is to be my every day pair of wheels with no weight limit, stiff enough for some serious sprints and estimated to hit the scale at 1390 grams. Not too bad for a strong 32 spoked front and rear set of wheels. And the price? Ha ha. I never talk about price, but I can say it's below half the price of what an online store would charge and waaay cheaper than any LBS.......... As all my builds are ;)

Everyday Road Wheel Set

These are to be my everyday set of road wheels. Build up around Velocity Escape tubular rims and White Industries LTA (Ti) hubs. Laced up with oval spokes.



Weight: 1440 grams (scaled)

Portable Truing Stand

Now I can true wheels while listening to music,
having dinner, looking at TV, having guests.........
Yes you name it! The list of opportunities is endless.