At the Masi Lore site Brian Baylis wrote
"Faliero Masi taught me to do it EXACTLY his way and no other. We accomplished this with very little language in common because the previous interpreter had been let go, and the replacement, Gian Simonetti, was still a week or two from being hired. We used "S" brand 15 ga. stainless spokes, Martano rims, and Campag. small flange 36 hole record hubs. All wheels were built cross 4."
http://www.bates-lee.com/
I always thought that cross 4 on a small flange hub was not a good combination. Since the spoke holes are so close together on a small flange hub, you run the risk of laying spokes over the heads of other spokes. My sense is that most bikes came with cross 3 whether built on high or small flange. Did anyone besides Masi make a practice of building wheels cross 4?
Does anyone ride this pattern now?
Not long ago we established that most, if not all, people could not tell the difference between identical wheels built on high flange and small flange hubs. I know there is a theoretical difference caused by the longer spokes (more give, resilience, a smidge more weight). Can you really tell a difference?
Marcus Helman