Billy & all, After reading the arguments made by Robert Torre on rear wheel strength, I was buying into it:
http://spokeanwheel.110mb.com/
Do any of you mechanical engineer types have specific knowledge about these claims or anyone aware of actual testing done?
Thanks, Jon M. Crate Marietta, Georgia
-----Original Message----- From: classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org [mailto:classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org] On Behalf Of billydavid13@comcast.net Sent: Monday, December 21, 2009 9:20 PM To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Subject: [CR] Spanish Lace / Crowsfoot spoking patterns.
Hi all. I don't build a lot of wheels, and i'm rather slow. These days i typically use 3X rear w/ DT Competition 14/15s and 2X front w/ DT Revolution 14/17s w/ alloy nipples. Front wheels let you get away w/ a lot even radial but i don't trust radial [i've seen hub flanges pulled apart w/ radial spoking and that's a disincentive] and i HATE the way it looks. But, hey, do what you want. When it comes to rear wheels i'm not going to play around. The various novelty patterns have a certain appeal but it's limited. I'm not going to argue that these unconventional patterns are doomed to certain failure but nothing is as strong or as classically beautiful as standard cross laced wheel. I'm all for doing the unconventional when it makes sense, but not just for the sake of being different. As for the unconventional patterns adressing any problem other than the builder's boredom? Well P.T. Barnum said there's one born every minute. Happy holidays! Billy Ketchum; Chicago, IL; USA.