Radial Wheel Building

This will be my first attempt at wheel building
I read the Bicycle Wheel and Sheldon Brown's web articles and I think I can do
it.

I have decided to build a 126 mm rear wheel with 3 cross drive and radial non
drive

I know the usual practice is to put 8 spokes on one side, then 8 on the other.

But in this case it seems like I could put all the Drive side spokes in first
then all the radial spokes ?


Any tips or comments welcome !


Thanks Larry

"Larry47Trav wrote: (clip) I could put all the Drive side spokes in first
then all the radial spokes ?
Any tips or comments welcome !
^^^^^^^^^^^^
Since the hub is rigid, don't BOTH sides drive?

Leo Lichtman wrote:
"Larry47Trav wrote: (clip) I could put all the Drive side spokes in
first then all the radial spokes ?
Any tips or comments welcome !
^^^^^^^^^^^^
Since the hub is rigid, don't BOTH sides drive?

It's natural to talk about a drive SIDE and a non drive SIDE.

But both sides do drive.

You can even put radial spokes on the drive side and 3x on the other.

Great question Leo, to a limited extent this is true, many hubs may to some
extent "drive" both flanges. If you want a little more you can take a peek
at The Book (The Bicycle Wheel) and see just how much torque each flange
will be transmitting given various configruations and conditions.

I think that Larry was refering to the left side of the hub. This is
generally the side of the hub that is being driven by the chain and is often
refered to as the "drive" side of the hub.

Hope this helps.

Dave Reckoning


"Leo Lichtman" wrote in message
...

"Larry47Trav wrote: (clip) I could put all the Drive side spokes in
first then all the radial spokes ?
Any tips or comments welcome !
^^^^^^^^^^^^
Since the hub is rigid, don't BOTH sides drive?

Larry47Trav wrote:
This will be my first attempt at wheel building
I read the Bicycle Wheel and Sheldon Brown's web articles and I think I can do
it.

I have decided to build a 126 mm rear wheel with 3 cross drive and radial non
drive

I know the usual practice is to put 8 spokes on one side, then 8 on the other.

But in this case it seems like I could put all the Drive side spokes in first
then all the radial spokes ?

That's awkward, because it will be hard to get the radial spokes around
the right side spokes.

When I do this sort of wheel, I first install the 8 or 9 right side
trailing spokes, then I drop all of the left side radial spokes into the
hub but don't conect them to the rim.

I then install the 8 or 9 leading spokes on the right side, while the
left spokes are dangling from the rim.

Sheldon "DS Is BS" Brown
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http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com

"Dave Reckoning" wrote: I think that Larry was refering to the left side
of the hub. This is generally the side of the hub that is being driven by
the chain and is often refered to as the "drive" side of the hub.(clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I can understand that. However, I believe radial lacing is usually reserved
for front wheels, which do not transmit torque. Doesn't radial lacing on
one side of the rear wheel take away half of the torque transmission
rigidity?

Leo Lichtman writes:

I think that Larry was referring to the left side of the hub. This
is generally the side of the hub that is being driven by the chain
and is often referred to as the "drive" side of the hub.(clip)

I can understand that. However, I believe radial lacing is usually
reserved for front wheels, which do not transmit torque. Doesn't
radial lacing on one side of the rear wheel take away half of the
torque transmission rigidity?

The chain is on the right side of the hub and the ability of the left
side to drive the wheel depends on how rigid the hub is. In the days
when hubs were light and freewheels heavy, the noodle in the center of
the hub spool was not strong enough to transmit pedaling torque. The
torque transfer depends on the diameter of the hub shaft and is
calculated as shown in the Bicycle wheel.

Cassette hubs naturally need a larger hub shaft so that the freewheel
assembly can be screwed into the shaft to make a "free-hub" or
cassette hub. This has made possible the odd spoke arrangements we
see today with radial right side spokes. Each manufacturer makes
invalid or at least inconsequential claims for these patterns. The
prize, in this respect, goes to FSR with three flange hubs.

Jobst Brandt

(Larry47Trav) wrote:

I know the usual practice is to put 8 spokes on one side, then 8 on the other.

But in this case it seems like I could put all the Drive side spokes in first
then all the radial spokes ?

Yes. This is the same way I lace all wheels, actually: lace one side
completely, then the heads-out spokes on the opposite side, followed
by the heads-in spokes.

Chalo Colina

larry- This will be my first attempt at wheel building
I read the Bicycle Wheel and Sheldon Brown's web articles and I think I can do
it.

I have decided to build a 126 mm rear wheel with 3 cross drive and radial non
drive BRBR

Any tips or comments welcome ! BRBR


A comment, radial left 'kick stand side' does nothing for the wheel. It does
void the warranty on most hubs tho.

A tip. Lace 3 cross both sides, true/round/tension/dish and stress relieve
well. Build your first wheel in a traditional manner.

Peter Chisholm
Vecchio's Bicicletteria
1833 Pearl St.
Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535
http://www.vecchios.com
"Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

(Qui si parla Campagnolo ) wrote in message ...
larry- This will be my first attempt at wheel building
snip

A comment, radial left 'kick stand side' does nothing for the wheel. It does
void the warranty on most hubs tho.


An aside- I noticed that my Shimano 2004 catalog states "Radial Spoke
Lacing Compatible" on the 105, Ultegra, and Dura-Ace front hubs.

A tip. Lace 3 cross both sides, true/round/tension/dish and stress relieve
well. Build your first wheel in a traditional manner.

Peter Chisholm

Agreed. Larry, you need to learn to build a wheel conventionally and
develop a feel for the process. Even with "the book" in hand, much of
the learning is done by *doing*, not *reading*. I had built a couple
dozen wheels by the time I attempted a half-radial rear- and that one
was still a bear to keep true and tensioned properly, probably due to
insufficient tension on the radial side. You're setting yourself up
for a lot of frustration by doing a half-radial first.

A further pedantic remark for the bike parts geeks (like me!). The
freestyle BMX market now has cassette and freewheel hubs set up for
chains on the *left* side of the bike, to facilitate "grinders" on the
right side. "Drive-side" is no longer synonymous with "right-side".

Jeff