Opinions on 2 cross vs 3 cross lacing for freeride ,, when i say free ride i mean urban dj, light dh type of riding. oh yah on hardtail with 6" up front.
If you have to ask, you shouldnt be building your own wheel.
I run 36 hole 4x for my urban wheels.
danW, your not confused, it your wheelbuilder. It not some crazy mystery that 4x is stronger than 3x wich is stronger than 2x wich is stronger than radial.
Why would any one go 2x? Unless your some xc rider or just really lazy when building wheels, there isnt a reason not to do a 3x lace pattern. As for twisting spokes.... ehhhhhhh.
It might be a good building style, but as an informal guess I would rank wheel popularity as such:
3x - Most common by far
Radial - fronts mostly, occasionally non-drive side rear
4x - Considered the strongest
1x - It does not void hub warranty like radial
2x
It doesn't mean it is a bad style, but it is a compromise between weight, stiffness and strength.
...great clarification guys - I asked a few more question and paid a little more attention - so as to my previous post - the builder I refered to actually uses a "twist method"...he also use some huge gauged spokes in combination with some kind of custom oversized hubs (huge suckers) - however, he certainly confirmed the 3x or 4x as being stronger if one wants to build it as such but if you know what you're doing 2x can be designed...?!...
(i personally don't know - i just ask the questions )
seems weird that he would use a 2x pattern but cross them up, and use a ginormous hub with it all. Kind of seems like a bastard child of a wheel, i would just stick with a standard 4X. You bring a twisted laced wheel into a lot of shops and they will look at it like WTF?
I build wheels and been doing it a long time like 20 years. Ive done mine radial front radial nondrive and 1 x drive before( X Country) and ive done Twist 3 x back when i was racing BMX on both my Cruiser and 20inch back in 89' I still do my Mtn Wheels Twisted and stand by um. My X Country i did 2 x front twisted and rear. My Bighit currently has a 3x twisted front and a normal 3 x rear( 24 in wheel) but the backs not twisted cause i havent had to rebuild it yet.
Another thing ive done is using 14/17g spokes while twisiting them
14/15s are also just as strong if not stronger then 14g straight. Plus they are lighter. if thats your thing.
Next set i do id prolly 2 x um but thats only cause i would be building um and twisting um, for you id prolly go 3 x 14/15g with SS Nipples.
Also mack, How can you be Lazy if you make a wheel 2 x instead of 3? To do 2 or 3 takes the exact same work, You still have to get the spoke lengths and lace and true the wheels.
I know some serious wheelbuilders who love twisted spokes, and some more serious wheelbuilders who dismiss it as an unnecessarily complicated fashion statement. I tend to agree with the more serious folks. Proper hand-built 3X wheels are the way to go for me -relatively light, simple, and proven. I've never had a failure that would have been avoided with 4X, the only wheel failures I ever have are dents/flat spots that will occur regardless of lacing.
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