Originally Posted by
cthenn
Hey everybody, so I just put in an order from Light Bicycle, and when I asked about the rear wheel lacing pattern, they told me they use 2X on the drive side, but zero cross on the non-drive side. I'm a little bit concerned about that, I've never had a rear wheel with a radially laced non-drive side, all my other wheels are 2X both sides. The hub uses J-bend spokes too, which I know can't be brought up as high as straight pull. Before I reply to them, I wanted to get some feedback if anyone else has this rear wheel lacing pattern? Also, if anyone has had a "custom" lacing pattern, did it cost extra to deviate from their standard lacing pattern? And of course, does anyone else have one of their wheels with this pattern, and does it ride ok? Thanks!
Straight pull doesn’t allow any flexibility with lacing, so my wheelset was 2x both sides. I would recommend going 2x both sides. You get more torsional stiffness that way. Ie there are more spokes transferring the hub torque to the rim. If you’re getting a disc brake wheelset, it’s a no brainer.
My OE wheelset came radial/2x. In the easiest gear, the spokes would bow out so much that they would skim the derailleur cage. But to be fair, the spokes on that wheelset were horrible.
The benefit of radial/2x is that it looks somewhat cool, you save a couple a grams, and it’s infinitesimally more aero. In some cases, you could have more lateral stiffness (depends on whether spoke heads face in or out). The con is that you have less drive stiffness. This can cause detensioning of spokes under high torque. It can cause derailleur rub like in my case (but it’s highly unlikely). It could also create a worse feel under power.