Originally Posted by dabac

A radial pattern on a hub that’s not driven or braked, is not assumed to put more tension on the hub. However, the direction of the pull takes a path through the flange where there is less material present, which is why hubs not intended for radial lace sometimes crack at the flange when laced radially.
One thing I’ve seem listed as contributing to the risk of unwinding on radial laces is that on a cross-lace, there may be a tiny bit of bend between spoke and nipple, as the nipple may not be entirely free to swivel enough to match the alignment of the spoke perfectly.
This mismatch, tiny as it is, creates a little more friction in the threads compared to in a radial lace.
Should ride forces ever cause a spoke to go slack, this friction might keep a cross lace from unwinding where a radial would.