Originally Posted by FarHorizon
Doesn't using a 4-cross pattern reduce the likelihood of breaking a spoke significantly? If the spokes'll never break, who cares if the heads are overlapped? I'm not arguing with you here, I'd honestly like your feedback on these questions. Thanks!
No it doesn't. It's a bit easier on the hub flanges since with 36 hole rims, the spokes are almost perfectly tangential to the flange. However, there is no reason it should be easier on the spokes.
These days, spoke breakage using DT, Wheelsmith or Sipam spokes and a 32 hole 3x pattern
properly laced and tensioned is so rare as to be a non-issue. The rims will wear through and crack at the brake tracks or pull through at the spoke beds before any of the spokes break. I've had 32 hole 3X wheels last 30,000 miles and be replaced because of rim failure and NEVER broken a name-brand spoke. Worries about spoke failure are a remnant of the old mild steel plated spokes of years ago or the result of very poor lacing technique.
In fact, the durability of modern spokes is what makes the current crop of very low spoke count boutique wheels possible.