Originally Posted by
dbakl
My high-flange broke on the first ride, edge to spoke hole to oval hole in the hub, each section of aluminum is only about 1/8" square if you look at it. Radial puts the force of every jolt directly to the hub flange.
Bingo! Look at the lines of force, folks. A radial spoke tugs directly outward on the hole in the hub flange, and it really does not matter whether you have a high flange or a low flange. Radial spoking should be restricted to hubs designed expressly to take its greater stresses, and even then, I fail to see any logical benefit whatsoever. It is just another of the many silly fads which permeate today's bicycle fashions: reduced spoke counts (the
more spokes, the better the achievable strength-to-weight ratio and the lighter the usable rim), 4-arm chainring spiders (5 is, of course, stronger), indexed front shifters (no feathering of the cage position), compact transmissions (radically accelerated chain, cog, and chainring wear, increased gear ratio progression granularity), threadless headsets (replace the fork if you need a longer steerer tube to raise your handlebars), etc.
If you are dying to try radial lacing, the way to go is radial on the
left side of a dished rear wheel, with 3X or 4X on the drive side. (Next time you see a Model A Ford, note the spoke pattern on the wheels.)