Bicycle Mechanics - does spoke threading dictate direction of f>tire

Never built a wheel, obviously the rear is correct.
Could a front wheel be accidentally reversed\ is a wheel spoke angled to forces directed to the rim.???
My rim and spoke label are read to the non drive side same as rear.
Just wondering.

Jef.

C'mon smart :) ....the answer.......?
..really just wondered...didn't you?

Front wheels don't have "drive sides" that's why you can get away with radial spokes on both sides of a front wheel.

Never built a wheel, obviously the rear is correct.
Could a front wheel be accidentally reversed\ is a wheel spoke angled to forces directed to the rim.???
My rim and spoke label are read to the non drive side same as rear.
Just wondering.

Jef.

The front wheel pretty much just holds up it's end of the bike. My engineer friends tell me that brakeing forces are transferred through the rim from the brake caliper to the contact patch so spoking doesn't matter. When I build a front wheel, however, I use the same spoke pattern as for a rear with the pulling spokes on both sides running rearward on top from the inside of the hub flange. Being a retro-grouch, I only do radial under protest.

We're getting down to some pretty small points, but traditionally bikes are set up so that the labels can be read right side up from either the right side of the bike or from the riders position. Only the style police care and you'll never be able to completely satisfy them anyway.

Thanks, I have wondered about this since I first put a tire back on a rim, and a wheel on the bike.
Like 25 years or so..????...now I know... :)

As long as Retro Grouch decided to get picky about the spoking details I'll thrown in my 3 cents. Rear drive spokes are to be laced with the spoke heads to the inside of the hub as the angle back to the rim. There is one exception. Wheels with disk brakes have the non-drive spokes with the heads to the inside of the hub and angled forward to the rim.

Front radial spoking....hmmm...I havent found a definitive answer on this one. Spoke heads. Recently wheels are being built with the heads to the outside. Its still common to walk into a LBS and see them both ways. Heads in and out.

As long as Retro Grouch decided to get picky about the spoking details I'll thrown in my 3 cents. Rear drive spokes are to be laced with the spoke heads to the inside of the hub as the angle back to the rim. There is one exception. Wheels with disk brakes have the non-drive spokes with the heads to the inside of the hub and angled forward to the rim.

Front radial spoking....hmmm...I havent found a definitive answer on this one. Spoke heads. Recently wheels are being built with the heads to the outside. Its still common to walk into a LBS and see them both ways. Heads in and out.

What do you recommend for flip-flop fixed/fixed hubs? There aren't really any static spokes on the drive side in that case, right?

Hell, both sides are drive sides..

jim-bo, for fixed gear or flip-flop hubs, the drive spokes will be opposite one another. In other words, when the wheels is installed the drive spokes on the chain side should have the heads in and angled from the hub rearward to the rim. The spokes on the other side with the heads in will be angled fprward.

The spokes having heads to the inside are drive spokes. one side angles back (chain side) one side angles forward. Make sure the chain side angles back...when the wheel is flipped...the chain side spokes will still be angled back.