abacusns

Just found this up online while surfing. Hadn't seen it up on here before - what do ya'll think?

https://www.instructables.com/ex/i/9E...6001143E7E506/

Rev.Chuck

I built a bunch of those in the nineties. They held up well(Still have one on my track bike) and seemed a little stiffer(Maybe,?) but the only reason to do it was the look. My wife still likes them so I build most of her wheels this way.

techone

How do you measure the spokes for that build?

HillRider

What do you call this? Cross 6?

Retro Grouch 

You might PM the Rev for an answer from somebody who has really done it. I'd guess about a year ago this topic came up and I seriously considered giving it a try. At that time the Rev told me to use spokes 1 or 2 mm longer than typically recommended for a cross 2 wheel. I thought about it for awhile but it seemed like a lot of work just to build a conversation piece. I am a retro grouch after all.

Rev.Chuck

Just add 1-2mm. They build up easy. Two cross works/looks best. Where you make the second cross, twist the spoke all the around and put it in the hole you would on a regular build.
Those wheels are kind of retro now, I think the first time I saw one was '91.

doco

REV CHUCK,
If you see this, this is way off topic. Is your avatar from South Park??? Who is it?? They just started showing South Park here in CO. on regular broadcast tv, and it is the only thing I watch.....funny, funny show. For some reason I can't get Butter as the "boy with balls on chin" going on Maurry Povitch show episode out of my head on my long rides....South Park the funniest show I've ever seen

Rev.Chuck

I made that with a South Park Character generator. It is me. If I can find the generator I will link it up in FOO.

doco

thanks I just googled, this is great!!! much thanks now I will have my own....

dooley

One spoke breaks, two lose tension.

BostonFixed

Buncha other 'crazy' and 'pretty' wheels here:

https://www.terminalvelocity.demon.co.uk/WheelBuild/

Bike_13

Not that great really, built a few in the early nineties, and could never get them to stay true - dooley's right "One spoke breaks, two lose tension".

I recall then requiring an extra 10mm on a 3x wheel though - but not sure.

Stick with 3x - with all the new pre-built wheels now coming out, and the fact the wheelbuilding is a dying art - they'll be pretty retro cool soon anyway.

Seggybop

I made my rear wheel snowflake like this. 3x, spokes twisted 720 degrees. I have to oil the twists or else it creaks (I initially thought my hub was destructing). Sketchy.

Rev.Chuck

If I can find a pic of my track snowflake I will put it up. It had lasted three years on my daily fixed before I put it on my track frame. I have barely touched it and it is as light as a Lew. My wifes snowflakes on her road bike are five or six years old also with no problems. Wheel life is all in the quality of the parts and the skill of the builder.

Bikebros

Exactly. Unless you want your bike to be more about looks than function, you can't beat a conventionally built wheelset.

Get DT Champion spokes, not just the regular stainless ones - Champions are heat treated (if i remember correctly) which supposedly results in a 20% strength increase.

Here is the trick to finding a good wheel builder, if you're going to get a local bike shop to do it. ask to see the wheel building area. if they don't have a well organized, extensive selection of spokes and a tensiometer, then they probably don't build enough wheels to have a system that ensures quality. Wheel building is one of the most pleasurable aspects of fixing bikes - if you know what you're doing. I would personally take it as a sign of how good a shop is - well built wheels=good mechanics=good shop.

Rev.Chuck

"Here is the trick to finding a good wheel builder, if you're going to get a local bike shop to do it. ask to see the wheel building area. if they don't have a well organized, extensive selection of spokes and a tensiometer"

Wow, I have one of those at work and at home. I even have little tool boxes for the different wrenches(Spox, Shimano, CaneCreek, Lew, Campy, etc), along with 20mm spacers, spoke washers, tie wire and other builder bits. At work we stock every usable size(There are some lengths that rarely get used) from 252 up to 310 in 14g and butted 14/15g in Dt and WheelSmith as well as a limited selection of 14/17g in the Dt revolution and a slightly wider selection of 15g for repairs(I will not build a straight 15g wheel) At home I only keep around 20 lengths, all Dt competitions, but the stereo is bigger.