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Old 10-21-11, 10:03 AM
  #63  
nhluhr
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Originally Posted by Psimet2001
I was referring to:



My statement is that theories that state "radial makes a slightly better bracing angle" are sound in principal when on paper but don't play out in reality. The track record of prebuilt designs backs that up, and the continuance of 2X 2X lacings is further proof. If radial a-symmetrical lacing was better in any real world way then it would be a no brianer for every wheel to be done that way - period.
Although I tend to agree with your assessment (my favorite wheels are my Shimanos with the double 2x rear), there are thousands of pre-builts from the likes of Mavic, Fulcrum, et al out there getting terrific service life out of their "obviously inferior" spoking. You're not allowing for the huge difference in hub designs, either. Certainly the torsional stiffness of the hub shell makes a huge difference in whether radial drive-side will work. There are clearly some rotten wheels out there (Zipp prebuilts, for example seem flimsy in comparison and I think it's likely the hub's fault. I'd love to get my 404s rebuilt with better hubs)
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