No worries, I certainly don't have all the answers when it comes to wheels, I'm just going by sound structural statics which is why I asked the question about 2x vs radial. Your input to the thread is every bit as valid as mine, without it there would be no discussion. I think at this point I have answered my own question really, structural statics indicates that radial should be stiffer, however the big assumption is that the hub flange anchors the spokes equally rigidly for each lacing pattern. This is in fact not the case, radial lace puts significant extra stress on the flange and extra stress = more deflection. So it is entirely possible that a 2 cross wheel could be stiffer than radial heads in despite having a lesser bracing angle. It is however a hub issue and its significance will vary between hubs. For my money, I would re-lace radial heads in assuming the hub is good quality (its free) and then spend the money I saved on spokes on some really good closed cam skewers. Having said that, I'm just a bloke that builds my own wheels - I'm not a pro wheel builder