Originally Posted by Kogswell
Many CB hubs come drilled for the fatter 12ga spokes. Lots of cruiser style bikes were built w/ coasters and these heavy spokes. Ths is what lz4005 is talking about.
You can use 14ga spokes in thpse hubs without any problem.
We did a test lace with 14ga and they were so loose it literally looked like they might pull right through the holes. The wheel builder at the LBS thought it wouldn't be structurally sound to lace it that way and basically refused to do it as a safety precaution. This is the same guy who told me not to put a front brake on because it looked cooler (mostly kidding), so he's not a safety nazi by any means.
Since he's built and fixed hundreds of wheels to my 0, I trust his judgement. And considering the added strain a coaster puts on spoke ends compared to rim brakes, it was worth the extra time and money to me.