Originally Posted by
abdon
I never said this was a finished wheel, I'm lacing an old campy hub to a new rim. I haven't laced wheels in a while, a rear one in even longer, and couldn't remember the darn offset.
Then some of the earlier posts apply - you don't need to know it ahead of time. Knowing the amount of offset does give you any info you can use in building the wheel. Just turn the DS spokes a couple extra turns as you tension, check the dish, and then adjust as necessary. Most experienced builders combine tensioning and dishing, so that if you need more tension and dish you tension drive side only for a round.