Originally Posted by
Dan Burkhart
The spoke head interference is not so much a concern as nipples that wont swivel to align with the spokes at the rim end, causing the spoke to bend at the nipple. That's the main reason I tent toward fewer crosses, particularly with eyeletted rims
I an realizing reading this thread that's why I occasionally break spokes at the nipples. Still, it happens infrequently enough and those highly crossed wheel s are such great rides I probably will not change. (Breakage is about on par with spoke head popping with this old zinc plated Robergel spokes, good strong spokes with classic French quality control. 2 or 3 spokes would pop heads no matter how well you built the wheel. Always. The rest would go for thousands of miles, no issues at all.
Maybe what I should do is run a rattail file at the spoke angle through the rim's spoke holes. Next time I do a rim replacement, I'll try that. (With the old and new rims taped together, there is no chance of filing the wrong direction.)
Edit: with 36 spokes, breaking one isn't a very big deal and never a ride ender, even when I don't have a spoke wrench on me.
Ben