Originally Posted by
dunderhi
There's couple of additional things to consider with respect to wheel stiffness:
1) Hub flange size - the higher the flange the stiffer the wheel
.
The effects of flange size depend on the spoke pattern.
Non-torsional differences are greatest with radial spokes where bigger flanges mean shorter spokes. However Flange size has zero effect on non-torsional stiffness with full tangent (ie. 4x36h, 3x28h) patterns, since the spoke length is unchanged.
Torsional stiffness is the opposite, with zero difference with radial patterns, and maximum effect with tangent. Note, that for torsional effects, the key element isn't spoke length, but the lever arm (right angle distance from spoke to center).