Originally Posted by
Bill Kapaun
Max crosses= INT(N/9) where N = number of spokes. (Max might not be "best")
Large flanges can reduce that.
See, that's what I was looking for! I noticed that N/crosses was always 9 or more if deemed possible. I just couldn't see the significance of 9.
I think large flanges may make things worse. There is more space for spoke heads, but it may become "overtangent", spokes tapering smaller than parallel toward the rim. (Oh, I think now you don't mean "reduce" difficulty, but reduce in possibility.) Yes, relationship between rim diameter and hub hole diameter matters a lot, the closer in size, the more that 4X and 3X become impossible, sometimes even 2X.