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Old 07-15-08 | 09:57 PM
  #4  
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BCRider
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Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 5,559
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From: The 'Wack, BC, Canada

Bikes: Norco (2), Miyata, Canondale, Soma, Redline

Other than I'd suggest skipping the tieing and soldering I'd say fill your boots.

Spokes are stretched like rubber bands in tension. They NEED to retain some ability to alter their tension without being tied to something in the middle. I've never understood the reasons for tieing and soldering and certainly many excellent and likely better wheels have been done without it. Remember that you can't push a rope and to all intents and practical considerations our spokes are ropes.

And it's not just about being rigid in the load holding. If you're looking to create a highly responsive wheel then staying with spokes that are close to tangential on the rear will result in the power from the hub affecting them less than other lacing options. On the front and assuming a rim brake rather than a disc hub you can use radial spoking for some advantage. And your high flange hubs are a good idea as well for the same reason.

The deep V's however are a mixed blessing. It may result in a shorter spoke but they are far, far heavier than smaller section rims. Weight at the rims is weight in rotary motion that you need to spin up and brake down with every change in speed. It's sort of like you're having to speed up and slow down the rims TWICE instead of just once. Excess weight on the rim thus counts for twice or three times as much as weight in your backpack.

If you want a wheeset that makes it feels so repsonsive that it's like there's almost nothing under you then you want a rim that is light and that means a smaller section and longer spokes. Couple that with some light tubes and tires and the bike will feel alive and literally like it's responding to your thoughts rather than your muscles. Lace it up with some nice small guage butted spokes to the big flange hubs and you'll have a far more optimum wheelset for where it counts than your big aero rim option. Your way may or may not optimize one aspect but it's doing so at the expense of too many others that are more important. The ONLY place that big aero rims excell is when you're riding at consistent fast speeds where alterations in speed are minor and occur over a longer time like in a triathalon ride or some other style of racing or serious long country training rides that are much like racing. For real world city or town riding where you're track standing one instant and dashing across an intersection the next you want wheels that respond more quickly.
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