Speedub.Nate

Yeah, I'm going to pay attention to that. It ought not be that big a deal in this build. But if it's a problem, the wheel is going to get sloppy fast, so I can dive back in and amend the pattern.

Blackstrida_A_

Very well done - I love this pattern!


Correct indeed and many thanks

Already a while ago, but still I don't interlace these - that seems very tricky; respect for your beautiful set.
Below you see recent work; that's the frontwheel of the fourth set, ready laced but not trued yet.



I believe that for our small wheel sizes interlacing is simply not necessary...
but if you mean that looks even better...well...then I have to agree

Speedub.Nate

I finished up the build today and the modified interlacing worked pretty well.

The end spokes in each group of 6 (in particular the "heads out" aka inside spoke) could have been cut a millimeter or two shorter than the others. However, as is, it worked out with no real problems, just a few extra twists of the nipples to the special spokes during the initial lacing.

I'll leave everything alone now and monitor each wheel. Actually, I may dab some paint on the scraped spokes, but if I do, I'm expecting to be disappointed with the results.

Here are some shots of the lacing from an interesting angle, and also the complete build.

rear wheel, interlaced


front wheel, modified interlaced


Bike was a Craigslist rescue -- an all black & gray Cannondale "Street 20" -- that looked as though it had been dragged behind a car, then left outside too long. Pretty much a total rebuild except for frame, fork, headset, bottom bracket, crank, chainring, freewheel, and shifter.

The sad thing is my youngest is going to outgrow this bike in two years, then probably get his older brother's hand-me-down. But am I going to "get back" what I put in to this? Heck yes. Not monetarily, but in terms of working on / building a bike, and and passion it entails. My youngest has always been a tinkerer, and this project was right up his alley. (His older brother has always demonstrated better riding skills, but doesn't care one bit about an allen wrench or a B tension adjustment.)

sweeks

Sharp looking wheels!
Steve

fixedweasel

Spokes should all remain the same and don't ever get longer one's. I've laced 3 leading/3 trailing always with interlacing. It's just stronger and more stable. Mind, mine were all on either 27" or 700c wheels. <Note, when you interlace with 20" wheels and wide flange hubs, that's where the rub, so to speak, comes in with interlacing. There is just less room/clearance/tolerance/happiness for the spokes not to fight a bit. Also, with the wheels you are building with, it looks to be straight gauge which also give less. Double butted help. I agree, it kinda looks cool albeit after building wheels for some time, I pretty much only build 3x now. For those guys out there who are reading this and want to try it.............Try it! It can be had off a crap 36h* 27" or 700c 3x wheel lying around that you don't need or can pick up from the curb/scrap. If only to practice as the spoke length for the 36h 3x is the exact same for 3 leading/3 trailing. If you have a wheelset to play with, take apart the other wheel and lace it up 3x to learn how to build and true wheels. If you make a mistake or get frustrated you are out nothing but time. If you are successful, you have gained another nugget to store in the back of your melon. Good resources for building wheels are Brandt, Schraner, Sheldon Brown.**
There used to be a really really good website back in the early 2000's that I occasionally referenced but it has been shut down. This may help you though...............

Building a 3-Leading-3-Trailing Wheel

hopethishelps




*it has to be 36h...easy to find
**excellent for first timers

Speedub.Nate

Yo! Thanks for the input and I agree 100%!

Wheel building is only "mystical" for those who have never done it. Once you spend a minimum of time thinking about it / planning, it is simply a commitment of time, because you'll always need to verify your rim's ERD (manufacturers' listed figures are reliably incorrect) which means calculating spoke length and ordering adds some time to the build process.

I routinely build 3x and 2x (I own a lot of Speedhubs, which require 2x lacing), and this was my first go at a 3-leading 3-trailing pattern. What's neat is I always refer to a cheat cheat for a 3x build, but for this 3LT3 pattern, the order was so obvious that I didn't need to refer back to any reference material. Once laced, it's no different than any other wheel.

One last observation re: this pattern: there was a snide comment earlier in the thread, only good "for appearance" and "with the bike standing still a lot of the time." The stroboscopic effect of this wheel was pretty cool when we rode it out to the school playground for a break-in session. My oldest observed this first, and had my youngest get off and watch as they switched bikes for a while.

Have fun with your bikes, folks. I don't spend much time on the forums any more, but it's amazing what old threads I've participated in pop up when I'm doing a simple web search to refresh my memory of a topic I'm a bit rusty on.