sweetbike

This is my first build and I decided to tackle a 3x lace 36hole for my rear. Just from looking at images I finished the wheel but dont know if I actually did it correctly. Detailed descriptions and/or visual references of a 3x lace 36hole would be sweet. I worked off from the sheldon brown site, So other sites of explaining how to do a 3x lace would be helpful. If anyone can help a brotha out it would be appreciated.
Thanks
Albert

eyefloater

Can you take some shots of your wheel (try to avoid the classic "spoke shadows on the wall right behind the wheel" mayhem)?

tlupfer

you don't have any other wheels to compare to? it doesn't need to be 36, just 3x and imagine a few more spokes and a bit less angle.

summerinside

Ok, usually (and this is all from memory) here's how the 3x works out.

First lace the drive side (with the spokes on the inside of the hub). You want them to lean back against the direction the wheel's spinning (so you're pulling these, not pushing them every time the wheel turns).

Second lace the non-drive side (again with the spokes on the inside of the hub). You want them to go the direction of the spinning wheel (so it's like you're pushing them forward as the wheel turns forward).

Third, back to the drive side. Lace in the other way. (so that this time the spoke comes out of the hub and the direction is like you're pushing them forward) the IMPORTANT part here is that for 3x, the spoke goes OVER the first two spokes and UNDER the third spoke.

Finally, do the non-drive side in the same way, and start to tension em up. (does that help?)

colinm

Over Over Under

Aeroplane

+ whatever, that's all you need to know. It's called 3x because each spoke crosses three going in the other direction on that side of the hub. If they all do that, then you just check that evey fourth spoke is coming from the same direction on the same side.

If you're still not confident, take it to a bike shop, and if they laugh at you, you did it wrong.

Wil Davis

You might also want to check that the spokes either side of the valve stem diverge from each other - if they come together, it makes for awkward access to the valve.

The holes in the rim are "handed" - i.e. they aren't at the exact centre of the rim (unless it's a really cheap rim) - the holes on the right side take the spokes going to the right flange, and the holes on the left are for the spokes going to the left flange…

- Wil

Re-Cycle

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html

harryhood

i just did a build with Velocity Aero rims. the holes on the interior are exactly in the center (does that make it a cheap rim?). but anyway, the holes on the exterior (where the rim tape would go) were off center. after checking with a pre-built set of Aeroheat rims, the spokes from the left flange entered the rim hole that protruded to the right.

does that make sense? i figured it made sense because it would give easier access to the nipple through the rim.

Wil Davis

Yes, it makes sense. I should have been more precise in my description and included the case where the holes look as if they're exactly on the centre line of the rim, but close inspection reveals that they are in fact angled - alternating to the right and to the left.

I would have thought they're angled to help reduce stress on the nipple, and also reduce the need for the spoke to be bent just below the nipple, on its way to the hub.

There, that should cover everything - I hope I haven't confused anyone…

- Wil

sweetbike

Im doing my fronts radial laced.. although I hear that doing radial for the fronts is not a good idea. I was told that theres a very similar lacing that looks like radial,, but I forgot what it was called. Anyone know?

Wil Davis

Radial lacing is better on the front than on the back. It works better with large-flanged hubs, or hubs with less holes (more metal) on the flanges (i.e. 40-hole or small flange is Not Good). The non-drive side of the rear can be done radially, but to radially lace the drive-side of the rear is a Very Bad Idea.

There's a very pretty "3-leading/3-trailing" design I'm about to try - it's on Rowland Cook's web-site, and the nice thing is that it uses 36 (x3 length) spokes - so if I don't like it, I can always re-lace the wheel as a regular 36 (x3) without wasting the spokes.

- Wil

sweetbike

What other types of lacing can I do with these radial measured spokes If I plan to not do radial?

Wil Davis

Spokes cut for radial lacing are the shortest possible, and can only be used for radial lacing with any given rim/hub combination. If you wanted to re-use the spokes using a different lacing scheme, then you would need to use a hub with larger flanges, or a rim with a smaller diameter.

- Wil

Landgolier

HIJACK ALERT...

Are you going to interlace the spokes on your 3L3T? I've seen conflicting opinions on this.