ive been seeing more and more people with their front wheels laced radially. i know it looks rad, are there any other reasons though? ive never had a wheel built like that so i wouldnt know

i did it 'cause it looks cool. that's about it.

The wheel can be built stiffer if I remember right. Some say aerodynamics.

Lighter, stiffer, easier to build.

Spokes are slightly shorter, thus lighter.
Spokes are straight from hub to rim, thus stiffer (in plane of wheel, and when no power is transmitted)
All the spokes can go on the inside of the hub flange, and don't need to bend over each other, thus more aerodynamic.
No lacing is required to build, thus easier.

Everyone's very first wheel build should be a radially laced wheel. A no-brainer build...

Radial laced wheels tend to have more lateral strength. But, they have a tendency to develop more of a hop if you do hit potholes/curbs/etc.

But you can't put spoke cards in them

New hipster look: check
Not strong wheel: check

What a stupid thing to say. It's a ****ing lacing pattern,
not a hot new band from Williamsburg.

been using radial laced front wheels for 12+ years,... when did radial become new again?

maybe its just that until the last year or so i didnt care therefore notice things like a radial build. it definately is abit of a fad, ill probably do it next time i build a wheel just cause it looks cool though

some hub manufacturers have a clause that voids the warranty if you radial lace them, and there's a good reason: when cross lacing, you end up with two adjacent spokes on the rim going to opposite or near-opposite sides of the hub. when you hit a hard bump or drop off a curb the force is distributed to those opposite sides. when laced radially, the force of that bump gets concentrated on one smaller part of the hub flange and makes it more likely to crack.

I've heard in general that only forged aluminum hubs should be laced radially, and CNC'd aluminum should not be.

Ive read the same thing. But with the trend of radial lacing i havent seen anyone with cracked or broken hubs.

Until recently front Dura Ace hubs were not supposed to be radial laced. Only the latest model was designed for radial. I have used radial on pretty much everything and have had no issues. The only hubs I have ever seen split or have issues was 1) an American Classic cirac 1980 front hub (The tension on that was crazy high) and 2) a high flange campy hub that was in an accident. I am sure there have been others, but for the most part it is pretty safe.

As for it being a fad, I guess so, but I don't see this fad going away. Like Aerobars. People thought it was a fad 18ish years ago,... I still have one on my bike today.... but that is another thread where people can agree to disagree

That means you just put more and more spoke cars in the rear wheel and with time you'll get an aero disc rear wheel.

I've seen some crazy zoot rear wheels with one side radial, but the other side always has some form of cross spoking because of the torque.

^Sheldon has a good article on why that is better.

Edit: Not Sheldon but linked from his site.

https://www.geocities.com/spokeanwheel/lacingsr.htm#hr

The article doesn't mention what would be different if building a fixed rear wheel. Fixed rear wheels are put through much more stress (rotational, torque) than are road wheels. I'd guess that the half-radial rear wheel would not be a smart choice for a fixed wheel. It might be doable, but there'd probably be better options.

Anyone know for sure what the difference is?

I see no point on a fixed symetrical wheel. He makes the point that asymetrical hubs benefit. Just build your rear wheel in a 3x and you'll be happy.

Not always, I've seen two rear wheels laced radially both sides. People say it can't be done, but both wheels were raced, by top riders (former UK champ and Oz champ).

One was 24 hole Campag Record hub laced to Mavic CX 18, the other was 36 hole Campag laced with Hoshi blades to Araya SuperAero. Neither rider complained about torque transmission.

But maybe not the best for the street? Skids and skips?
Id like to hear more opinions on running rear radial laced on the street.

Probably worse than useless for skids.


That said, I've seen a guy ride a 1min 08sec kilo on the radial laced 36 holer. What's the difference in force between an acceleration like that and the deceleration involved in skidding?

I was thinking something along those same lines. Sprint forces from the UK monster champs you were talking about gotta be serious.
But those guys also probably ran newly laced stuff for every race.
Not like riding daily on the stuff for months.

Actually the 36 holer was used every week for 3 years without being tweaked.

The 24 holer was built solely for track pursuit riding. Got used just a few times a year.