Is there any advantage of lacing a front wheel radial, instead of 2x or 3x? Is it just for looks? Thanks

i think it uses less spokes but is not as strong so can only be used on front wheel. lots of road bikes have them so its probably all about weight.

They're just easier to clean, that's all.

it uses a SLIGHTLY shorter spoke (a few mm max), so it saves weight there. it looks different than what has been used for years, and my friend swears that its more aerodynamic. (yet i still beat him with my 3x laced wheel.)

It looks cool. That's ... about it.

If you're worried about/or needed the benefits of the aerodynamic properties of a radial vs. 3 cross, you wouldn't be posting on the internet, you'd be too busy running nationals and worlds on Mavics.

yeah, thats what i thought, thanks

The benefits of radial lacing are a slightly lighter, more aero, and slightly stiffer wheel. Its also much easier and faster to build a radially laced wheel. The only real drawback to radial lacing is that it cannot handle torque, which is why a rear wheel is never completely radial laced, although one side may be radial. Radial is perfectly fine for the front, unless you are using a disk brake. Radial lacing stresses the hub flange more and there is a very minor risk of breaking the hub flange if you are using a hub not built for radial lacing.

All my bikes have radially laced fronts ranging in spoke count from 36-24, all custom built by myself. My oldest pairs of wheels have been subjected to pretty severe punishment, but none of them have ever broken, lost tension, or gone out of true. With the right front hub (and no disk brake), radial is as strong, durable, and reliable as a 2x or 3x. Overall, the benefits are exceedingly minor, but IMO, its the best lacing strategy for the front wheel.

Just lace it monospoke. That's the easiest. Super stiff too

Completely and utterly false.

You are making the mistaken implication that just because your raidal wheels haven't broken that they are equivalent in strength to 1,2 or even 3 cross. No real mechanic would utter such a statement.

The primary reason wheels for rec riders are radially laced is for aesthetics.

Thats a pretty bold series of statements you are making.
You are incorrect in thinking that no "real" mechanic would claim this. My claims aren't merely based on my own experience with building and riding wheels. Other sources including many (indeed, the majority) of noteworthy wheelbuilders build radially laced wheels and find no problems with them. If radially laced front wheels (assuming no disk brake and properly built hub) are structurally more flawed than crossed spokes, please explain how and back it up with proof or data of some sort.
Nonetheless, you are right that aesthetics are a big factor for some people. However, it could be that the reason why many many front wheels are radially laced boils down to cost...they are easier and faster to build, and probably cheaper to manufacture.

If by "bold" you mean "true," I guess.

to respond to the OP, radially lacing is lighter...it matters to some... (pros)

maybe for somepeople, aesthetics?

I believe the difference between a radial spoke and a 3x wheel (36h, 700c) is the length of one-half of one spoke!

no one's brought up the difference between torsional strength vs. rigidity and structural strength?

radial lacing is stronger and lighter than arrospoks, therefore it must be stronger and lighter than air.

Chiefly weight. Remember, you're not putting pressure down on the spokes, only at the top part of the rotation are the spokes actually hanging the wheel on your frame.

Also, 3x is the strongest lacing, even stronger than 4x.

Cheers

I prefer the 'feel' of 2-cross front wheels. When I ride a radially laced front .. it feels really 'dead' .. i mean, the feeling in my hands feels exactly the same all the time. 2-cross feels more springy and lively. Feels less .. harsh, i guess. Anyone know what i'm talking about?

I was wondering if radial feels more harsh when ridden vs, say, 3x...anyone else agree with tbrtbx?

Operator likes to whip out the "no real mechanic" thing from time to time. Occasionally he's right. In this case I think its unwarranted.

In the class on wheelbuilding at UBI (as well as in reading from the books by Jobst Brandt, Gerd Schraner, Barnetts and others) the general consensus was that Radial lacing is (surprise surprise) radially stiffer and therefore better able to handle loads across a diameter line on a wheel. Also they are a touch lighter than wheel with a higher cross count. As previously noted.

So no, its not just for looks.

tbrtbx:

so you've found ride quality to be affected by spoking pattern? what do you attribute that to? At a guess I think it would be the difference in radial rigidity between a direct vs. tangential (ie. radial versus any other kind of cross laced) mount spoking pattern.

Can you expand on what you mean by dead?

radial wheels are stronger both laterally and radially though a mess under torsion(hence no disk fronts or rears).

Shorter spokes all coming from the outside of the flange means a larger angle and stronger laterally.

It's very sad to see, but some Walmart faux-BMX bikes have radial lacing front and rear. Granted they are also 48 spoke wheels, but still. You gotta love it when marketing teams pretend they're engineers.

So the we've now redefined stronger as weak now?

Radial by definition puts the stress on the hub flange on a much smaller section than 1x, 2x or 3x. When you do this with high spoke count wheels and small flanges and non forged hubs you are asking for disaster.

Please, let me know how you've solved this problem and can now claim that radial spoking is just as strong as any > 0 # of crosses. Sure it's stiffer laterally and radially, but if that's the metric we're redefining "strong" wheels as, then you are 100% correct.

So you've unquit now? After all that big huff about bikeforums being such a ******** place? Feeling lonely?

Hey, no need to antagonize anyone. Let's just discuss the topic.

Radial doesn't work for bigger people. I can't and won't run radial on any of my bikes. It may look cool but I have no desire to have a spoke or 3 pop riding my Panic to work at 430 am.

So, strong laterally with weight savings but poor torsionally as someone already pointed out. No bueno for a Clyde on rough roads going fixed 20 miles RT...

Have you been brainwashed by some sort of fundamentalist wheelbuilder cult?

Many hubs are build to withstand radial lacing, even most hubs that are not warranted with radial are still built for it...its not as if the solution isn't already there. There are millions of radial wheels out there and no one's dying from them, not even clydes.