Interested to know how many people think a front radial laced wheel looks better, worse, or the same as a matching 3-cross wheel.

Just FYI, in my sig El Presidente has a radial, The Madison has a 3-cross...

radial iz dur sheitz

I have 3 sets with radial front.

But I don't jump off curbs and all that.

I think low spoke count radial laced fronts look really cool. It starts looking dumb when you have a lot of spokes, though.

I think radial looks awesome, but there's a lot of people saying radial wheels are less durable. I haven't run then long enough to decide for myself.

3 cross.

If you want to be really awesome- 3 leading 3 trailing.

i like radial lacing WAY better on the rear wheel!!

I'm tempted to try a build like this, but I just can't find beauty in such an awkwardly laced wheel.

I race and DJ on my 24" with a radial front...works fine for me

i like the contrast in the two lacing styles but after seeing the 3 leading 3 trailing, i had an eye-gasm.
do it.

36h Phil Wood... radial front... 3x rear.... radial has stayed true... rear has a little wobble... meh.

rear wheels take more abuse. I hardly ever tough my front wheel but every once in a while I hit a bump and rear needs slight adjustment


I like radial front on bikes going for the aggressive sporty look. Make the spoke bladed while you're at it

I was debating whether or not to do this or radial for my front wheel. I went with radial.

I really like the look of radial front wheels.

Mismatched wheels look bad, no class.

As far as looks are concerned, it really depends on the bike. If my Leader 722 had a radial in front, it would look like ass.

Very interesting . . . Well I'm going to be building up a new wheelset of 28h and I just can't decide if it would look better to Radial or not... I love looking at a Radial by itself, but with the rear wheel I feel like it just doesn't work unless its 24h or lower... I'll probably end up matching the rear.

Radial front looks great on aluminum frames with oversize / aero tubing, but not so good on classic steel frames with standard size round tubing.

You wouldn't happen to have any classic frames with radial lacing for reference would you?

You know you shouldn't actually build a full radial rear wheel, right? Unless you have a very large strong hub specifically designed for this purpose. Radial spoking won't transmit torque like cross spoking will, so it shouldn't be used on the drive side of a rear wheel, or a wheel with a hub brake (drum or disc.)

I didn't say anything about radial lacing the rear wheel. I said with the rear (meaning together, as a pair) it doesn't look as good with a front radial laced wheel.

Though I think that the reason I can't get over the radial front with a 3-cross rear is the amount of spokes (under 24 and the front radial looks good paired with a cross spoked rear).

self promo.. and a poor flick... but it's all i have.

They look good with any bike.

i prefer the following:
32 spoke = 3x
28 spoke = 2x
24 or less = radial

i own:
two 32 spoke 3x front wheels
one 16 spoke radial front

i will be building:
one 28 spoke 2x front

rear wheels are not quite as cut and dry...

Here's my steel tubed bike with a radial front:


TET by yummygooey, on Flickr

If you want to goof around with one the spokes are all one length and the same length as lacing the wheel standard 3x.

Also- 3L3T had that 'propeller' look that people like. Be it the mesh of spokes or the 3 'gaps' it looks fast and beautiful.

Any chance you have a photo of a wheelset with a 3L3T? Google can't seem to find them on a bike.