Geon

I'm half of a 310 - 320 pound tandem team and we've been riding on 48 spoke wheels (Dyad rims, DT Swiss hubs, 4 cross pattern) with no problems. I don't recall even having to true the wheels in the last year.

I was planning on building a set of slightly lighter wheels for our faster rides. I have a set of Phil Wood tandem hubs and 36h Velocity Synergy rims. There won't be too much weight difference between 4 cross or 3 cross. Any suggestions between the two cross patterns?

FYI, this will be the first set of wheels under 40 spokes that I build. I have only built up 40 and 48 spoke wheels up until now, and for no specific reason, I've always used a 4 cross pattern.

jnbrown

3 cross is more common for 36 spoke wheels I think.
4 cross makes more sense for 40 or 48 spokes.
You can download spocalc.xls and play with different configurations.

Steve S

I would definitely recommend 3-cross for added lateral strength. 4-cross was once used for reduced transmission of road shock but that was long ago. 4-cross will certainly work with those rims and hubs if you want to go that route, however.

Geon

Thanks for the replies! I'll go with 3 cross on these.