rheicel wrote:singlespeedscott wrote:
Nice wheels, but why the radial spoke lacing?
Same question I have. Velo13 will take care of it.
Being 20 years old it is interesting that these wheels have radial lacing. Back when they were new (around '93) radial was pretty uncommon, and considered "less stiff" and/or "less strong". Neither of this things are true at all.
Radial does work fine on the front (laced heads in it is actually stiffer than a conventional crossed pattern), and Non Drive Side (NDS), but due to the torsional loads that a rear hub needs to transfer to a rim, a crossed pattern is required on the Drive Side (DS) as a minimum. Radial is lighter (due to shorter spoke lengths - it's only marginal), but is not more aero.
Unless I am specifically looking to reach a weight target (which is a fair bit these days), I still build 2x front and 2x or 3x NDS/DS for most wheels, and I think that suits Rheicel's aesthetic sensibilities as well.
Personally, I don't mind the look at all.
The rims seems to have ingnited some interest. The Mavic Open series of rims really was considered the "rim of choice" for the 90s. I would ride no other rim up until about 6-7 years ago. They always look "just right" on a 90s resto, and match with just about any group.
The Aksium, Cosmos and Classics series of pre-built wheels from Mavic still/did use a derivative of the Open extrusion.
That said, both Ambrosio and Rigida produced similar profiled rims, using superior alloys that I think were stronger, and could withstand greater tension (so more reliable). There are considerably more innovative, stronger and stiffer retro options available (for the weight) from the likes of Hplusson and Pacenti these days.