[Speedub.Nate]

I'm about to build up my first Nuvinci hub and have a question.

Fallbrook Tech recommends lacing their Nuvinci hubs with all spokes out, using a 1x pattern. An example is the orange bike in the photo below.

Their rationale (according to their Tech Manual p.6) is to correctly interlace the spokes when using the 1x pattern.

But surfing Google's image results, I find a bunch of wheels laced 2x, and even an official Nuvinci demo wheel laced alternating heads in/heads out, featured at Interbike (belt drive bike in the second photo).

Well... I've got my spokes already, so I'm going 1x, but any words of wisdom re: all heads in vs. alternating the heads in and out?

https://www.rbr.info/community/blog/14-travis/133-mod-squad-oh-what-a-feeling.html

https://www.rbr.info/community/blog/14-travis/597-day-1-at-interbike.html

 

[AL29er]

Back in the days of radial lacing it was a common sight. Some hubs couldn't handle the loads on the flange. The mix of head in/out seemed to help even it out. In the end I don't know that it wasn't just a case of hub defects that started the rumor.

Heads in does provide more triangulation, but you have to be a bit more diligent in seating/bedding the spokes at the time of build

 

[Monte]

All heads in....

it'll build a better wheel in a few ways:

wider "triangle base" with all the spokes

spoke elbows are supported by the hub flange, something Gerd Schraner talks about in "The Art of Wheelbuilding". He'll put spokes with the highest workload (braking in mtb) heads in.

looks better

 

[Speedub.Nate]

Thanks, guys. All in it is!

So I just laced it up and see what Fallbrook is chasing after:

The cross occurs so close to the flange, that if I alternated in/out, I would be bending the spokes too much to interlace them.

After tensioning the wheel, any two crossing spokes would be pinching the flange unnecessarily tightly.

 

[Speedub.Nate]

Quick follow-up with a Fallbrook tech's recommendations. He says:

"We recommend outbound spokes only because it is easier to lace the wheel. When I lace a wheel, I do alternate inbound and outbound spokes. This is more for style and conformity to traditional bicycle aesthetics, and does not affect the performance of the wheel. It is a matter preference as far as I am concerned... Be sure to use a cross one pattern for 26 inch rims and a cross 2 pattern for 700c. JL, Engineering Technician, fallbrooktech.com"

This was in response to an email essentially stating what I wrote in my original post here.

As I indicated, I laced mine up per the manual, and I'll be keeping it that way.

 

[clark]

I like implied stability at the x that you get the way you did it. The spokes don't even touch the other way.