Está en la página 1de 10

Building a 3-Leading-3-Trailing Bicycle Wheel

Rowland Cook calls this spoking pattern "the best looking wheel I have seen" and
I must agree. Three intricately laced "fans" of spokes provide a graceful and
elegant symmetry that is immediately recognized as something other than an
average bicycle wheel. And because it's just a rearrangement of a standard cross-
3 wheel, it won't void your hub's warranty by requiring radial or nearly-radial
spokes, nor require more than one spoke length, unlike other "fancy" spoke
patterns. If you can build a standard wheel, you can build this instead with the
same hardware.

This guide doesn't pretend to offer all the details of wheelbuilding, just a step-by-
step for this pattern highlighting the difference from the standard cross-3... if
you've never built a wheel before, you can't do better than to read Sheldon
Brown's guide first, and well. It may make the difference between a good wheel
that stays true for many years and one that goes wobbly and/or breaks spokes in
the same season.

If you haven't obtained your spokes yet for your 3-Leading-3-Trailing wheel, err
on the side of long when you do. I'd estimate 1-2 mm in extra length to ensure
they can all thread properly into the nipples. The slight increase in length is
required because of the extra lacing in this pattern. If your spokes are just long
enough for a standard cross-3 wheel, you may find it impossible to continue
halfway through the job when the lacing starts. I'll be building a 36-spoke wheel
in this example.

Here's what you'll need: rim,


hub, 36 spokes, 36 nipples,
slotted screwdriver and spoke
wrench... same as for a regular
wheel.
First, we place the key spoke. I'll
start on the top flange (which
we'll call the "freewheel" side
though this is a front wheel) and
with the spokes with their heads
on the inside of the flange as due
to the direction I'm going these
are going to be "leading" spokes
(they point in the direction the
wheel will turn.)

The valve has to sit in the gap


between one of the "fans" of
spokes, so to ensure it ends up in
the right place the trick is to
work backwards from the valve
hole. The spoke holes are slightly
offset from the centre of the rim
so you have to match that up
with the flange of the hub the
spoke runs to. In this photo, the
spoke hole to the left runs to the
freewheel side. If your rim has it
on the right of the valve hole,
then reverse all the directions in
this guide, exactly as if the
photos were mirror-
image, and have the spoke heads
on the opposite side of the hub
flanges.

Now we attach two more spokes


making a 'group of three'. As
with a standard cross-3 pattern,
we skip one hole in the rim
between each spoke (which
makes sense as otherwise we'd
be using a rim hole made for a
spoke on the other flange of the
hub.) However, the difference is
that we don't skip holes in the
hub. All three spokes run through
adjacent holes in the hub.
The next spoke, the first in the
next 'group of three', will be 4
holes over on the hub and 8 on
the rim, so when it's placed,
make sure there are 7 empty
holes on the rim and 3 on the hub
between it and the previous
spoke.

Place two more spokes as was


done with the first 'group of
three', skipping a hole between
them on the rim, but not on the
hub.
Add another 'group' of three
exactly like the first two, with
the same spacing. If you've done
everything correctly so far: there
should be 9 spokes, all of them
have their heads on the inside of
the hub flange, and on the hub
flange there are 3 groups of 3
adjacent, with 3 holes between
each group. On the rim, each
'group of three' has an empty
hole between the spokes in the
group, and there are 7 empty
holes between the groups. Now
we flip the wheel over and work
on the other side.
With the rim flipped over, we
have to choose the first spoke
hole... choose wrong and it will
throw off all the other spokes on
this side. The valve hole is to the
right. We want to run the first
spoke on this side to the rim hole
between the key spoke and the
second spoke we placed. To
choose the correct hub flange
hole, you can drop the spoke to
the opposite flange as shown to
ensure it falls between the key
and second spoke. If it doesn't,
it's in the wrong hole. These will
all be leading spokes as well
(seen from the "back" side) so
they will all have their heads
inside the flange too.
Once the correct hole is found,
the spoke is connected between
the key spoke and second spoke.

Add two more spokes like the


'groups of three' on the freewheel
side, then do the same twice
more with 7 holes between the
groups, just like the first side,
and the leading spokes are
complete. Flip the wheel back
over to the "freewheel" side
when done.
Now for our first trailing spoke...
and thus our first lacing. The
heads of the trailing spokes will
be on the outside of the flange.
For our first one (the almost-
vertical spoke on the right side in
the photo) start closest to a
'group of three' leading spokes,
pointing the opposite direction,
crossing 3 of the spokes from
this side of the hub before
meeting the rim (thus... cross-3.)
Notice that this spoke goes under
the first two from this flange of
the hub, but is "laced" over the
third (furthest) spoke before
connecting to the rim. Make sure
it connects to the correct hole in
the rim. This will be the furthest
available freewheel-side hole
without crossing any more
spokes from this side.

Due to the friction of lacing steel


against steel, there will be quite a
noticeable curvature away from
the hub in the newly laced spoke.
This will mostly straighten out as
the spokes are brought up to
tension, but you can start the
process by giving the centre of
the spoke a firm pull, parallel to
the rim and at right angles to the
spoke. This will help the wheel
stay true in the long term.
The second of this 'group of
three', as with all others,
connects to a hole on the rim two
away from the first. In crossing 3
spokes from this flange of the
hub, it goes under the first, over
the second, and under the third
(oops... that last crossing was cut
off from the top of this photo.)

The third of this 'group of three',


in crossing 3 spokes from this
flange of the hub, goes over the
first, under the second and over
the third. The curvature to the
right of the newly laced trailing
spokes is especially noticeable in
this photo.

Try to remember the pattern:

1 - Under, under, over


2 - Under, over, under
3 - Over, under, over

It will make lacing the rest of the


wheel easier.
Off to the next group of three
holes on this side of the hub, and
then the same for the next three
and this side is completed.
Ensure the lacing pattern
indicated above is followed and
the spoke heads are on the
outside of the flange.

Flip the wheel over when


complete.

For the last stage in our wheel,


we'll be lacing the non-freewheel
side counterclockwise around the
hub. For our first spoke in the
'group of three' we lace under,
under, over. (Remember the
pattern?)
For our second spoke in the
'group of three': lace under, over,
under.

And the third in the 'group of


three': over, under, over.
Repeat this 'group of three' twice
more, and the spoking is
complete. Now it remains to
bring the spokes properly to
tension and start the truing
process.

The completed wheel, brought to


proper tension, and mostly trued.
Much of the lateral curvature of
the spokes has disappeared under
tension. Notice not only the "fan"
arrangement but the moire
"trillium" in the centre, a product
of the lacing. Truly a thing of
beauty, especially considering
that this example wheel was built
completely with cheap, used
parts from an existing wheel.
Quality new parts would look
correspondingly better.

If you've been following along


thus far building your own,
congratulations and many happy
miles on your new wheel!

También podría gustarte