Skipping Holes on Wheelbuilds

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skiandbikecmh
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by skiandbikecmh

I was wondering if anyone has ever built a set of wheels, skipping some of the holes in the rims. I have an old set of racing tubular rims (70's) which weigh around 400 grams. They are drilled for 36 spokes and I already have a set of very light hubs, however they are drilled or 18 and 24. I was wondering if it would work to build these rims up, skipping some of the holes in the rims. I weigh #140, and I would like to use them on the road. I also have 32 holes hubs, but they are not as light. Any advice on whether skipping holes will work, or if not, 36 hole hubs that are reasonably light and cheap.
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bm0p700f
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by bm0p700f

I don't think 32 to 36H is very sensible. Miche RG2 hubs at 440g a pair come in 36 hole drilling. There are Ambrosio/novatec hubs that come in that drilling as well.

mjduct
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by mjduct

great until you ride in the rain....

then you got water in your rims being thrown by (centripetal/centrifugal force ( always screw that up) to the darkest teeny tiny corners destined to cause rust....

skiandbikecmh
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by skiandbikecmh

@mjduct: are you saying that skipping holes will work provided I can find a way to cover the holes? I think that it is a problem that could be solved quite easily.
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bricky21
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by bricky21

I think this is a bad idea mostly because a 400g. alloy rim from the 1970's most likely won't be stiff enough to build a decent wheel with only 24 spokes. Out of curiosity have you come up with a lacing pattern?

skiandbikecmh
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by skiandbikecmh

I was thinking about 18 or 24 radial in front and 24 2 cross in the rear
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bricky21
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by bricky21

You can't do 2 cross on both sides. It just doesn't work. You would have to use 2 cross on one side and 3 radial and 3 crows foot on the other. You would end up with 2 empty holes next to each other=not good. I can't think of a worse way to build a wheel than with that lacing pattern on an old school box section rim. Sorry.

skiandbikecmh
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by skiandbikecmh

What would your lacing recommendation be? Is radial up front OK?
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bricky21
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by bricky21

Read the post above. That is the only symmetrical lacing pattern I could come up with. You seem to be missing the big point in that those rims are not suitable for low spoke count wheel builds, and with 2 consecutively empty holes and a soft pair of rims you'll never be able to get them round and true enough to approach even the poorest of wheelbuilding standards. Your combination is a really bad idea.

skiandbikecmh
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by skiandbikecmh

Thank you for the honesty. Looks like I will be buying some 36 spoke hubs and building some heavy and sturdy tubbies. Thanks for the advice.
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skiandbikecmh
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by skiandbikecmh

One question on the lacing pattern. Why would you not be able to treat the rim as if it had only 24 holes and use any lacing pattern that would work with 24 spokes? I was looking at one of my other wheelsets (bontragers) and they have 24 spokes laced 2 cross and the spoke holes were unevenly spaced. That is why I was thinking of using that spoke pattern. Not going to build the wheels skipping holes, just out of curiosity.
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michel2
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by michel2

to answer that question;

low profile box section rims arent the most rigid of rims, they deflect easier than say a rigida dpx or any other high profile rim,
but by using a high spoke count you can create a strong and comfy wheel, a high profile rim on the other hand holds its shape much better and therefor can be used with lesser spokes.using a dpx rim will there for also give a much harser ride then a low box section rim.

also; with a lower spoke count you in general need to increase the spoke tension but as someone else said before; those old aloy rims, if the really are from the sevnties, will be soft as butter meaning that the rim wont stay straight between the spoke's;hard to explain but imagine the rim would zig/zag left to right from spoke hole to spoke hole

examples;
mavic low profile rims are only sold with spoke count 28 or higher so reflex or open pro 28 holes or more, when mavic offer a wheel set set with a low profile rim, mavic classic the had a spoke count of 32 holes

campagnolo neutron out of the top of my head have spokes, i think lowest spoke count on a boxection rim i have ever seen was 24 holes on a front wheel in a fir wheel set, and that was missery !!

on the otherhand, have you ever seen a wheelset, whichever brand with a high rim and a high spoke count ? plenty of examples of low spoke count/high rims wheels around...

hope that helps you a bit (-:

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bricky21
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by bricky21

skiandbikecmh-The problem is with the spacing of the spoke holes 10 degrees(36hole) vs. 15 degrees(24hole), so one side will line up with the rim holes but the other side won't. If you were using a 36 hole hub to an 18 hole rim you could use any pattern you wanted, because on both sides your spoke holes will line up with the rim holes. If I was a geometry professor I could give you a much better explanation, but I'm not. All I know is that you have to be very creative when coming up with a 36-24 pattern, and so far there is only one symmetrical way of doing it that I know of.

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