68 spoke wheel?

[FurryOnTheInside]

I love my 48 rear. It is not too crowded to get a spoke key on if & when. It's significantly stronger and laterally stiffer than the 36 spoke wheel.
It is 3x pattern which makes it visually match the pattern of my front wheel more and not really noticeable at first glance. I wouldn't mind if it was 4x though so the tangential angle would be a bit betterer. At least I know that I can get great rims in 48h and high quality sealed disc compatible cassette hubs too.. tandem hubs that can be adapted to 135mm, 140mm or 145mm, or the 135 that came with the wheel I have (or the old Hope Big Un that needs a shift kit before it can be used since no adapter will fit it).

 

[FurryOnTheInside]

"Radial spokes carry loads just as well as crossed spokes, but they cannot transmit torque. They transmit torque only after the hub rotates ahead of the rim,making the spokes no longer truly radial. This rotation produces a small
tangential offset, or lever, on which spoke tension can act to produce torque.
This lever is the distance between the axis of the hub and the extended axis of
the no-longer-radial spokes. The driving torque is the product of this small
offset and the tension of all the spokes.
In a radial rear wheel the windup that occurs while riding is small (less than twodegrees). However, this motion increases spoke fatigue, and spoke rotation in
the flange causes wear. As radial spokes wind up under torque, they become
appreciably tighter causing high rim stress and, in some instances, flange or rimfailure. Looser spoking would reduce windup induced tension, but it would alsoreduce wheel strength.
Even though they transmit no torque, front wheels should not be spoked radially
because high radial stress can cause fatigue failure of their flanges. The spoke
holes of aluminum alloy hubs can break out causing wheel collapse. Flange
fatigue takes time, so these failures do not occur immediately. Some lightweight
hubs carry specific warnings against radial spoking.
Radial spoking has no aerodynamic advantage over other patterns because near
the rim, where the spokes produce the greatest drag, they occupy exactly the
same positions, regardless of pattern. At the rim, spokes arrive alternately from
the left and right sides and do not draft one another." -- Jobst Brandt, "The Bicycle Wheel"

 

[gary55]

I love my 48 rear. It is not too crowded to get a spoke key on if & when. It's significantly stronger and laterally stiffer than the 36 spoke wheel.
It is 3x pattern which makes it visually match the pattern of my front wheel more and not really noticeable at first glance. I wouldn't mind if it was 4x though so the tangential angle would be a bit betterer. At least I know that I can get great rims in 48h and high quality sealed disc compatible cassette hubs too.. tandem hubs that can be adapted to 135mm, 140mm or 145mm, or the 135 that came with the wheel I have (or the old Hope Big Un that needs a shift kit before it can be used since no adapter will fit it).

You can get the 9 bolt pineapple adapter to work on a 48 spoke wheel, but it is one incredible pain in the ass, and is why I try my best to talk people who want single speed 29er's out if it. That and because you need a 56 tooth sprocket to make up for the increased size over 26". Then you get the chain to chain stay clearance issues. Besides j shafts are the sheezey ma weezey.

 

[FurryOnTheInside]

You can get the 9 bolt pineapple adapter to work on a 48 spoke wheel, but it is one incredible pain in the ass, and is why I try my best to talk people who want single speed 29er's out if it. That and because you need a 56 tooth sprocket to make up for the increased size over 26". Then you get the chain to chain stay clearance issues. Besides j shafts are the sheezey ma weezey.

Luckily 48 ÷ 2 = 24 ÷ 3 = 8 so the clamshell adapter works on all but my Big Un hub. I have lovely 26" rims personally.
I thought the pineapple adapter has 18 valleys cut into it for the spokes to sit nice and cozy and ready to be incorrectly laterally stressed?
I thought the stock sprocket was 44t too? I must admit I haven't been counting, I got the kit and looked at the stock sprocket once before throwing it back in the box.
So apparently for those who are interested 49t on a 29" is equivalent gearing to 44t on 26". 53(.5)t on a 29" is equivalent to 48t on 26". But I'm not sure how we got onto the subject of 29" rims!
They should definitely make more sprocket sizes or just a clamshell with four bolt attachment ..oh but then it wouldn't work with 36 but they already have the three bolt ones! I'm stuck with the Chinese 36t for now due to US imports still being prohibitively expensive. If there was a four bolt clamshell adapter I could use cheap used bicycle chainrings.

 

[Frankenstein]

Ya, I don't like the 'many spokes' look but we have a large population of southern illegals that simply love the look.

I think I'd look to mag rims if I wanted something different than 36.

I think they make 34 and 32 spoke wheels, those are kinda different. I think I saw a small one with 20 spokes once on something.

If you don't like so many spokes just start pulling them out until you're happy with the look.

I like the decorative aspect with the ability to create a very strong wheel. I mean the front wheel gets the worst beating (well maybe not in a motorized bike, that back wheel gets some real torque) so the large distributive force can really keep a wheel strong and straight under destructive forces.

I also enjoy wheel building, something like this is a good free time sorta hobby. Not in a rush to build it so I don't mind if it sits on the work table in the corner for a week untouched, I'll get to it.

Anywho, how practical is it to turn a coaster brake into a brake that operates on the front wheel?, I'm thinking a particular lacing pattern with a hub clamp disk brake adapter, leaving the coaster as a parking type brake. Not sure how I'd feel about having that much stopping power on my front wheel, if I suddenly squeezed both levers at the same time it could lock my front wheel up easily. I suppose it can just as easily be disabled, and the bulky bits removed like on most hubs of that nature.

 

[FurryOnTheInside]

I think they make 34 and 32 spoke wheels, those are kinda different. I think I saw a small one with 20 spokes once on something.

If you don't like so many spokes just start pulling them out until you're happy with the look.

I like the decorative aspect with the ability to create a very strong wheel. I mean the front wheel gets the worst beating (well maybe not in a motorized bike, that back wheel gets some real torque) so the large distributive force can really keep a wheel strong and straight under destructive forces.

I also enjoy wheel building, something like this is a good free time sorta hobby. Not in a rush to build it so I don't mind if it sits on the work table in the corner for a week untouched, I'll get to it.

Anywho, how practical is it to turn a coaster brake into a brake that operates on the front wheel?, I'm thinking a particular lacing pattern with a hub clamp disk brake adapter, leaving the coaster as a parking type brake. Not sure how I'd feel about having that much stopping power on my front wheel, if I suddenly squeezed both levers at the same time it could lock my front wheel up easily. I suppose it can just as easily be disabled, and the bulky bits removed like on most hubs of that nature.

Hub clamp disc brake adapter? Where? Where?! I want one!
I think that'll definitely put more torque through the front wheel than the rear!

Edit: Bicycle Designer glue n screw on the freewheel thread. Cool. But darn, not something I can use.

 

[Thee1BrotherBear]

I noticed this post was a couple years ago, and I have been looking like mad for hubs to put on my wheels that can allow me to install disk brakes. My bike is stock with 68 spokes but coaster brake rear and no thread on the front for putting an adapter.
So, in other words 68 spoke flip-flop hubs or otherwise are pretty impossible to find now.