# advantages and disadvantages of 3-cross (3x) versus 2-cross (2x) and 1-cross(1x)



## acid_rider (Nov 23, 2004)

greetings

I am trying to educate myself on road wheels..... hence a lot of questions of late on this forum.

I know that 3x (3-cross) lacing seems to be the most popular way of building road wheels. 

Could someone explain to me or point me to information telling me the *advantages and disadvantages of 3-cross lacing* compared to 2x and even 1x methods, for front wheels and for rear wheels, for drive side and non-drive side ?


thanks!


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## dcgriz (Feb 13, 2011)

acid_rider said:


> greetings
> 
> I am trying to educate myself on road wheels..... hence a lot of questions of late on this forum.
> 
> ...


The main distinction between cross patterns is the number of spokes which determines the max. number of crosses.

The higher the number of crosses on the rear wheel the more torque is able to be transferred to the wheel but the lower the bracing angle becomes which in turn affects the tension ratio between the two sides of the rear wheel as well as the wheel lateral stiffness. These differences are subtle but may be used for selecting the optimum lacing pattern between suitable lacing patterns for either DS and/or NDS and the specific hub geometry at hand.

Rinard's spokecalc will give you bracing angles and tension ratios for the different crosses on the same wheel.

Lacing pattern selection on front wheel is strictly limited to number of spokes and, if radial, on hub flange suitability. No difference in performance either way.

There is a whole lot more to it and if you want to better understand wheelbuilding start by picking a copy of Roger Musson's "Wheel building" and then a copy of Jobst Brandt's "The bicycle wheel"


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## krisdrum (Oct 29, 2007)

One of the pro builders will correct me if I am wrong, but there are some "best practices" for the number of crosses used, mostly depending on the number of spoke holes the wheel is being built with. For example, 32 hole usually 3x. 28 hole usually 3x or 2x. 

The less crosses the shorter the spoke, which some would argue the stiffer the wheel (but harsher the ride?). However having crosses present helps deflect twisting energy/torque, so you won't find radial (no crosses) anywhere those forces could be at work (typically drive side and if using disc brakes, rotor side). 

Hope that helps.


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## fast ferd (Jan 30, 2009)

With regard to conventional spokes, 3-cross 32-spoke Open Pro wheels render a nice ride, better lateral stiffness, and are easier to true, than their 2-cross and radial counterparts. (No idea about a 1X pattern.)

However, my 2X 24-spoke factory Dura Ace wheel set is stiffer and stronger than of my old stuff. It seems about the only way my rims would get bent would be to take a sledgehammer to them. Indestructible!


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## acid_rider (Nov 23, 2004)

thanks everyone,
I am shopping for 32-spoke rear wheel and most likely also 32-spoke front or may be 28-spokes. 
I am not sure if I should ask wheel builder to use 3-x or 2-x on the front wheel but from what I read on this forum I should ask for 3-x on the rear wheel. 
My weight is about 155-160lbs (70-72kg).


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## krisdrum (Oct 29, 2007)

acid_rider said:


> thanks everyone,
> I am shopping for 32-spoke rear wheel and most likely also 32-spoke front or may be 28-spokes.
> I am not sure if I should ask wheel builder to use 3-x or 2-x on the front wheel but from what I read on this forum I should ask for 3-x on the rear wheel.
> My weight is about 155-160lbs (70-72kg).


Why are you thinking through this at all? Shouldn't the pro be recommending a few builds based on your weight, riding style, terrain, intended use, etc.?

What do you intend to use the wheels for? 28/32 f/r at your weight would be plenty, if not overbuilt in most situations. I've got a good 15-20 lbs on you and very comfortably ride 24/28 f/r set for training and racing. Heck, I've raced them off-road.

If these are purely training wheels, 28/32 or 32/32 will be fine and won't make much of a difference either way.


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## acid_rider (Nov 23, 2004)

krisdrum said:


> Why are you thinking through this at all? Shouldn't the pro be recommending a few builds based on your weight, riding style, terrain, intended use, etc.?
> 
> What do you intend to use the wheels for? 28/32 f/r at your weight would be plenty, if not overbuilt in most situations. I've got a good 15-20 lbs on you and very comfortably ride 24/28 f/r set for training and racing. Heck, I've raced them off-road.
> 
> If these are purely training wheels, 28/32 or 32/32 will be fine and won't make much of a difference either way.


Hi - I am just doing my "homework", I am sure the wheel builder will have their comments too.
I don't race, typically I ride several 3 hour endurance rides each week, typically with a group but sometimes solo. 
Mix of flat roads and hills, all weather, dry mostly and rain sometimes. 
I live by the sea, so I am going to ask for brass nipples too, to minimise corrosion.
The tyres will be 25mm wide (at present Continental GP4000 25c).


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## krisdrum (Oct 29, 2007)

acid_rider said:


> Hi - I am just doing my "homework", I am sure the wheel builder will have their comments too.
> I don't race, typically I ride several 3 hour endurance rides each week, typically with a group but sometimes solo.
> Mix of flat roads and hills, all weather, dry mostly and rain sometimes.
> I live by the sea, so I am going to ask for brass nipples too, to minimise corrosion.
> The tyres will be 25mm wide (at present Continental GP4000 25c).


Got it, I am a researcher too. At your weight, you can go with less spokes front and rear for sure. Higher spoke count will add a bit more weight, but will give you some peace of mind that if a spoke breaks mid-ride, you probably aren't walking home. So you should be golden with a 28 or 32 hub front and/or rear, those HED C2s you are asking about and some standard double butted spokes. With 25mm tires, you should have plenty of comfort and cush.


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## acid_rider (Nov 23, 2004)

krisdrum said:


> got it, i am a researcher too. At your weight, you can go with less spokes front and rear for sure. Higher spoke count will add a bit more weight, but will give you some peace of mind that if a spoke breaks mid-ride, you probably aren't walking home. So you should be golden with a 28 or 32 hub front and/or rear, those hed c2s you are asking about and some standard double butted spokes. With 25mm tires, you should have plenty of comfort and cush.


thanks!!


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## changingleaf (Aug 20, 2009)

For 28 or 32 hole rims 2x or 3x cross does not really make much difference. Given the same hole count 3x resists torque slightly more and 2x allows slightly shorter spokes which slightly change the lateral angle of the spoke between the hub and rim which may mathematically provide 1% more even spoke tension in some cases. The shorter spokes would be a hair lighter also. All of these differences are extremely small. 

Like other posters have said for 32 hole 3x is generally the most popular so you might as well stick with a proven lacing pattern. For 28 hole, 2x is fairly typical, but 3x is done quite often for 28 hole also. If the hub flanges are small 3x is probably the best choice to resist torque. 

On the front wheel crossing is not necessary because there is no torque unless you have a disc brake, therefore radial lacing is quite common. But the radial lacing is usually only done for aesthetics, a slight reduction in weight and possibly some small gains in aerodynamics. Radial lacing theoretically could make the front wheel vertically stiffer, but again this is too small to be noticeable. The tire will give much more than the wheel. What type of lacing you use for the front is usually based on what you're using the wheels for. Road racing is usually radial and everything else would be 2x or 3x.


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