WHEEL BUILD STRENGTH

[Electro-Fox]

Hi all.
So what are the effects of power from a mid-drive in comparison to the strength of the rear wheel. Do you have to have a better angle on the spokes...heavier gauge of spoke? There is a lot of extra torque on rear wheel when using a mid drive...or isn't there? I am building 29er plus wheels on a fat bike frame which will be using a Rohloff 170mm XL hub and will be using SUNRingle Duroc,s. The reason I went with them is that they have offset spoke holes on the rim, as opposed to Velocity Duallys that are straight with no offset. I was trying to get a better angle to the hub, but with a 29er that should not be a big problem the way I see it. I know that rims are built with electric hubs all the time and it would seem that there would be more stress on the wheel in that setup. This is not a debate on that though, but more on my situation. Any ideas on this?

 

[MadRhino]

Driving the chain is hard on the hub and cassette/freewheel, not so much on the spokes. You can lace the wheel as a usual MTB, nowhere near the special attention that is required lacing a hub motor. Use SS 14ga spokes, and if you want to do better, add nipple washers.

 

[Chalo]

What he said. Since the rim you're using is thin walled, you could get a more reliable wheel in the long run by using 14-15ga or 14-17ga butted spokes. Those stay tight at lower tensions than thicker spokes, while having the normal 14ga thickness at the ends. Dan's Competition has Sapim spokes in both of these gauges for very reasonable prices.

 

[Electro-Fox]

Thanks....