Build idea - DT Swiss 240s front hub (20 radial holes) laced to a Mavic Ksyrium elite rear rim to be used with campy proton rear for a 220 rider - all new (except the rider)
Uber cool or bad idea?

I have had a new rear proton wheel and have looked long and hard for a front wheel to go with it. By coincidence I came across a great deal on a brand new rear Ksyrium elite RIM (20 holes) and then a couple of weeks later a DT swiss 240s (20 hole) front HUB specifically designed for radial lacing. My very limited knowledge of wheels leads me to think that it should be a great front wheel as I will be using a very respectable tough rear rim as a front wheel laced to an excellent hub (apparently much better than mavic) - on this I would like to hear the opinion of you guys who know far more than I do.

Only snag is that my friend will be building it after I persuaded him to do so, initially he resisted coz he only has 3x & 2x experience but in the end he accepted to do it, trade off is that he is going to show me how to build a wheel - therefore would also be interesting to hear from guys who have radial experience for pointers, suggestions and spoke choice - it has to be black and tough!

BTW the front wheel should cost around $150 = $90 hub + $40 rim + $20 spokes
over here in UK a front elite is around double that.

Build idea - DT Swiss 240s front hub (20 radial holes) laced to a Mavic Ksyrium elite rear rim to be used with campy proton rear for a 220 rider - all new (except the rider)
Uber cool or bad idea?

I have had a new rear proton wheel and have looked long and hard for a front wheel to go with it. By coincidence I came across a great deal on a brand new rear Ksyrium elite RIM (20 holes) and then a couple of weeks later a DT swiss 240s (20 hole) front HUB specifically designed for radial lacing. My very limited knowledge of wheels leads me to think that it should be a great front wheel as I will be using a very respectable tough rear rim as a front wheel laced to an excellent hub (apparently much better than mavic) - on this I would like to hear the opinion of you guys who know far more than I do.

Only snag is that my friend will be building it after I persuaded him to do so, initially he resisted coz he only has 3x & 2x experience but in the end he accepted to do it, trade off is that he is going to show me how to build a wheel - therefore would also be interesting to hear from guys who have radial experience for pointers, suggestions and spoke choice - it has to be black and tough!

BTW the front wheel should cost around $150 = $90 hub + $40 rim + $20 spokes
over here in UK a front elite is around double that.


This sounds like a very viable wheel, but it also seems like a lot of trouble and expense. But, if that's what you really want to do, I see no technical issues with the idea.

From a wheel building prespective, the only difference between radial and 2x/3x wheels is that you don't have to interlace the spokes. Once the spokes are laced, tensioning and truing a radial laced wheel is identical to a cross laced wheel. From a technical standpoint, radial lacing places more stress on the hub flange (i.e. the flange is loaded in its weakest direction), but if the hub is designed for the stresses of radial lacing there should be no issues.