How many crosses?

[Shibby]

So I have sitting in front of me a sealed bearing SS (freewheel) hub for mtb spacing. zero-dish actually :) and i have a mavic F519. both are 32-hole.

so i'm going to be building it up, and i've done all my homework (have all spoke lengths for all #s of crosses), but i'm trying to figure out what's best. 4-cross is ruled out, as i'm not loading the wheel that much. it's for my SS, which is solely a commuter and road bike

i'm pretty sold on having at least one side laced 3-cross (drive side most likely), and having the head-in spokes be pointing backward (standard drive direction). also pretty sold on 14/15/14g DT butted spokes with alu nips... weight and coolness factor :)

so after all this, how would you lace up the non-drive side? here's what i see...

radial: light, stiff, cool looking (244mm)
1x: ?? (246mm)
2x: ?? (252mm)
3x: spokes are same length as drive side, very strong for any good-size hit that may occur ;) (261mm)

note that i actually save 17mm of spoke per spoke if i go to radial from 3x... 272mm in all, it's like dropping another spoke! sarcasm off.

let's hear the pros/cons of all of these lacing patterns. gonna build this mofo soon, so type away!

[Motionboy2]

Well it is a 519 then it is burly you are already about 40g heavier than the 517 so weight is obviously not an issue. Here is the deal Radial: No it will viod the manufacturers warranty most likely (on the hub) 2x: cant hurt it will save you about 10-15 grams in spokes. 3X would be my choice durability is the way to go.
Stick with the DT 14-15g spokes and you are set.

Are you building them yourself?

[Shibby]

2x does sound good

yep, building them myself. i'm getting decent at it. build stuff for customers and friends every once in a while

[riderx]

3x

Saving a couple of grams on a rear MTB wheel isn't worth the sacrifice in strength. Yeah, I know the rotational weight arguement, but how much is that going to affect a SS MTB wheel? Not noticable IMO.

[ohio]

Go 3x. It means you only need one size replacement spoke, the wheel will be super easy to true and tension since it will be dishless with the same pattern on either side, and it will be bombproof and not go out of true even after a season's worth of slamming through potholes.

[Motionboy2]

I will say 3x again. You have a nice burly rim any you want to build it light? Just say durable.:D

[Brian HCM#1]

Yep, 3x with 14/15/14 spokes.