[rruff]

The drive side spokes have almost twice the tension of the non-drive side, so would you use larger spokes to balance the stretch in an effort to improve the time between spoke tension maintenance?

If you have high radial loads, using lighter spokes on the NDS will reduce the amount of detension they see (ie higher load before going slack). Basically, since the DS spokes are stiffer, they will see a greater change in force for the same rim deflection... in other words, the DS will take a greater percentage of the radial load compared to having the same gauge spokes on both sides. IMO it is generally a good practice... especially with a shallow rim. However, you will lose some lateral stiffness compared to using the heavier spokes on both sides.

 

[rruff]

+1
The loss in lateral stiffness on the left side is usually a good trade off. The left side allows less lateral movement than the drive side because it has a greater staying angle. Heavier drive side spokes add lateral stiffness to that side, where it is needed most.

A misconception there. The lateral stiffness of the wheel is the same in both directions... and the stiffness imparted by the spokes is nearly proportional to bracing angle squared. So the NDS spokes have by far the greatest influence on stiffness.

I think the best way to deal with a dished wheel is triplet lacing (twice the spokes on the DS) with a special hub that has a wide NDS bracing angle... with one caveat... if you break a NDS spoke the wheel tends to go *way* out of true, probably locking the wheel.

 

[rruff]

I can't prove it, I'm not sure how to analyze it and I don't want to do any destructive testing, but I think that it's true that the wheel gets more unstable as it flexes to the drive side.

As the rim flexes towards the NDS the spokes will go slack with less of a load than towards the DS. The difference is pretty huge. This is easy enough to show by laying down the wheel and pressing on the rim. Having lighter NDS spokes means they will move a farther distance before going slack, but since they are also less stiff, it takes about the same amount of force.

 

[rruff]

Judging by the different solutions to the problem (radial on one side or the other, more right side flange offset or less right side flange offset) I'm not sure anyone knows exactly the best way to insure lateral strength and stability, as opposed to stiffness. It seems like the kind of problem everyone should come to the same solution on, but apparently they don't.

Manufacturers come up with different "schemes" just to be different. So long as it isn't really stupid, it will generally work fine. Some of them *are* stupid, though...

It is no great trick to build a wheel that will work well, but when you wish to optimize the strength/weight/aero/cost relationships there is less margin for error. Factory wheels are usually not very light, so it is easier to make the wheel strong enough for most riders. IMO triplet lacing is a good choice if you have a stiff rim, except for what happens when you break a NDS spoke. But then conventional lacing works quite well also...