From: "Mel Bartels" 
To: 
Reply-To: "Mel Bartels" 


>>>
 I'm not sure if Mel intentionally did it this way or if
he was more constrained by the cage size but I suspect it was both, knowing
Mel ( from the web ).
 I just thought I'd make a note of that since it is an important
point.
<<<

Definitely intentional.  As Dwight says, playing with a string and model
for a few seconds settles the matter.  The idea I trace back to Henry Paul
in the '50s, and I seem to  possibly recall earlier articles.

I think of it as this: you want your triangles formed by the hub's length
and the distance to the tube wall to be as stout as possible.  If you can
cross the wires such that the angle the wires form as they cross each other
is the maximum possible, then that is the strongest most rigid design
possible.  Hence my deliberate crossing between diagonal hub and tube wall
(in this case, my truss triangular upper end)

Mel Bartels

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