General: Radial Lacing Dura-Ace track hub

I just got in my new Shimano Dura-Ace track hubs (7600 high flange)...I'm hoping my LBS ordered my spokes today like I asked but I was just reading the packet that came with my hubset and it advises against radial lacing the front because there will be too much tension/stress on the hub eyelets...I ordered spokes before I knew this planning on radial lacing the front. Advice? Should I: go for it...it won't matter? or should I heed the warning and drop some more money and wait a little longer for new spokes?

They void the warranty but you won't have a problem with the hub breaking if that's what your worried about. People started to get scared of radial laced hubs when old campy's started tearing the hub flanges off so the warning stuck. Unless you weigh close to 300 lbs don't be scared to radial lace it.

Live a little.

Radial lacing is actually stronger laterally an weaker torsionally. I had the same dilema with my wheels on my iro and my brother-in-law, who was a bike mechanic for 7 years, told me this. He explained that in a lateral impact such as a bump up a curb or a hard wheelie landing the force will transfer through the spoke to the hub. He told me that on a radial laced wheel that force will taken straight on instead of at an angle. On the contrary he explained that on a 2or3X wheel (rear) the force of the cog turning the hub will pull the spoke close to straight as oppose to pulling sideways on a radial laced spoke. I hope this makes sense. I am not the most technical writer and would do a much better job describing my thoughts with hands on examples.

shimano and campy have redesigned their low flange road hubs to be radial-lace friendly.

i've read numerous places the dura ace is compatible:

Blue Sky CyclingThe Shimano Dura Ace 7800 Front Hub features Super lightweight and rigid alloy axle, is radial lacing compatible, smooth rolling, and Double Contact Sealing.

I ride a rear wheel that is radially laced on the non drive side and I have had no problems with it but it does change with what hubs and rims you are running. to quote the great Sheldon Brown

Radial spoked (cross 0) wheels have the spokes going straight out from the hub. This pattern is only suitable for front wheels that don't use hub brakes. They are very cool-looking, and are often a good choice for the ultimate in performance, because they are slightly lighter and, in theory, may have a very slight aerodynamic edge.
There are two things to watch out for with radial wheels. Because the nipples point straight inward from the rim, they can turn more easily in most rims than when they are bent to a slight angle by a semi-tangent spoke pattern. This ease of turning increases the risk of them unscrewing themselves on the road. To prevent this, nipples on radial wheels should not be lubricated, and it is a good idea to use a spoke adhesive such as Wheelsmith Spoke Prep or one of the milder flavors of Loctite ® on them.

The other potential problem with radial wheels is that since the spokes are trailing straight outward on the hub flange, they can possibly rip the outer edge of the flange right off along the line of the spoke holes. This is most likely to happen with small flange 36 hole hubs, because there is less metal between the spoke holes. If a used hub is re-laced radially, the notches left by the old spokes can act as stress risers, further weakening the flange.

Many hub manufacturers specifically recommend against radial spoking for this reason, and will not honor warrantys on hubs that have been spoked radially.

Some folks will say that no bicycle wheels should be radially spoked for this reason, so do this at your own risk. In my experience, it's generally OK with good quality hubs that have forged shells.

If you want to take your chances and try a radial spoked front wheel, I would advise avoiding using thick spokes and very high tension. Since front wheels are generally pretty trouble-free compared with rears, you don't need super-high tension on a front wheel that uses a reasonable number of spokes.

Bicycle folklore has it that radial-spoked wheels give a "harsh" ride, because the shorter spokes are less "stretchy" than the longer spokes used in semi-tangent wheels. This is hooey!

Wheels with hub brakes and drive wheels should never be radially spoked. Due to the near perpendicular angle of the spoke to the hub's tangent, any torque applied at the hub of a radial spoked wheel will result in a very great increase in spoke tension, almost certainly causing hub or spoke failure.