Wheel builders in London

the spoke style that involves twisting the spokes in pairs around each other does that work or do you just end up with a really loose feeling rear wheel it just doesn't look like the tension is possible ?

I tried that one once and it looked cool but it was crap strength wise. You have to bend the spoke. This means that the spoke has to go past it's yeild strength. Once it is past this point is looses most of it's elastisaty. Very important for a wheel!