Wheelbuilding

redddraggon

I fancy giving it a go next month, what sort of equipment do I need?

Obviously I need:
Rims,
Hubs,
Spokes,
(nipples?)

I guess I need the spoke tool, (what ever it's called), but what equipment will be handy. I'm quite good at building technical fiddly stuff, so I guess after practice I'll get the hand of wheel building. And I think the wheelbuilding will help towards truing my own wheels should the occasion arise.

Good Idea or bad idea?

Titanium

You will need a wheel jig, some oil and a dishing tool. Also you will need a spoke length calculator, these can be downloaded on the net. You might want a spoke tensionometer.

Wheelbuilding is an art. You need to adapt the pattern to suit your rim, hubs and spokes. Then you need to ensure the right tension on the spokes and get this even. It is not rocket science but takes experience to get it right, a wheel that spins like daddio in the jig is of no use if it potatoes on a pothole.

Practice a lot first and read all you can on the net about it.

veryslowtwitch

Good idea.

Suggest you start with a front wheel, no need for dishing tool. You can build a wheel in a set of upside down forks so don't get a jig yet. Your LBS can sell you the right length spokes without need for a calculator. Don't bother with a tension meter unless you're rich.

The most important thing is probably an intact old wheel so you can copy the spoke lacing exactly and produce an identikit wheel the first time.

Second most important thing is a good spoke key which a) fits the spokes (ask LBS) and b) has a nice big comfy handle. The little metal triangular/circular keys with multiple size spoke holes are very painful after an hour or two.

I found it time consuming and the parts will cost you far more than a complete wheel but it is satisfying and can be done in front of the telly and with beer, which is always good.

Regards

Alan

Mr Bumble

I use the online spoke calculator at:

http://www.dtswiss.com/spokescalc/welco ... anguage=en

(registration is free- just enter the hub brand, rim brand, number of holes and it works out the length for you)

A good tip if you don't have truing jig is to attatch a cable tie to each leg of the bike's forks and snip so it can be used like the adjusting screws on a jig.

I found the following online manual very helpfull:

http://www.wheelpro.co.uk/wheelbuilding/book.php

Basically patience and practice is what is required. I suggest beginning with an old rim and hub before moving on.

pieinthesky

You can build a good wheel with little or no experience as long as you read around and find out how to do it first. I have built 3 or 4 now and have had no problems with any of them.

I did buy a jig but found it next to useless (It was made by Tacx and I have avoided all their products ever since), I ended up building the wheels in the frame which is not ideal but is OK for starters. You can use the brake blocks as a guide to true the wheels and measure from the chainstays to check the dishing, same for the front wheel. Build them in the frame you are going to use them on.

The hardest bit I found was knowing when the spoke tension was correct.

Next time I build a wheel I will buy a tension meter and would suggest that this would be a better investment than a jig. You could build a basic jig quite easily.

aracer

Online manual at http://sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html is also good (bookmark the top level of that site if you haven't been there before - is probably the best source of bike info on the net). Though I normally follow the guidance in http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bicycle-Wheel-J ... 0960723668 which is the bible for wheelbuilding.