Home wheel-building - problem with rim where it's joined

jonnyv

I'm a semi-competent home wheel-builder - I can produce a wheel that's pretty much round and straight, but I always seem to have problems with the spot on the rim where it's joined. My latest creation involved an Alesa Sputnik rim, and as I tightened the spokes at the join there was a small 'hop' which just wouldn't be smoothed out, no matter what combination of spoke turns I tried. In the past I've had side to side wobble on both sides simultaneously at the rim join.

Is this a common experience or is it just me....

nicklouse

oi is a common issue due to the way wheels are joined. the better the rim the less it is noticed.

nmcgann

It's a common problem with pinned rims. All you can do is to get it as close as it will go to being true.

The welded rims like Open Pros are a lot better - which is why they are more expensive.

Neil

AcademicX

According to Roger Musson's bookWheel Building........."The region around the rim joint may not be perfectly round due to the manufacturing techniques used in making the rim........You can try to improve it but if it requires overly tight or loose spokes compared to adjacent spokes then it's much better to try and maintain similar spoke tensions and tolerate a small localised radial error (which will not be noticeable when riding the bike)."

gundersen

The two edges are just linked with a piece of metal inside the rim - so I just tap it with a hammer until they are alined. Problem solved.

You can't get them straight by adjusting the spokes.

jonnyv

Many thanks for the replies, that's all really helpful.

switchback18

Yep, as said, you'll not get it perfect in this case. Only thing I'd add is go for even spoke tension, rather than trying to much to sort out the 'built in' flat spot, as you want the wheel strong.