beginning wheel building

MisterMuncher
MisterMuncher Posts: 1,302
edited November 2014 in Workshop
Having taken the notion that Is like to start building wheels, What would my best course of action be? I've been offered a bit of a deal on the planet x/jobsworth truing stand, which looks ample for my purposes, so that would be sorted. I'm reasonably handy and mechanically minded.

So. Am I better off starting with cheap hubs and rims to get my eye in, or could I get away with starting on mid range components? Could I manage without a tension gauge with a good ear (perfect pitch)? What is the best book to get the rudiments from?

Comments

  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,310
    Cheap hubs won't last and cheap rims won't build well.
    Open PRO is the easiest rim to start building, as having eyelets helps... Shimano hubs are the best to start with... I'd say Ultegra are the best bang for buck. A double butted spoke with a 1.8 mid section won't give you twisting grief.
    I wouldn't get overinformative literature, like Musson's book, too much stuff to digest that you don't need. Shraner's Art of Wheelbuilding is lean enough. A tension gauge helps to convert your perfect pitch into actual numbers. It's important to have homogeneous tension, it's also important to know how many Newtons you are loading on your rim, to avoid running too low or too high tension, which are both detrimental in different ways
    left the forum March 2023
  • MisterMuncher
    MisterMuncher Posts: 1,302
    I was entertaining taking apart a pair of Formula/Maddux oem wheels that never got any use and attempting to rebuild them. Pointless?
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,310
    MisterMuncher wrote:
    I was entertaining taking apart a pair of Formula/Maddux oem wheels that never got any use and attempting to rebuild them. Pointless?

    It's not pointless, it's practice, but they won't be better wheels than they were before, unless you invest in better components.
    If you start with 32 holes, your first set of wheels will be a pretty good one, so no need to scrimp and buy cheap components. If you have a feel for mechanical parts, building a wheel is not a difficult job. To give you an idea, it took me one afternoon to build my first wheel, whilst after many years of practice I never managed to do a power Jibe on a winsurf board...
    left the forum March 2023
  • veronese68
    veronese68 Posts: 27,717
    Pitch will only tell you the tensions are even, not how tight they are. I think I'm tone deaf as I really started to struggle using pitch, so I cheated and used an app on my phone to compare the pitch. I didn't trust the numbers though and Ugo kindly checked everything for me. It wasn't perfect, but I knew I had a bit more tweaking to go, but I was pleasantly surprised by how close it was.
    The second wheel was a lot quicker just because I had the confidence that I was doing the right thing.
    Kinesis Pro6
    Marin Nail Trail
    Cotic Solaris
  • djp66
    djp66 Posts: 115
    Apologies for the small thread hijack but I'm thinking the same. I have an option on some Novatec D712SB & D711SB hubs are these any good?

    I'm currently running a set of wheels built by Paolo on my Cross bike and fancy having a go at replicating his fine work :-)
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,310
    djp66 wrote:
    I have an option on some Novatec D712SB & D711SB hubs are these any good?

    Yep
    left the forum March 2023
  • cycleclinic
    cycleclinic Posts: 6,865
    The H plus Son TB14 is a nicer rim to build with than the Open Pro and it is wider which is nice too. Some OP rim have roundness issues which a begininer might try to true out unsucessfully.
    http://www.thecycleclinic.co.uk -wheel building and other stuff.
  • The Mechanic
    The Mechanic Posts: 1,277
    As a relative newcomer to wheel building (I have built 3 wheels so far) I would recommend Roger Mussons book. I appreciate that Ugo thinks it is OTT but I found it informative and easy to follow.

    My first wheel was a front with a 105 hub, Rigida Chrina rim and Sapim Race spokes. Next was a rear using the same components. The third was a 26" wheel for my MTB cum commuter using a Shimano LX hub and Extal rim, same spokes. So far they are all still functioning and true.

    Go for it MM. You will get a lot of satisfaction in riding wheels you built yourself.
    I have only two things to say to that; Bo***cks
  • MisterMuncher
    MisterMuncher Posts: 1,302
    thecycleclinic wrote:
    The H plus Son TB14 is a nicer rim to build with than the Open Pro and it is wider which is nice too. Some OP rim have roundness issues which a begininer might try to true out unsucessfully.

    No doubt. Thing is I'm currently using Tb14 on Ultegra. Lovely wheels but two sets might be overkill.

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