bdop diy wheelkit

raymond82

Hello all,

I'm thinking of buying a bdop DIY wheelkit to build my first set of wheels. The kit contains Novatec A291SB/F482SB-11 hubs, Kinlin XC-279 rims and Sapim Race spokes. Weighing around 72 kilos, I thought the 24/28 hole option would suit me well. The plan is to work with Roger Musson's book on wheelbuilding which I already purchased a while ago.

Is there anything I should take into account or any advice that you could give me here before I go and buy the kit?

Thank you!

Monty Dog

Bear in mind that you'll pay imports duties and VAT on shipments from Taiwan - add another 25% to the consignment cost. You can buy all the parts in the UK for about £150 (sdeals.com) so why bother? For all-round use I wouldn't bother with a 24 spoke front wheel either, particularly as a first-build.

raymond82

Hmm, I actually inquired about the import duties and apparently they're not always charged. But yeah, with the last package I received from outside the EU they did charge me.

Regarding the 24 spokes, I assume you mean 24 is too little for the front wheel? It's a tricky decision, I do want to have wheels I can fully trust. For the same price I can also buy a factory wheel that would probably make do just fine. On the other hand building a wheelset is something I've been wanting to do for quite a while now.

Monty Dog

A well-built 24 hole wheel will be strong enough, but it wouldn't be the best place to start with a newbie-build IMO, particularly if you've not got a tension-meter.

veronese68

When I built my wheels following the Roger Musson book I found I was struggling to use the pitch method to check for even tension, I think I'm almost completely tone deaf. I found an app for my phone that uses sound to gauge tension. I don't know how accurate it is in terms of measuring the tension, I just used it to get them all even. I then got Ugo to check my work before doing the final tweeks and he said the tensions were all reasonably close so it works for that. No substitute for a proper tension gauge, but it's very cheap and gets you close enough.

raymond82

My idea was to try to build the set according to the book and then to take it out to see how it will hold on good roads to make sure they are ok before using them on downhills etc. My main worry was what would happen to a badly built wheel, if it would just keep going out of true or whether it could collapse or whatever. I also thought of building it and having it checked at the LBS before taking it out and buying the Park tool tensiometer which is quite affordable.

It's a tough choice, I could buy a factory built set and have no worries for the same price but I was sort of looking forward to the build process. I actually already bought the truing stand and a dishing tool around a year ago. I just want to do it in a responsible way, I'll be in the alps this summer and I want wheels that I can descend with with full confidence.

veronese68

Go for it. If you manage to build a completely disastrous wheel I can't see that it would just completley collapse on you, it would jsut go out of true. I'd agree with going for a higher spoke count for a first attempt.

munkster

If you are anywhere near Cambridge the one day course I did there a few years ago is a great way to be talked through (at a price, obviously, but under £100 IIRC) the whole process. If you have the components you would be able to build at least one of the wheels on the course, although if not all the materials are provided. Google it, it set me up nicely for my subsequent (apparently incurable) wheel-building addiction... ;-)

raymond82

Veronese68 wrote:

Go for it. If you manage to build a completely disastrous wheel I can't see that it would just completley collapse on you, it would jsut go out of true. I'd agree with going for a higher spoke count for a first attempt.

I somehow missed your reply, must have missed the notification email.

Still haven't really decided yet, I'm a bit worried about what the import duties might add to the price and there are also some factory wheels that I kind of like (mainly Fulcrum Racing 5 and the DT Swiss R24). I can only buy one set now and I would like it to be light/good looking etc, maybe it's better to buy a factory set now and then later start with building a 32/32 set for my cross bike as a first project for instance. But I do like your take on it, if I would try it's important to know that it most likely wouldn't collapse but just be hard to keep true in case I mess up.

munkster wrote:

If you are anywhere near Cambridge the one day course I did there a few years ago is a great way to be talked through (at a price, obviously, but under £100 IIRC) the whole process. If you have the components you would be able to build at least one of the wheels on the course, although if not all the materials are provided. Google it, it set me up nicely for my subsequent (apparently incurable) wheel-building addiction... ;-)

I live in Holland but it's a good idea anyway, there's one bike shop close to where I live where they were planning on organizing something like this. And I like the idea of developing a wheel building addiction, I actually bought a truing stand and dishing tool more than a year ago hoping to start building loads of wheels but never got to actually building an actual set...

Ben6899

Bob [D] posts on BikeForums.net. You could register and drop him a PM.

keezx

raymond82 wrote:

I live in Holland but it's a good idea anyway, there's one bike shop close to where I live where they were planning on organizing something like this. And I like the idea of developing a wheel building addiction, I actually bought a truing stand and dishing tool more than a year ago hoping to start building loads of wheels but never got to actually building an actual set...

Once you've done it you probably never buy a ready built wheel again.

raymond82

Ben6899 wrote:

Bob [D] posts on BikeForums.net. You could register and drop him a PM.

That I had noticed indeed, there's a nice thread with someone complaining about the stuff he ordered. I had contacted his office already regarding the possibility of having import duties but as expected they weren't sure, apparently sometimes it slips through and sometimes it doesn't. A while ago I bought 90 euro worth of goods and had to pay 30 euro import duties so it adds up if they are being difficult. They also retained the package for 4 weeks or so.

Keezx wrote:

Once you've done it you probably never buy a ready built wheel again.

I think I've made up my mind, since the dollar rate is also very high against the euro now I'm gonna wait with the Bdop order and go for factory wheels this time. Then since I have a spare 32 spoke wheel, my idea is to buy a new rim (I saw Mavic cxp 22 is quite cheap) and some spokes and use the old hub to practice. FRom the book I understood that it's best to start with a new rim the first time as an old rim can be difficult to true. I'll use a rear wheel, I figure that is the hardest to build? That way I can practice and if it works well next time I'll go for a nice set.

keezx

Good and reasonable priced parts are available in NL/DE too, there is no reason to buy a set from the USA IMO.
Starting with a 32 sp. rear wheel is not a bad idea, spoke length is a bit more critical.
Sapim Race cheap here:
https://www.derks-wielersport.nl/spaken ... ppels.html

raymond82

Keezx wrote:

Good and reasonable priced parts are available in NL/DE too, there is no reason to buy a set from the USA IMO.
Starting with a 32 sp. rear wheel is not a bad idea, spoke length is a bit more critical.
Sapim Race cheap here:
https://www.derks-wielersport.nl/spaken ... ppels.html

That's a nice shop, thanks! Indeed there are quite some places to source parts cheaply, I'm also checking out the German shops. I've actually warmed up to the idea, I can upgrade the old wheelset I have using the old hubs to a 23mm wide one which I think will be nice for the winter.

kiwimatt

Just go for it. I bought the Musson book and all the required bits and just dived in. Just proceed carefully and methodically and follow his guidance and it's pretty hard to make a mess of it. Results have been excellent. Basic 32h 3 cross though nothing fancy but bulletproof commuters.

keezx

raymond82 wrote:

Keezx wrote:

Good and reasonable priced parts are available in NL/DE too, there is no reason to buy a set from the USA IMO.
Starting with a 32 sp. rear wheel is not a bad idea, spoke length is a bit more critical.
Sapim Race cheap here:
https://www.derks-wielersport.nl/spaken ... ppels.html

That's a nice shop, thanks! Indeed there are quite some places to source parts cheaply, I'm also checking out the German shops. I've actually warmed up to the idea, I can upgrade the old wheelset I have using the old hubs to a 23mm wide one which I think will be nice for the winter.

Good candidates for rims are DT Swiss R460 (33€) and Alexrims AT490 (25€)

raymond82

kiwimatt wrote:

Just go for it. I bought the Musson book and all the required bits and just dived in. Just proceed carefully and methodically and follow his guidance and it's pretty hard to make a mess of it. Results have been excellent. Basic 32h 3 cross though nothing fancy but bulletproof commuters.

I'm gonna! Starting with a 32h 3 cross build like you said, I actually have a wheel that I use in winter with a worn rim so it would be a very useful exercise.

Keezx wrote:

Good candidates for rims are DT Swiss R460 (33€) and Alexrims AT490 (25€)

Thanks, I had already eyed the DT Swiss rim but I have difficulty finding the 32h version for a nice price, for 33 euro I only see the 28h one. That Alexrims AT490 is a very good alternative though, it's also a wide rim if I'm not mistaken, 700C, 622X17, 490g, ERD 589 it says on the website. The 17 is the inner width of the rim right? That would make it 23 mm wide or so?

keezx

Simple pinned rim but not bad and nice machined brake tracks, tubeless ready...tyres easy to mount though.

raymond82

Keezx wrote:

Simple pinned rim but not bad and nice machined brake tracks, tubeless ready...tyres easy to mount though.

Sounds perfect!