PG or DB?

Yep.

Double then triple check all your measurements.

If you say so.

roger-wp wrote:

mrfmilo, you are asking a lot of very disturbing questions here. I personally don't think you are ready for going anywhere near a wheel armed with a spoke wrench. And don't blame the spoke calculator if the spokes you buy are all wrong.

i disagree, if he was asking alot of quistions it dosn't matter as long as he understands everything now. there is quite a few video guides on building wheels which are simple to follow. i don't blame him for trying but if you screw up it will cost you money and you might get seriously injured so after, mrfmilo, i would take the wheels to the lbs so he can check that you he done a good job so you don't have to worry about them breaking

@mrfmilo,

I have to admit that when you entered the width of the rim rather than the diameter, I was starting to have the same thoughts as Roger, despite my encouragement through the rest of the post. The reason was that it showed that you really didn't understand the measurements you were taking and how they relate to spoke length. It really helps to understand the theory of a wheel, both the pure maths and the mechanics before building one so read the book carefully and make sure you understand in you head not just what you have to do but why you are doing it. It takes time and reading can seem boring when you have a box of bits ready to work with and you just want to get started, but it will pay off in the long run. As I said in an earlier post, taking your time and having patience is the key to building wheels. I spent two hours truing and dishing the old rear mountain bike wheel I learnt with. Amongst other things I was turning nipples 1/8 of turn at a time to see what affect it had compared with 1/4 turns and 1/2 turns and listening to how spokes sounded to check tension.

I might be wrong, but I get the impression you're in your teens and want to learn about your bike, and I think that is a good thing. Too many people spend hundreds and thousands of pounds on kit with no idea and no appreciation of how it works and will gladly hand over hard earned cash to a LBS to do the simplest of tasks, or let a small problem develop into a larger one because they can't tell something is not quite right. Not that building a wheel is the simplest of tasks. It was the last thing I learnt to do when it came to building/servicing a bike. The individual elements of wheelbuilding are really quite simple, but it is the fact that that there is an art to good wheelbuilding which is the hardest thing to learn (and to teach)

If you're going to buy a wheelset now but you still want to learn wheelbuilding, then don't spend any more cash just yet. Either practice dismantling and building an old wheel you have or get down the the local tip or friendly LBS and find a old wheel to play with. As long as it's reasonably true and not rusted to the point where the nipples won't turn then it should be okay.

Don't give up, if you don't try you'll never learn. If you are at all unsure, speak to someone who can give you some guidance, and if you are unsure about any wheel you build get someone competent to check it befre you ride it...and maybe surprisingly, that doesn't always mean a bike shop! I know at least two LBSs that only sell factory built wheels and don't know what is involved in checking a wheel other than for trueness.

@roger-wp

As I said, I think I understand why you had concerns but he's got to learn somehow. At the end of the day if people don't start to learn to build a wheel, they won't buy your book so surely it's in your interest to offer support rather than giving the advice of 'don't bother'. I think he's a young guy who needs guidance and encouragement not negativity and discouragement.

BTW, The book is great, and despite all the you tube videos and other free internet guides, I think I would have struggled without it. Thank you.

Some good advice there.

I was trying to 'egg you on a bit' and do some thinking with only partial answers - I think you'll get there!

It was the spoke length issue that raised my doubts, particularly when the calculator came back and said "the hub diameter is bigger than the rim diameter". This should have been a big clue. Plus a few other issues relating to understanding of a few basic concepts and I assumed this trend would continue through all the other aspects of the build process.

mrfmilo, you may not be ready yet, but you soon will be. Just do some reading, the usual suspects are :

http://sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html
http://miketechinfo.com/new-tech-wheels-tires.htm

I'll put it down to youthful exuberance which is something I miss - jumping into the unknown with no fear, and comming out the other side unscathed.