Building wheels

[RidetheRAAM4]

I finally got money! Woohoo!! Bad part is that now I want to become my bikes own mechanic because I finally bought a workstand and some tools.

Now I want to try and build my own wheel. I figure if I do that I can get better wheels for cheaper and when I bend my rim like crazy I can just buy a new rim and swap out the spokes and hub.

So my questions are.........
How hard is it?
Will I need a truing stand?
Should I just buy a cheap hub, spokes, and rim and put it all together or can I take an old wheel completely apart and re-assemble it?
Any good resources that I can go check out to help my wheel building process?

[SSinGA]

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html

I used this info to build my first set.

[el_d00der1n0]

I used Zinn's book. Swapping rims is not that easy. You have to make sure you have the same dimensions within MMs.

I've built one set so far, and my biggest lesson was get the right spoke length. Go to all of the calculators and find two that agree, and you'll likely be in the ballpark. If you're building Mavics, I found the site for their dimensions a couple of months ago. If you do a search in here, you should find it.

I have a truing stand, and I like it. IMO it's worth it. I think I paid like 30 bucks for mine. You will find it useful just for truing wheels anyway. The kind I have you have to flip the wheel around which can be a pain in the a$$, but it was right on for dishing.

Relax, have a beer handy, and have fun. If I can do it, anyone can.

[allison]

Justin got a truing stand and started building our wheels basically using Sheldon Brown's site.

He's built about 3 sets and has plans to build 2 more before 3/15 Feel free to PM or email him, maybe he can answer any specific questions.

After you build them up, for your first round, I'd say take them a mechanic/wheel builder you trust and have them check it out just for piece of mind.

[dubjay]

I just started building my own wheels last year. I just finished my 4th set. It's not really that difficult. The instructions online may sound confusing at first, but when you actually get to doing it, it's not that bad.

Here's another site that I found helpful (in addition to Sheldon Brown's).

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

One tool I like having is the Park TM-1 Spoke Tension Meter. It just gives me peace of mind that everything is put together well. Supposedly an evenly tensioned wheel holds its true longer.

I would probably just go ahead and build a wheel that you plan on using versus putting together an old one. You'll be investing a couple hours, so you might as well use it.

[project_d]

Originally Posted by RidetheRAAM4

So my questions are.........
How hard is it?
Will I need a truing stand?
Should I just buy a cheap hub, spokes, and rim and put it all together or can I take an old wheel completely apart and re-assemble it?
Any good resources that I can go check out to help my wheel building process?

I've recently built my 15th rim, or so. It's one of those things where the first couple of times you'll get things wrong here and there (usually nothing that can't be reversed), but soon, it becomes 2nd nature. If you're good friends with somebody at a shop, ask them if you can watch them build a rim in exchange for a couple of beers or soda pop, depending on their age.

Will you need a truing stand; we'll, I guess you don't NEED a stand, but why wouldn't you want one. The home truing stands will get the job done, but if you can afford it, a pro truing stand is SOOO worth the extra $$$. You spend just as much time finishing the wheel, but you get it primo!!!

If you're using the same model of rim, then yes, you could use the same hub, spokes, and nipples (nipples...ha, ha), but I wouldn't. Hub, yeah, go ahead a use that if it's still in good condition, but buy some new spokes & nipples. Ask the shop to prep the spokes for you. Some form of threadlock should be used on the spokes, and it's much easier for the shop to pre apply some for you than if you do it yourself, and they don't charge you any extra...well, they shouldn't charge you any extra. Unless you're reall abusive on your rims, I would do double-butted spokes instead of straight gauge. As for nipples, I know they're heavier, but do the first couple of wheels using brass instead of aluminum. Aluminum can strip MUCH easier than brass, so it's good to be on the safe side.

Also, there are MANY different theories on wheel building. One guy does it one way, somebody else does it another, and so on, and so on, and so on. Just find one method that seems to work well for you, and go for it.

Cheers

[Edog]

I'd agree it's easier than it looks / sounds I have built about 10 pairs. Turing stands are pretty cheap, you can make a spoke driver from a cheap flat head & file the sides off. I made on for my cordless drill to speed things up. I don't use a dishing tool but you can find a template on line & make one out of card board.
I find the DT Swiss spoke calculator to be very good, having the spokes the correct length makes it much easier, now I feel comfortable using mis matched you can get away with a few mms here & there.
Keep the tension equal at all time starting out & build it up slowly. Watch for flat spots & bumps on the rim when you rotate the wheel as these can be very difficult & frustating to get rid of, if things are going wrong back it off & get things stright again.
If you take an old wheel apart mark the alternate spokes with tape so it's easy to seperate them out.
Keep a piece of tape on your lead spoke during the build start your tension here every time round to keep it even.
Hope UK has a link to an E Book that was about $5 that was very useful when I started

[dubjay]

For a spoke driver, I just use an extra spoke, and thread it through the backside of the nipple. Once it gets inserted through the eyelet, I unscrew it from the spoke and then use a small screwdriver to hold it in place.

I guess I could save a little time with a dedicated spoke driver, but I usually need to use it on half of the spokes on a 3x build. For the first 16 (out of 32), the spokes are loose enough where you can just push the spoke through the eyelet far enough to thread on a nipple by hand.

For a dishing , I just keep flipping the wheel in the truing stand until it hits the same spot from both sides.

[Winger]

Originally Posted by dubjay

One tool I like having is the Park TM-1 Spoke Tension Meter. It just gives me peace of mind that everything is put together well. Supposedly an evenly tensioned wheel holds its true longer.

Where's the best place to pick up one of these?

Amazon has them for $65 shipped.

[el_d00der1n0]

Originally Posted by Winger

Where's the best place to pick up one of these?

Amazon has them for $65 shipped.

I just pluck mine. If they sound sorta like my other wheels, they're close enough...