Wheelbuilding

[DirtRagArt]

Who builds their own wheels? Any bona-fide master wheelbuilders? Any horror stories of building your own wheels and having them fail? What's the longest one of your hand-built wheels has lasted? Just curious...

[OTBSkinloss]

I used to do it, but I just don't feel like it anymore. Hell, I got a job, I'll make more money. I can never make more time. Plus the LBS here does it for 20 bucks. I waste more than that, on beer and chicks, every week.

[neveright]

I had to learn how to build/re-build wheels myself over time due to lack of funds, transportation and/or time. But don't do it if your're not sure. The LBS mech can usually take care of your rollin' needs with ease. But if you decide to go the homegrown route, you'll need all the tools, patience and literature possible or a butt-load of experience along with some much dreaded trial and error.

Park Tool USA's website can realy get you goin' in the right direction as well as help you finish the job with confidence. Also, if you have a computer with Microsoft Office-EXCEL, you can download a spoke tension graphing spread sheet with already built in macros from the Park Tool USA website. If you're not online, they may be able to send you a copy on disk via the USPS. Concistant tension is fairly critical and this guide (used with the TM-1 spoke tension meter) realy helps bring one's level of assurance up a few good notches.

I think I may have seen a wheel building book in a catalog... mmm... not sure where. And I think it may have been a Zinn book, but not sure. But there is the Zinn and the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance book or the Park Tool BBB-1 The Big Blue Book Of Bike Repair. I'm sure both would do. So if ya build a wheel(s) and you're still not sure, take 'em in to the LBS and ask to have them checked all the way around (true, round, dish and tension). You'll be glad ya did.

Hope to have helped, but if ya need some help, feel free to ask someone, bra!

thanks,
ride on

[kennbenny667]

I'm sure I have the mechanical aptitude, but not the positive mental attitude, dude.

[rockyrider]

I've built a total of 3 sets of wheels for myself and they are all still round and rolling (touch wood) but I'm slow as molasses (3 hours best speed for a pair of wheels) compared to someone who does it all the time, and I still have to dig out Brandt's book to refresh my memory on some of the starting details.

But even if you buy hubs, spokes and rims on sale I can't seem to compete with the price on assembled wheels (hand made or machine made). The component prices are the same as built wheels.

The up side is you can get hub/rim combos that aren't generally available in built wheel sets, just like they were custom hand built wheels (oh wait - they are!). And it is a relaxing way to spend 3 hours.

[neveright]

Originally Posted by rockyrider

The up side is you can get hub/rim combos that aren't generally available in built wheel sets, just like they were custom hand built wheels (oh wait - they are!). And it is a relaxing way to spend 3 hours.

I hear that, dude!

[siobahnwheel]

I've built more wheels than I can remember. The oldest pair I've built for myself have been around since '98. I have a pair of aero road wheels I've been too lazy to touch for two weeks. They're waiting on the finishing touches. Next I'll be building a pair of lightweight xc disc wheels! I had an excellent teacher. He compared the skill to knitting or weaving. After you become good at it they just happen.

[BMAC]

Building my own wheels is like building my own frames,sure there are lighter and cheaper alternatives but the satisfaction of doing it yourself makes it worth it.No bad wheel stories but a few about how not to build frames/forks.

[CRUM]

I not only prefer to build my own, but of all the wrench twisting duties I perform at the shop, building wheels for others is my favorite. Taking materials, that by themselves are but lumps of metal, and turning them into a support structure that can handle a 200 pound hucker off a 6 foot drop somehow appeals to me. Of all the parts of a bike, wheels fascinate me the most. I love building wheels. Sadly, the advent of gee whiz factory hoops have created a whole generation of riders who have no appreciation for the art.

The wheel set on my "go to get coffee and mail a letter bike" were built by me in 1988. They are laced to a pair of Specialized hubs I bought over the phone from Mountain Bike Specialists when Ned Overend worked there. He took my order. They saw serious duty for roughly 8 years. 3 sets of rims later and a couple of bearing chages and they are still cruising.

[DirtRagArt]

So it went down like this...I needed a new rear wheel for my converted singlespeed, because despite my best efforts to rebuild my American Classic hub, the pawl pistons were still sticking (thus failing to engage the clutch plate that simultaniously engages all six pawls at once). I loved that wheel—it was strong, light and expensive—but after nearly four years of hard use, it was time to be replaced.

I was going to simply buy an inexpensive-yet-functional Shimano/Mavic rear wheel and call it a day. Besides, I actually like cup and cone bearings. At the same time, I kept eyeballing a sweet set of 32-hole SunRace JuJu MZ disc hubs that were up for grabs in the office. I had previously read two books on wheelbuilding and knew how to true a wheel, so I decided it was high time I built myself a set of wheels.

With the money I saved on hubs I decided to splurge on a pair of Sun Ringlé UFO rims. Perhaps not as nice as the shot-peened Velocity rim that was on my old American Classic wheel, but definitely high-end. Brad hooked me up with a spoke calculator for Microsoft Excel, and with a few key numbers from the rims and hubs I was on my way. I opted for silver Wheelsmith DB 14 spokes and aluminum nipples, as they seemed to offer the best bang for the buck.

I followed the instructions in Gerd Schraner's book
The Art of Wheelbuilding, and it was extremely easy. I only had to redo 16 spokes on the front wheel after Michael Browne explained the reason my spokes were buldging was because I had failed to follow the proper order of over, over, under. No big deal, and I didn't make the same mistake on the rear. Dishing was not nearly as hard as I imagined it would be (once I took a second to figure out how the Park Tool wheel alignment gauge worked).

Speaking of tools, it was nice to have a Park Tension Meter available. Not as handy as having four experienced wheelbuilders in the office to check my work, but handy none the less.

I mostly worked on the wheels while performing my routine hard drive backup, so lacing took about the same amount of time as it takes to burn 15 or 20 CDs (that's just for issues 113-115). I spent a good four or more hours truing and dishing two wheels, but speed was not my objective. I wanted strong, light, straight wheels. Which I got. I weighed them, and though I forget the weight, I assure you they are light. Without skewers, the rear wheel was not quite as light as that American Classic wheel (which used some hunk of crap found in the Dirt Rag basement), but with the titanium skewer set that cames with the JuJu hubs, my new wheel stole the show.

Next it was time to see if my wheels could really stand. Lockwood happened to be in town the day after I finished the build, and he was looking for a ride in the park. Singlespeeding (aka stomping on too tall of a gear) puts significant torque loads on a wheel, as do disc brakes, so my build had better be good. After completing what would typically be a three-hour ride in two and a half, I was immensly proud of my wheel build. After two more good hard rides I put both wheels in the truing stand, again beaming with pride, as I only had to make two half turns to correct a tiny hop in the rear wheel.

Here I am now a couple weeks later and I'm already thinking about building another set up for my commuter bike. Wheelbuilding may be a black art, but it's neither rocket science nor is it magic. Just concentrate, take your time and don't be afraid to ask an expert for some guidance.

[aluminiumsucks]

Congrats on the first wheel build. If done right, hand built wheels are better, everytime, all the time. I've built about 20 individual wheels of differing flavors, road, SS, freeride, 24" freeride, blah blah.... They've all held up and, lucky for me, the only ones that have needed truing afterwards is the one I built for my SS; a UFO/Paul Word/DT DB14 black beauty. I don't even think wheel building is all that hard, people have just bought into the advertising. Wheel building is hard like Nikes make you jump higher. It just takes patience and attention to detail. I think the hardest part about wheel building is getting the repitition in to get good at it. It's expensive, and not a very common repair so it's just hard to get good at. I work in a damn bike shop and the only way I got the reps in was by talking all my friends into letting me build them wheels when I heard them talk about buying new ones, and talking myself into needing new wheels when I had the money for it.

[bdee]

Building your own wheels is definitely satisfying. Having them actually work well for years feels even better. I do most of my building in the winter months so there's no rush. I only build or rebuild one a year these days but it's a very relaxing process. I've used the Jobst Brandt book as well as Sheldon Brown's website for guidance and liked them both a lot. Next thing you know you'll be trying out welding and going to UBI to learn to build frames

[tryandgetme]

I build my own wheels for the one reason that I'm extremely mechanically inclined and love to get in there and do it myself. Infact, I probably should have gotten a career doing something skilled with my hands instead of programming. I love working on stuff, so spending a few hours building a wheelset is just plain interesting...

[SynicGeek]

Cross 3, with the right parts...a good forged steel or aluminum hub shell, DT comp spokes with brass nipples, and Alex rims...and, it has to be at least hand finished to proper tension. No single part of that process is most important, if one factor is wrong or too light, the wheel will fail.
As far as repairing a wheel goes, don't be afraid of the hammer. A good precision whack can make a world of difference.
Just remember, perfection is a myth.
Spoke'n well, Flame.

[squirrl_poker]

Originally Posted by SynicGeek

perfection is a myth

I don't know if it's really true, but it sounds like a good philosophy for getting through life. Right on!