Wheel building - DIY?
Discussion
I've a hankering to build my own wheels, ridiculous idea or with patience and common sense quite an achievable goal?
Cost wise the labour charge of a wheel build is not horrendous so it certainly would not be for the money saving, I should immense there is a great deal of satisfaction dropping downhill at 50mph and the wheel not disintegrating!
Cost wise the labour charge of a wheel build is not horrendous so it certainly would not be for the money saving, I should immense there is a great deal of satisfaction dropping downhill at 50mph and the wheel not disintegrating!
It's quite easy and lots of info online.
Just take your time with the final stages of stress relieving and equalising tension.
You really need to buy a cheap truing stand and dish tool. Ideally a spoke tension meter also.
Start with a front wheel first and just a standard 3X spoke pattern.
David
Just take your time with the final stages of stress relieving and equalising tension.
You really need to buy a cheap truing stand and dish tool. Ideally a spoke tension meter also.
Start with a front wheel first and just a standard 3X spoke pattern.
David
You'll require a truing stand - a decent one will be around £70-£100.
It is actually quite a straightforward process. Rebuilding an existing wheel should give you the hang of the process. Once you start on your own, you will also need a caliper, to accurately measure up the hubs to work out spoke lengths, dish offsets and so on, for the appropriate spoke patterns and rim spoke hole configurations. Sounds complex, but take a look at Sheldon Brown's articles on the subject are a good basis. There are also so pretty good wheelbuilding calculators on the web, to give you appropriate measurements based on hub and rim dimensions.
Good luck
It is actually quite a straightforward process. Rebuilding an existing wheel should give you the hang of the process. Once you start on your own, you will also need a caliper, to accurately measure up the hubs to work out spoke lengths, dish offsets and so on, for the appropriate spoke patterns and rim spoke hole configurations. Sounds complex, but take a look at Sheldon Brown's articles on the subject are a good basis. There are also so pretty good wheelbuilding calculators on the web, to give you appropriate measurements based on hub and rim dimensions.
Good luck
If you just want to try the idea, then as the others have said, strip down an old wheel, clean everything up and then rebuild it.
You don't have to buy a proper stand although if you plan to build several sets of wheels then it's clearly the way to go. Personally I'd buy a good quality spoke key and not bother with a stand at first. The cheaper, one-key-fits-all spoke keys aren't so good to use and the single-size ones are much better.
To get the wheel round and trued up I use the bike frame that the wheel is for. Slacken off the brake caliper and use the brake blocks to check for elliptical motion and finally truing the wheel, for a rear wheel it makes it very easy to set the offset correctly. Any wheel you've just built is usually way off to start with so take it slowly so you don't scratch the chainstays, but once it's spinning freely you can set it up very accurately.
You don't have to buy a proper stand although if you plan to build several sets of wheels then it's clearly the way to go. Personally I'd buy a good quality spoke key and not bother with a stand at first. The cheaper, one-key-fits-all spoke keys aren't so good to use and the single-size ones are much better.
To get the wheel round and trued up I use the bike frame that the wheel is for. Slacken off the brake caliper and use the brake blocks to check for elliptical motion and finally truing the wheel, for a rear wheel it makes it very easy to set the offset correctly. Any wheel you've just built is usually way off to start with so take it slowly so you don't scratch the chainstays, but once it's spinning freely you can set it up very accurately.
If you just want to have a go, then a truing stand is complete overkill. An old pair of forks in a vice work just as well. Use a caliber as a gauge for side to side trueness and make a simple bracket to hold a brake block across the outer edge of the rim ad a guide for soundness.
As others have said, patience is the key.
Oh yes, well worth investing a couple of quid in a spoke key with plastic handle otherwise the callouses will take forever to go!
As others have said, patience is the key.
Oh yes, well worth investing a couple of quid in a spoke key with plastic handle otherwise the callouses will take forever to go!
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