Building wheels

[Netdewt]

I have been wanting to build wheels for some time. I don't really know why, it just seems like the next best thing to getting a welder and building your own frame. I have the Jobst Brandt book and perused it, but I am a major hands on person. I also don't have piles of cash around to buy all the tools, especially if I do it once and never again.

Do you build your own wheels? How would you suggest I learn? What are the suggested tools to buy new or used?

[ceolwulf]

Have built a few. I use a Minoura truing stand and that's it. A bit flimsy compared to the nice Park one but it's cheap and gets the job done. Tension by sound and feel. Spoke wrenches you should really have anyway even if you never build a wheel, just for touch-ups.

I started with the Jobst Brandt book as well and I doubt you could get a much better starting point than that. The first few will take a good long time.

[Tony T]

Check out YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=wheel+building

[R3awak3n]

I am about to build my first set of wheels (Hplusson TB14 laced to 8 speed record hubset) and I am using Roger Mussons book:

http://www.wheelpro.co.uk/wheelbuilding/book.php

and also youtube videos because I do like to see things instead of just pictures.

I do have a park TS 2.2 stand because I just decided to get a nice stand instead of buying a cheaper one and eventually getting the nicer one. Also got some park spoke wrenches.

Just waiting on the rims to come, then going to shop for some spokes/nipples and should be building next week.

[Netdewt]

I'm looking into a local class if I can find one.

Check out YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=wheel+building

Gee thanks. I posted because I'd like to hear from people here who build their own and trust the wheels they've built. I've watched plenty of YouTube videos, there are a few very good ones.

I know that you could build a set just by using a bike frame and a spoke wrench, but is that wise? How important is a tension meter for safety's sake, durability, etc? What about a dishing stick?

[thwart]

I started by using a simple set of instructions/photos in a bike repair manual.

Before I bought a tension meter I just compared my build's tension to other wheels I owned… and figured the dish out by mounting it in the frame and making sure clearances were symmetric.

If you're a hands-on person this will likely work out well, and they'll wind up being your favorite wheelset…

… until you build the next one...

[8aaron8]

I started building when I was about 14 because I was riding bmx and was always changing my parts. I was never satisfied with the stock wheel sets, so I always went the custom route. I learned with a little trial and error along with some reading. For many years I used a frame with zip ties to true the wheel. The tension came with the spoke sound and feel. My wheels were always very straight. It wasn't until I got a older that I received a park truing stand and began building wheels of all sizes. I won't call myself a master builder by any means, but my wheels stay really straight and I never brake spokes. I would say just go for it man, there is so much you can read out there and ideas that contradict other ideas that you will end up wasting all that hands on learning experience.

[11.4]

Just for the hell of it, I've built a pair of wheels right from the hubs with no dishing tool, no tension measurement, nothing but a spoke wrench. Period. You can do it, just like you can align a frame perfectly with nothing more than some string. But it certainly helps to have some experience and know how to arrive at the correct outcome.

You can quickly figure out dishing to within a couple millimeters without a dishing tool, but again, some heavy cardboard and measuring height at opposite points from a hardwood floor to the rim, with the wheel on its side and sans skewer, and you can get a pretty good approximation. Even a frame itself can do it pretty well if the frame is accurate.

Tensioning really benefits from experience. After a while you realize that your wheel just starts to pull magically into shape when you reach a certain tension -- all the odd bumps and wobbles start to disappear and the tension goes from being erratic from spoke to spoke to extremely consistent. That's where you want to be. With modern rims you can true a little bit beyond that point to be sure you got there -- with old 1980s Mavic rims you'd have the rim warp or invert on you and you'd be fighting it the whole way. If you want to do it without tools, I'd suggest getting a better quality rim such as an H+Son Archetype or a HED Belgium. They almost true themselves and will be more tolerant of your mistakes. Use double butted spokes like DT Comps; don't go fancy with aero spokes or with alloy nipples. And pick a good rim.

All this being said, building wheels without tools is like learning to race a crit in your living room. If you're in Minneapolis, you are in the home town of hundreds of forumites. Post a request to them to let you work on their tools, with a little help from them. You can easily get a pair of wheels done correctly this way and then decide what you want to buy. Choice of tools is always idiosyncratic and while I might like a $1800 truing stand, someone else might like a junker steel fork with a welded-on piece of angle iron to true with. You'll get local access to tools and hopefully a watchful eye as well.

[dgauthier]

I don't build my wheels, but I maintain them. I sprang for the Park tensiometer because it's very reasonably priced and I can't figure out any rigorous way to reproduce what it does. It can be used to maintain your wheels as long as you ride. And yes, your bike can act as a truing stand, albeit an inefficient one. Hold a pen or metal punch steady against the brakes to test radial and lateral true, flop the wheel left to right to check dish. Or you can buy a dishing gauge for 30 bucks. Add a spoke wrench and you're done.

[quickfeet]

I started with bmx wheels too, I made it a hobby after a while. The best way to get good at it is to build a lot of wheels. I'd build them, ride them a bit, then move them on so I could build more.

There are so many differences in rims that if you aren't building a lot you won't see problems and learn the solutions.

[oldpotatoe]

I have been wanting to build wheels for some time. I don't really know why, it just seems like the next best thing to getting a welder and building your own frame. I have the Jobst Brandt book and perused it, but I am a major hands on person. I also don't have piles of cash around to buy all the tools, especially if I do it once and never again.

Do you build your own wheels? How would you suggest I learn? What are the suggested tools to buy new or used?

Of the things 'bike', it one of the last 'artisian' type things in bicycles. Design, build..more than sum of the parts..Very satisfying for me..after almost 30 years..the thing I enjoy the most.

Jobst book and this one..

Black Park spoke wrench, decent truing stand..patience..maybe a LBS that can check tension(altho Jobst talks about tension). Try a standard front wheel first..32 hole, 3 cross. Cheap hub, rim, spokes, lace, build..not hard(altho it CAN be difficult).

[Gummee]

I'm not the best at it, but I enjoy building wheels. Most of the wheels in my garage are 'built by Mike' (tm) wheels. I know who to blame if something ever goes wrong.

Until I inherited a TS-2 I built wheels on a folding Minoura stand. ...which wasn't even straight! Get a dishing tool and some spoke wrenches and have at it.

For me, the trickiest part's always getting the logo on the hub to line up with the valve hole. There's gotta be a trick, I just don't know what it is.

M

[JAGI410]

I've read this site a dozen times, it's loaded with good info that helped me get started: http://miketechinfo.com/new-tech-wheels-tires.htm

It's not difficult. I actually think it's fun! But it takes a special mindset to find enjoyment in it, and those intrigued by the process are already on their way. Those who have made a career or reputation for themselves from wheelbuilding, like some esteemed members here, are those who really have a passion for it and strive for levels of perfection most beginners cannot reach.

[oldpotatoe]

I'm not the best at it, but I enjoy building wheels. Most of the wheels in my garage are 'built by Mike' (tm) wheels. I know who to blame if something ever goes wrong.

Until I inherited a TS-2 I built wheels on a folding Minoura stand. ...which wasn't even straight! Get a dishing tool and some spoke wrenches and have at it.

For me, the trickiest part's always getting the logo on the hub to line up with the valve hole. There's gotta be a trick, I just don't know what it is.

M

32 hole/3 cross..4 holes forward or back for the first dropped spoke..36h..3 holes..28, 2 cross 2 holes..

[shovelhd]

Back in the day of Record freewheel hubs and GL280 rims I built the wheels for myself and my team. Rock solid. I learned in the shop I worked in part time and then by doing. Never had a failure. Things are more complicated now with deep carbon rims and nipples on strings so I have left it to others. I may try it again sometime. I do maintain my existing wheels using a tensionometer, 80's Minoura truing stand and dish tool.

[Tony T]

Gee thanks. I posted because I'd like to hear from people here who build their own and trust the wheels they've built. I've watched plenty of YouTube videos, there are a few very good ones.

Gee, I would not have wasted my time with you had you mentioned that :)

I know that you could build a set just by using a bike frame and a spoke wrench, but is that wise?

No. Invest in the proper tools.

[fuzzalow]

So far, I have never bought a pre-built wheel. Since the wheels that came OEM on my first 10-speed bike in the 70's, every wheel I have ever ridden has been made by me. As a high schooler back then, I built by imitation of any other wheel and understanding the theory necessary for designing the wheel was nowhere yet in the picture. All this predates Jobst's book which was is, and remains, the essential tome on wheel building. So read his book.

For me, the trickiest part's always getting the logo on the hub to line up with the valve hole. There's gotta be a trick, I just don't know what it is.

As you know how many spoke crossings will be used on the wheel, that defines the amount of rotational offset for the hub relative to the rim. Pick the right hole in the hub flange that matches the offset you need to line up the logo with the rim valve hole while having a the starter spoke inserted to the rim (usually the spoke next to the valve hole). On a new hub this is easy because you can pick any hole on the flange. With an old hub lining up the logo may be off by a hole because the spoke lacing needs to be matched from the prior build done to the hub.

[Netdewt]

You guys are awesome. Thanks for the level headed advice.

If I can find someone willing to show me the ropes, that would be ideal. But I hate to impose.

Of the things 'bike', it one of the last 'artisian' type things in bicycles. Design, build..more than sum of the parts..Very satisfying for me..after almost 30 years..the thing I enjoy the most.

Jobst book and this one..

Black Park spoke wrench, decent truing stand..patience..maybe a LBS that can check tension(altho Jobst talks about tension). Try a standard front wheel first..32 hole, 3 cross. Cheap hub, rim, spokes, lace, build..not hard(altho it CAN be difficult).

That is exactly how I imagine it. With a lot of long distance help from thirdgenbird I built a bike this winter, and it is a great feeling. For such a simple machine, the bicycle is something totally different than its parts. Wheels seem like the next phase of that experience.

Now I'm more slowly collecting parts and building a second bike. On the first one I bought Campy Zondas from a member here. This one is going to be more of an SUV/rando/commuter, and it seems like the perfect opportunity to build wheels if I can find the tools to use.

The plan is 10 sp Campy or Miche hubs, 32h 3 cross. Open Pro, A23, or TB14 rims, double butted spokes, brass nipples.

[gomango]

I've got a couple of sets of Campy 10 speed hubs here. I think I have a set of Records and a set of Centaur/Daytonas. Both are very nice.

You would only have to drive to St. Paul to pick them up. :)

You guys are awesome. Thanks for the level headed advice.

If I can find someone willing to show me the ropes, that would be ideal. But I hate to impose.



That is exactly how I imagine it. With a lot of long distance help from thirdgenbird I built a bike this winter, and it is a great feeling. For such a simple machine, the bicycle is something totally different than its parts. Wheels seem like the next phase of that experience.

Now I'm more slowly collecting parts and building a second bike. On the first one I bought Campy Zondas from a member here. This one is going to be more of an SUV/rando/commuter, and it seems like the perfect opportunity to build wheels if I can find the tools to use.

The plan is 10 sp Campy or Miche hubs, 32h 3 cross. Open Pro, A23, or TB14 rims, double butted spokes, brass nipples.

[Davist]

Another ex bmx-er here, started building as a kid..

Like the OP, I wanted a project this (seemingly endless) winter and decided to build some wheels for the first time in about 20 years. Last time was a 48 spoke 5x 20" wheel!

Ended up going with H plus Son Archetypes with supplies from bike hub store for some bargain "ardennes" in 24/28. I used my bike for the alignment, youtube and sheldon brown for the lacing (2x front 3x rear) and they came out extremely well, I'm very pleased. Highly recommend this! enjoy it.

[Matfam]

I think I have built or rebuilt 3 or 4 wheels now and trued dozens more. I have about $60.00 invested in tools, here's my list
DIY stand
DIY dish tool
DIY nipple starter
DIY nipple driver
DIY ERD spokes
Park tension meter
Park spoke wrenches.

Because I am willing to invest the time, I do a better job with my "Done In Yard" equipment than many LBS mechanics do. It may help that I have been turning wrenches and fabricating for 20 years.



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