Excellent video: How To Build Bicycle Wheels the Easy Way

[fiamme red]

I just found this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUqul03hbZ8. Unfortunately, it's interrupted by too many YouTube commercials. I've never built a wheel before, but after watching the video, I'm thinking that I may try it.

Jim Langley wrote about the video on his blog:

http://jimlangley.blogspot.com/2020/...eo-how-to.html

While I don’t work retail anymore, I still get requests to teach people how to build wheels. Since 1999, I’ve had a couple of fairly long how-to’s on my personal bicycle website that show all the steps. I typically have pointed folks to these stories as a way to learn. They’re popular pages and I know they’ve helped lots of people build wheels.

But, wheel building is a detailed process and it’s easy to get lost in long mostly text documents. So, I decided some time ago to try to capture it on video - essentially everything I taught to my beginner students at the shop and class back when. I believe the way I teach it is a relatively easy method to learn to build wheels. Plus, because I actually show you with my hands and you can watch over my shoulder you will get it once you try it.

Today I’m happy to share with you the final video. It’s the result of over 60 hours of work and includes every tip and trick I know to make the job doable for anyone. It’s about an hour long so a lot to watch. But, as a YouTube video it’s watchable however and wherever you want (on a cellphone in your home bike shop, for example). And you can pause and rewind as needed.

If you’ve always wanted to learn to build bike wheels, I hope my video lets you do that. And, as I say on camera, I’m happy to help if you need it. Enjoy the show and please let me know how your wheels come out if you build a set!

[makoti]

You can do it. I learned to build from a series he did for Bicycling years and years ago.

[oldpotatoe]

Interesting video, didn't watch the whole thing but generally I agree with how he does things(not that I'm here to critique his video).

Interesting that the first 1/2 of the video is on lacing..when building a wheel, that thing that takes 5 minutes in a 60 minute wheelbuild..

BUT, for those who are brand new to wheelbuilding..and I was one in 1985. I went to a night school on bike wrenching, last 2, 4 hour sessions were wheelbuilding and we built our own wheel. So..yup, build your own wheel.

And yes, the first 60 minutes of my school was how to lace the wheel..

BUT, comparing to a built wheel for tension...I guess if you have a wheel that doesn't go out of true, and compare the one you built to that, tension wise...plucking and 'feel'....don't agree with that. Different spoke gauges, different rims, lacings, etc...hard to beat just getting a consumer level tension meter..The guy that taught me(Mike Jordan, Colley Ave Bike Shop, Norfolk, VA), used a Wheelsmith tension meter.

BUT, 'probably' adequate for your first wheel, 'just to see'..just squeezing, comparing and 'plucking'..which DOES measure tension even-ness, a way important variable.

BUT, nice video, thanks. Wheelbuilding is maybe one of the last 2, small 'a' artisan things left in 'bikes'. The other, a large 'A' gig, frame building.

The only other 2 gripes are his work bench WAY too clean and needs a Campagnolo spoken here, not a shimaNo sticker..

[chrisroph]

Best way to build a wheel is to have somebody who has built a lot of wheels build it for you. I'm glad I don't have to ride the first 10 I built. Of course I agree with Peter that a tensiometer is invaluable when building a wheel. Trying to gauge tension by plucking, determining how difficult it is to turn spokes, or looking at how many threads are showing during the lacing process are all factors in the build but are not accurate evidence of tension.

[mhespenheide]

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

Different spoke gauges, different rims, lacings, etc...hard to beat just getting a consumer level tension meter..The guy that taught me(Mike Jordan, Colley Ave Bike Shop, Norfolk, VA), used a Wheelsmith tension meter.

Shout out to Colley Avenue Bike Shop, the first place I bought a real racing bike, while visiting my grandparents in 1990 or so.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by mhespenheide

Shout out to Colley Avenue Bike Shop, the first place I bought a real racing bike, while visiting my grandparents in 1990 or so.

Wonder if 'East Coast Bikes' or 'Local Bike Shop' is the old Colley Ave bike shop..don't remember the address..

[joeminglin]

Lacing is the toughest part the first time esp which direction to rotate the hub and which side to start ur first spoke. Everything is easier with quality parts and the right tools (trueing stand, dishing tool and tension meter)

[unterhausen]

No good, he didn't line up the logo to the valve hole, which everyone tells me is the only way you can tell if a wheel is built properly or not.


I always put the head-in spoke that lines up on the other side of the valve hole second. Seems to save me a lot of trouble, plus I have been doing that for 45 years, no reason to change.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by unterhausen

No good, he didn't line up the logo to the valve hole, which everyone tells me is the only way you can tell if a wheel is built properly or not.

I see this on other wheels all the time and actually got into a shouting match with a dude from Wisconsin about it. BUT, it is SO easy to do..if this very easy and small item is ignored, gotta wonder what else about the build was ignored..like even tension.... Or the part, 'my hands are calibrated'..which is laughable.

[unterhausen]

I watched the lacing part to see if he did address the valve hole silliness since so many people are obsessed over it. I was a bit surprised he didn't at least mention it. I do humor those people. I guess you can't check the tension, so looking at the valve hole is something anyway.

The thing that bothers me is the hub manufacturers don't understand quality wheels at all and the logo is never quite lined up with spoke holes in a way that makes it centered in the valve hole. Not to mention the difficulty of lining up "this hub was manufactured for Peter J. White." It's enough to make me want to set up an account with Rene Herse, at least their Son dynos don't say they were built for Jan Heine.

I saw an internet post where a guy had totally messed up the lacing. Every 4th spoke was too long. But he posted a picture of the logo lined up with the valve hole. Congratulations, you can count to 4. With a little study you can get a job breaking down boxes at 7-11

[Mark McM]

Originally Posted by unterhausen

No good, he didn't line up the logo to the valve hole, which everyone tells me is the only way you can tell if a wheel is built properly or not.

That's a nice feature, but it's hardly a guarantee one way or the other. You can perfectly line up the logo to the valve, and still have a poorly built wheel (I've seen a few of these).

Interestingly, this feature is becoming harder to achieve these days, as the number of spokes in the typical wheel is decreasing. Crossed spokes and rims with angled spoke holes restricts the orientation of the spokes next to the valve, which in turn restricts the rotational orientation of the hub. For a 36 spoke wheel, there are 18 possible orientations of the hub, 20 degrees apart. So depending on the location of the hub logo, the logo could be up to +/-10 degrees off from the valve hole. But in the last few years most of my wheels have had much fewer than 36 spokes. On a 24 spoke wheel, the logo may only be +/- 15 degrees from the valve, and on a 20 spoke wheel, you might be able to orient the logo only +/- 18 degrees from the valve.

[Gummee]

Originally Posted by Mark McM

That's a nice feature, but it's hardly a guarantee one way or the other. You can perfectly line up the logo to the valve, and still have a poorly built wheel (I've seen a few of these).

Interestingly, this feature is becoming harder to achieve these days, as the number of spokes in the typical wheel is decreasing. Crossed spokes and rims with angled spoke holes restricts the orientation of the spokes next to the valve, which in turn restricts the rotational orientation of the hub. For a 36 spoke wheel, there are 18 possible orientations of the hub, 20 degrees apart. So depending on the location of the hub logo, the logo could be up to +/-10 degrees off from the valve hole. But in the last few years most of my wheels have had much fewer than 36 spokes. On a 24 spoke wheel, the logo may only be +/- 15 degrees from the valve, and on a 20 spoke wheel, you might be able to orient the logo only +/- 18 degrees from the valve.

You're overthinking this. The logo lines up with the hole if you start in the same place every time. The key spoke is at about 2 o'clock on the hub away from the logo.

On the 28h DT Swiss hubs I've been building lately, that's 4 holes clockwise off the logo

M

[Mark McM]

Originally Posted by Gummee

You're overthinking this. The logo lines up with the hole if you start in the same place every time. The key spoke is at about 2 o'clock on the hub away from the logo.

How closely the logo lines up with the hole depends on where the hub manufacturer puts the logo relative to the spoke holes in the flange. On a 24 spoke wheel, the logo could be placed so that it may be not be possible to align it any closer than The15 degrees from the valve hole, and there's nothing the wheelbuilder can do about that (without mis-lacing the wheel). For wheels with 24 spokes or less, the best the wheel builder might be able to do is to the get the logo in the same semi-quadrant as the valve.

[unterhausen]

Originally Posted by Mark McM

How closely the logo lines up with the hole depends on where the hub manufacturer puts the logo relative to the spoke holes in the flange.

You gave the relation in your previous post, which I appreciate. The position of the logo is uniformly distributed and can be fairly far off on a 32 hole rim, much less on something with fewer spokes. My last hope hub was near the maximum misalignment possible, which drives me crazy. It so close to halfway in between the two spoke locations that I even tried it with the key spoke over one to verify I had it right.

I insist that well built wheels have the logo lined up 180 degrees away from the valve hole, but that's not the way someone arbitrarily decided it should be. I hope that my wheels have tires on them, so you can't see through the valve hole.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by Gummee

You're overthinking this. The logo lines up with the hole if you start in the same place every time. The key spoke is at about 2 o'clock on the hub away from the logo.

On the 28h DT Swiss hubs I've been building lately, that's 4 holes clockwise off the logo

M

Nope, 10 oclock(outside pulling or head in, rotate the hub left)..and 4 holes for 3 cross, 32, 3 for 3 cross, 36...4 for 28h, 3 cross..blah, blah..

Point is, it's not tough to do. Thing thing I don't get is when the rim label is pointing to the left side of the bike..should point right..as you look at the bike and drive train...->>