Custom Wheel Builders

[Kralen]

Any recommendations?

[Bonefishblues]

What are you looking for?

[Kralen]

Looking for a good set of wheels for a road bike (Bianchi Aria).

[mattsccm]

Plenty of decent people on line but I would be asking in my local decent bike shop or the local club.

[althebike]

I used wheelsmith, in Scotland for a while, good wheels but the ones I liked were getting expensive. I am using Borg wheels now, and they seem bullet proof.

[Ant...]

Dave Hunt at DCR wheels, I've had three different sets off him, very good wheels. Have a chat with him and he'll tell you whats right for whatever you want them for. 01273 477 722 dcrwheels.co.uk

[kwackers]

Dave Hunt at DCR wheels, I've had three different sets off him, very good wheels. Have a chat with him and he'll tell you whats right for whatever you want them for. 01273 477 722 dcrwheels.co.uk

He did my current pair of wheels, I've put about 30k miles on them and never had so much as a loose spoke.
Rims are looking a bit shot these days so I'll probably get another set off him.

[chris_suffolk]

Where are you based? Madgetts of Diss (south Norfolk) have an excellent reputation for wheel building, and you can choose your hubs, spokes and rims. I've had 2 pairs from them, and no complaints with either set.

[Retour64]

Have a go yourself. I have built a limited number of wheels with the help of online spoke calculators. The thing I have noticed most is that I have to true them much less than machine built wheels once they are being used.
The added advantage is that you lose the fear of upending the bike on a tour and replacing a spoke, but come to think of it, I have never had to replace a spoke on one of my home-built monstrosities.

[geomannie]

Have a go yourself. I have built a limited number of wheels with the help of online spoke calculators. The thing I have noticed most is that I have to true them much less than machine built wheels once they are being used.
The added advantage is that you lose the fear of upending the bike on a tour and replacing a spoke, but come to think of it, I have never had to replace a spoke on one of my home-built monstrosities.

+1 I amazed that the few wheels I built myself need far less truing than OEM wheels. Plus, as Retour64 says it removes the fear of having a go if they need a repair

[Mick F]

I've been building my own since 2006.
Re-rims, new complete wheels, and truing and re-dishing - the lot.

It's far easier than you think. First time I tried, was back in the early 1980s where I had a couple of old wheels available. I pulled one completely apart, then re-built it using the other wheel as a pattern piece. Never needed the skill acquired for years after that, but it gave me the confidence to do it when I needed to.

Highly recommended.

[De Sisti]

It's far easier than you think.

Yes, but how do you work out what spoke pattern to use? What about calculating spoke length?
Are the spokes on either side of wheel the same type. Surely, it can't be that easy?

[AM7]

It's far easier than you think.

Yes, but how do you work out what spoke pattern to use? What about calculating spoke length?
Are the spokes on either side of wheel the same type. Surely, it can't be that easy?

You buy Roger Mussen's wheelbuilding e-book for £9 which tells you everything you need to know. There are plenty of spoke lengths calculators available, eg. https://leonard.io/edd/

It really is easier than it looks.

[Mick F]

Read this forum for one thing.
Loadsa pages about it.
IMHO, find a scrap wheel and play with it as a first step.

Front wheels are easy. Pick the best spokes you can find double or triple butted in stainless. Usually three cross.
Rear wheels not so easy, but the same procedure. Pick plain gauge for the drive side and the same as the front for the non-drive side. Again, usually three cross.

Buy your rims and buy your hubs and measure them carefully, and also look online at spoke length calculators. They list common rims and common hubs, so you can confirm what you find with their figures. When you're happy, buy your spokes.
Try these for instance.
https://leonard.io/edd/
https://www.wheelpro.co.uk/spokecalc/

Sheldon Brown has a good page about building.
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html

[kwackers]

It really is easier than it looks.

I'm sure it is.

How much time does it save though? I've a big enough bucket of round tuits as is...