Cycling UK Forum

I don’t know much about wheel building other than what I have read recently.

I need a pair of 406 size wheels for a folder and I like the look of this 16-spoke X1 wheel for the front:

http://www.bikesmithdesign.com/Paul/16x1wheel.jpg

Looks easy to lace but would it be difficult to get enough tension, or the right tension? And what would be the tension?

I am looking at a Velocity Aeroheat 32-hole rim and a 32-hole hub.

Could you use a 16-hole hub? Hard to visualize what it would look like.

Do you think this would be easier or more difficult for a first attempt?

Thank you for reading.

Conventional wheels are just that...conventional....because decades of experience have shown that they work, and the parts are all made to be used....guess what?....conventionally.
Many hubs carry warnings against radial lacing, as it puts too much strain on the spoke flange. Using fewer spokes than the design number will do the same.
Rims with 32 holes will be strong enough if they are supported at regular intervals by 32 spokes. Half the number of spokes may not be a good idea.
For a front wheel, an experienced builder who knows how to balance the tension might get away with it.
For a first attempt at wheelbuilding, I think you should stick to conventional wheels, where you can calculate the spoke length needed and many people are able to help and advise.

That isnt much good if you actually need a 20" wheel. At least it isnt dished.

406 wheels can possibly get away with fewer spokes as they are closer together at the rim, also they dont like as many crossings as the spokes then get a severe bend in them you also have to watch out for excessive angles of the nipples or worse the spokes entering the nipples.

For those reasons you are tending more towards the radial or lower crossing numbers, I have 3 cross 406 wheels and they have some pretty kinky spokes and nipples in them. I enjoyed typing that.

I will take your advice and go for something more conventional. It’s just that I want them light, and low spoke rims and hubs (20h/24h) seem hard to source.

I fancied the Velocity Aeroheat rims but they are only available in 32h and 36h as far as I can see.

Foldingbikes.co.uk can make me a set of 20” 406 wheels with 20h and 28h using Velocity Razor rims and Hope Pro 3 hubs but that rim is very narrow at 20mm and I would be concerned about difficulty in fitting and removing tyres.

Thank you for your replies.

Try some of the European recumbent parts places. There's a couple of low spoke count wheels here, for example.

As for a 20mm wide rim being 'narrow', I presume you are referring to the external width? What width tyres do you plan to use?

Thank you for that useful link squeaker.

Some people have complained that mounting and dismounting tyres, on 20” 406 wheels, with narrow Velocty Razor rims is extremely difficult with reports of tyre/tube and lever damage. Apparently the wider Aeroheat rim doesn’t present this problem.

michael432000 wrote:Some people have complained that mounting and dismounting tyres, on 20” 406 wheels, with narrow Velocty Razor rims is extremely difficult with reports of tyre/tube and lever damage. Apparently the wider Aeroheat rim doesn’t present this problem.

I couldn't find the Razor section on the Velocity site, but IME it's the depth of the rim well that's relevant, not so much the width. If anyone has tyre fitting problems I always direct them to colin531's excellent video

That was a very useful and well-presented video. Another trick I use is to mount one side of a new tyre on the rim and then lever it off before turning it around and mounting tyre and inner tube properly.

Velocity Razor profile (shallow depth compared to Aeroheat):

http://store.velocityusa.com/p/razor-700c-msw

Cyclenut wrote:My method is also very tidy......But you do need a part-open drawer to support the rim, and maybe not everyone has one of those?

I used a vice...
but misunderstood a bit and fitted all the inside spokes in one go ...
I removed a few inside spoke's nipples (one at a time) at the end to avoid too much bending so was OK.

michael432000 wrote:I don’t know much about wheel building other than what I have read recently.

I need a pair of 406 size wheels for a folder...

I am looking at a Velocity Aeroheat 32-hole rim and a 32-hole hub...….

Could you use a 16-hole hub? Hard to visualize what it would look like.

Do you think this would be easier or more difficult for a first attempt?.

16 spoke wheels for a first wheel build? Naah, wouldn't be my first choice, that.


My advice; in 406 (20") you may as well go with 28h wheels for medium duty applications and consider 32h or 36h as alternatives (eg if the hubs you want to use are not available in 28h or you are planning on carrying a big load).

BTW the spokes in a 28h 406 rim are slightly closer together than those in a 36h 622 wheel, so 28h 406 wheels are pretty strong.

cheers