Wheel building

For discussions about bikes and equipment.
User avatar
warey4life
Posts: 85
Joined: 5 Apr 2021, 8:08am

Wheel building

Post by warey4life »

Hi all,

I have a rough bearing on my road bike rear wheel and the spokes are a little corroded.
In the past I would've bought a new wheelset but I'm thinking about building my own.
Has anyone built their own wheels who can offer advice on how to start, tools etc?

👍
richardfm
Posts: 969
Joined: 15 Apr 2018, 3:17pm
Location: Cardiff, Wales

Re: Wheel building

Post by richardfm »

Richard M
Cardiff
axel_knutt
Posts: 2881
Joined: 11 Jan 2007, 12:20pm

Re: Wheel building

Post by axel_knutt »

“I'm not upset that you lied to me, I'm upset that from now on I can't believe you.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche
Jamesh
Posts: 2963
Joined: 2 Jan 2017, 5:56pm

Re: Wheel building

Post by Jamesh »

Yeap a couple of pairs during covid.

First of all buy your new hub.

Then measure your spoke lengths and order.

Finally disassemble your wheel and rebuild.

The best way is to learn the theory using the book above, you tube, weight weenies wheel thread....

Once your up to speed to can work out where your going wrong. You wil make mistakes but you can usually rectify them. The worst that can happen is a spoke snaps so get a few extra.
User avatar
bikes4two
Posts: 1306
Joined: 12 Jan 2010, 10:14pm
Location: SE Hampshire, UK

Re: Wheel building

Post by bikes4two »

  • I only build occasionally - maybe half a dozen wheels over 10 years, so defo not an expert.
  • and for me the WheelPro book has served me well and I've made up the cheap truing stand and other tools using the designs in the book.
  • I used to get my spokes from Rose Bikes at a favourable price, but Brexit has bu**ered that up - where else can I get spokes at a fair price these days - anyone?
Without my stoker, every trip would only be half a journey
User avatar
SimonCelsa
Posts: 1232
Joined: 6 Apr 2011, 10:19pm

Re: Wheel building

Post by SimonCelsa »

Another recommendation for the Wheelpro book and constructing the basic truing stand out of MDF.

A good source of cheap spokes is Cyclebasket.com : https://www.cyclebasket.com/m9b0s454p0/ ... _-_Silver_

I've built probably a dozen or so wheels with ACI spokes and haven't yet had any problems. I'm by no means an expert and still consult the Wheelpro book for every build. There is no particular dark art to wheelbuilding, just be patient and methodical.
PT1029
Posts: 1744
Joined: 16 Apr 2012, 9:20pm

Re: Wheel building

Post by PT1029 »

Sources mentioned above are good. 3 ponts,
Getting the orientation of the 1st spoke is important - it helps if you have a clear mental picture of how the spokes orientation look when you have finished the wheel.
If you have rim brakes, check the wall thickness of the braking surface, rims don't last as long as they used to, lighter - so thiner - rims and more effective bake pads which may/may not wear the rims quicker.

Also you need to use a spoke length calculator to get the correct spoke lengths. If the same rim and a geometrically identical hub are used, then you can use the same length spokes as originally used.
mattsccm
Posts: 5101
Joined: 28 Nov 2009, 9:44pm

Re: Wheel building

Post by mattsccm »

Sheldon Brown has fool proof instructions.
User avatar
simonineaston
Posts: 8003
Joined: 9 May 2007, 1:06pm
Location: ...at a cricket ground

Re: Wheel building

Post by simonineaston »

Take photos, obs.
S
(on the look out for Armageddon, on board a Brompton nano & ever-changing Moultons)
User avatar
geomannie
Posts: 1093
Joined: 13 May 2009, 6:07pm

Re: Wheel building

Post by geomannie »

warey4life wrote: 29 May 2022, 10:41pm Hi all,

I have a rough bearing on my road bike rear wheel and the spokes are a little corroded.
In the past I would've bought a new wheelset but I'm thinking about building my own.
Has anyone built their own wheels who can offer advice on how to start, tools etc?

👍
I am by no means an expert but have built about 4-5 wheelsets & have trued umpteen of old wheels. The advice from others is excellent & I particularly use the WheelPro book. I even built the MDF truing stand it describes.

The only other thing I would say is beware of the perfect. While it's nice to get your own as good as possible first off, I think of my wheels as work in progress. Get them nicely trued, not necessarily perfect, ride them say a 100 miles & then re-true. They will likely have moved a bit so perhaps take time in the second truing to get them where you would ultimately want them.

It's fun. Enjoy.
geomannie
User avatar
warey4life
Posts: 85
Joined: 5 Apr 2021, 8:08am

Re: Wheel building

Post by warey4life »

Thanks, I think I'll have a go 👍
Carlton green
Posts: 3645
Joined: 22 Jun 2019, 12:27pm

Re: Wheel building

Post by Carlton green »

warey4life wrote: 29 May 2022, 10:41pm Hi all,

I have a rough bearing on my road bike rear wheel and the spokes are a little corroded.
In the past I would've bought a new wheelset but I'm thinking about building my own.
Has anyone built their own wheels who can offer advice on how to start, tools etc?

👍
This is possibly stating the obvious and if so them my apologies. I use Spokey spoke keys and would recommend them, prices vary so it’s worth while shopping around. Beware that not all spokes use the same nipple size so make sure to buy the right sized key.

Once built and in use the parts of the wheel bed into each other and your wheels will likely need to be re-trued. A wheel I built a couple of years back has stayed perfect but that’s not been my usual experience, maybe it being a hub gear wheel on a re-used alloy hub (pre-deformed spoke holes) helped.

It’s sometimes considered bad practice but when I scrap a wheel I dissemble it for spare parts some of which have later been built into ‘new’ wheels, etc. Reduce, reuse and recycle are good for the planet, and it’s saved me some money too; pre-used parts that I’ve re-used haven’t been unreliable for me but others might have different experiences.

I’m an infrequent wheel builder. I built a wheel earlier this year using the info on Sheldon’s site, I made more notes and so this time the build went quite well. Allow quite a bit of time and accept that it’s easy to make simple mistakes, patience is a wonderful thing.
Don’t fret, it’s OK to: ride a simple old bike; ride slowly, walk, rest and admire the view; ride off-road; ride in your raincoat; ride by yourself; ride in the dark; and ride one hundred yards or one hundred miles. Your bike and your choices to suit you.
DevonDamo
Posts: 1036
Joined: 24 May 2011, 1:42am

Re: Wheel building

Post by DevonDamo »

warey4life wrote: 30 May 2022, 11:07amThanks, I think I'll have a go 👍
I was in a similar position to you a couple of months ago, i.e. I had a knackered wheel-hub and wanted to build a posh set of wheels myself. I ended up using the Park Tools YouTube video, which I had absolutely no problems with. The only other thing I'd recommend is that you also look at their 'determining spoke length' video to guide you through how to use the online spoke calculators, as I found that slightly confusing the first time I tried to use one. For a stand, I just used the bike, with cable ties on the seat-stays acting as pointers. I did buy a cheapo spoke tension gauge from Amazon, and that worked really well - i.e. my wheels are true and all the spokes are within the right tension range.

I'm sure books like the WheelPro one mentioned above are worth their weight in gold to a slightly more ambitious builder than me, but if you're only intending to build one or two bog-standard wheels, then the Park Tools Janet-and-John step-by-step approach might be pitched at the right level for you:

User avatar
531colin
Posts: 16083
Joined: 4 Dec 2009, 6:56pm
Location: North Yorkshire

Re: Wheel building

Post by 531colin »

If you just want a "how to build a bike wheel" recipe, then any of the above recommendations (or any one which you like and can understand) is probably OK.
If you want to understand why you are doing what you are doing, then it probably has to be Brandt and a thorough read of this thread viewtopic.php?t=110419&hilit=screwfix for its discussion of spoke fatigue and stress-relieving.

(Brandt also has a single chapter of the "recipe" type, and if you only follow that you will build very good wheels.)
slowster
Moderator
Posts: 4629
Joined: 7 Jul 2017, 10:37am

Re: Wheel building

Post by slowster »

DevonDamo wrote: 30 May 2022, 12:08pm I'm sure books like the WheelPro one mentioned above are worth their weight in gold to a slightly more ambitious builder than me, but if you're only intending to build one or two bog-standard wheels, then the Park Tools Janet-and-John step-by-step approach might be pitched at the right level for you:
The Wheelpro book is a better step by step guide for a complete novice, and contains some very useful information and guidance which you do not get from the Park Tool videos.
Post Reply