Wheel Builiding?

Patrick Turner

terryc wrote:
>
> On Wed, 07 May 2008 15:31:11 +0000, Patrick Turner wrote:
>
> > A truing stand is really only needed for the practised professional
> > who can build a wheel in an hour.
>
> Truing stand to me just means a large block of wood with hole to hold a
> pair of forks upright, which is then clamped to the work bench. I can
> then sit on the high stool and build/true the wheel in comfort with
> tools/drink in easy reach.

But you need to suit the front hub width and rear hub width with the
dishing.
I don't have a spare old frame or forks to use.
A keener person than I am would make their own alignment truing stand
with welded steel angles and rear/front adjustments.
I'm lazy. But then I only have to make new wheels after I have worn out
the old wheels out.
In 17 weeks, I have cycled 3,400km, ie, 200km a week, or about 10,000km
a year.
Maybe at this rate I might not have to build another wheel for 2 years.
I have 3 road bikes. 12 months ago when i changed from old fashioned
cluster cogs and
down tube shift levers to cassettes and index shifting after the ancient
rims
bought in about 1990 all cracked, I did have to make 4 new wheels, and
I hope what I have made lasts as well as the old fashioned lot did.
One bike has a Reynolds 753R frame, and it only gets a ride on sunday.
One has 531, its gets 2 rides a week, and the other with a real junky
chrome molly frame has 1 gear only, a freewheel
with 66" gear for spinning along on flat courses with slight hills.
Its still got ancient Wolbers and 36 spokes.
And Vitoria Radonneer 28mm tyres, which are the only ones that resist
thorns and most broken glass.

Might as well use the frame where the wheels are going into.

I'm using 8 speed Shimano SORA cassettes on two bikes.
I had to fiddle a bit to make the hub width fit the old steel frames;
it meant the rear hub width had to slightly reduced to suit the 125mm
between
rear fork plates, and the wheel is slightly more dished than with a 7
speed old cluster.
Anyway, it works just fine for me.

I know it hasn't much to do with wheel building, but I am also using
52 + 39 Shimano 600 crank set, with slightly non standard smallest cogs
on the cassettes. One has 28 to 13, this gives 39 : 28, and is good for
really steep long hills.
There is no Shimano 28-13 road cassette, but I altered a mountain bike 8
speed
cassette by fitting a 13/14 from a road cassette.
I have a touring 8 speed SORA compatible deraileur.
Works fine, and i didn't have to throw away too much gear when i changed
to the
cassette system which I like a lot; like playing the piano as you ride.
I used to get by at age 40 with 42:23 being my lowest gear but at 61 the
39:28
is now needed. In a few years I probably will replace crankset and chain
rings for the compact
50:34, and then the standard road cassetts will be fine.

One must reduce the gear size as one ages, because unlike juniors moving
up to seniors
and higher gearing as one strengthens, one needs to prevent knee damage
from overuse when you age.

>
> AFAIK, all a commercial truing stand has is wind in guages. Thumb works
> okay for me, but you can also bend a flat strip of metal around the forks
> and slowly work it towards the centre, if that helps for keeping them oval
> and measuring the wobbles to worked out.

I use a flat plastic tyre lever. Doesn't damage the paint.
The rims are turned to feel the out of trueness. A thumb does feel a
hump, hollow,
or sideways wobble, but once you get to the last 1/2 millimetre the
thumb isn't
good enough, and you need to swing the wheel back and forth to get the
right place to see which spoke needs maybe only 1/2 a turn.

>
> > I just have the bike turned upside down

Which allows me to sit comfortably, and see what I am doing...

Patrick Turner.


>
> BTDT.