Originally posted by John Henderson
"K&C Russell" wrote:
> I think you need to be patient and able to follow
> directions (Sheldon Brown or Jobst Brandt "The Bicycle
> Wheel").
I've been building my own wheels (infrequently, as the need
has arisen) for 25 years.
But having read many of Jobst's articles, I'd really like to
get a copy of his book. Does anyone know of someone with
stock of /The Bicycle Wheel/ (preferably Australian)?
John
I got a copy off a friend, and I have to say, he's incredibly opinionated. There are better manuals for those of us who are just starting out. Rob Van der Plas is a good author to start with, Sheldon Brown is fun (but also a bit opinionated), and if you can get hold of Ian Christie's crusty old hand-illustrated tome, that's where I first cut my teeth.
The most important thing in building good wheels is trying to get EVEN SPOKE TENSION. Say that five times before you go to bed, and you'll have got it. DT and others make a very expensive spoke tension gauges, but they are not necessary for the occasional set of wheels. Al the below suggestions may help you get more even spoke tension in the rear wheel, critical for longevity and low spoke breakage.
For your first set, 32 spokes per wheel, 3 cross pattern is an uncomplicated beginning. Get good spokes - DT, Sapim, Wheelsmith are readily available in Oz. Use Damon Rinard's online spoke calculator (or download his freeware Excel spreadsheet) for lengths, round them down to the nearest even mm.
DT online calculator is a disaster, which is a shame, because they are my favourite spokes.
Don't use ultra thin D/B or bladed spokes for your first wheels, tho' 2/1.8/2 mm spokes are great for ride quality and spoke longevity.
Good rims are stiff and true out of the box. 420 grams is a good weight. Eyelets, with today's alloys, aren't strictly necessary. OCR, or OSB for the rear rim, especially if you are heavy, powerful, is a good idea. Check Ritchey/Velocity/Bontrager website for details. Ritchey catalogue is a .pdf download with good information.
Ritchey Zero system hubs are also a really good idea for keeping the back wheel true, esp. if you use Campag drivetrains with their radical dishing of the rear wheel.
I am not an ad for Ritchey, although I really like their product. I also really like DT spokes and hubs (Hugi is now incorporated). Mavic rims are good, but their lighter ones crack a bit more often then I'd like.
Use really good rimtape. Velox/Zefal cloth sticky tape seems to be the best.
Lube both the heads and threads of the nipple with chainlube after you have laced the wheel up, in the truing jig. Others use DriLube, or Spoke Prep, but all seem to work equally well.
Dish the wheel (front and back), tighten, true, destress, check dish, tighten, true, destress, true, destress, final true is the rough order I use when building, then put the rimtape/tyre/tube/cassette on and go for a short ride. Have another look at the tension and roundness of the wheel after this. Retrue if necessary - you don't need to take the tyre off unless it is radically out of round.
Tighten nipples up with a close fitting spoke-key. If you need to take them to a shop post first attempt, you will annoy the mechanic no end with rounded nipples. You may need to do this. Don't be bashful - we all need bailing out of our technical malfeasances at some stage
Good on you for having a go.
MH