John Henderson wrote:
> "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
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