what's the best way to learn wheel building?
- Thread starter Strelok
- Start date
the best way is not to do it at all !! because it is so hard to do.
So many factors to keep in mind and to learn how to do,
there a couple of posters here who can help you better since they know and have experience in those handicraft skills,
but yes the video one looks better, it is always easier to learn by watching rather than by reading,
So many factors to keep in mind and to learn how to do,
there a couple of posters here who can help you better since they know and have experience in those handicraft skills,
but yes the video one looks better, it is always easier to learn by watching rather than by reading,
Can you true your wheels? This critical aspect of wheel building can be well learned in maintaining you current wheels. Tensioning, lateral and radial truing, and on the rear wheel dishing, are the real skill aspects of wheel building. Stringing, selecting components(EG. spoke lengths) is largely a matter of formula. Sheldon Brown's article will tell you what you will need to do. http://sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html
It's not rocket science - heck, even I can do it.
At a push you can even build a wheel and true it in a bike frame - a skill that's useful if you dig riding offroad and smash a rim into a rock. Grab another rim of the same dimensions from the local bike shop and just transfer the rim over. A very useful skill that can save a training week if you've travelled away from home.
Jobst Brandt's The Bicycle Wheel is a great book on the subject. Sheldon's article linked about has all the main points as well as plenty of hints and tips. Jobst has a novel method for getting the spoke tension correct. It's a little daunting at first... Tighter? Really? LOL.
For a first wheel I'd go with 36 spokes, a rim from a reputable manufacturer - like Mavic and one with double eyelets, just because it's a little easier and easier is good the first time around. 3x lacing. Do it half way right and it'll be as strong if not stronger than wheels like Mavic's Ksyrium SL. Front wheels are a tad easier, start with that first. Riding it for a while and see what happens... Please don't build something silly like a 36 spoke wheel with radial spoke lacing - you'll likely break the hub flanges if you tension the wheel nice and tight and then ride down a nice pothole or two. Losing spoke tension to a few spokes at once makes things very interesting and thankfully I've never experienced it first hand as the loss of skin looked rather painful.
Don't skimp on prep work. Little things like spoke prep or loctite (used not for holding the nipple but allowing for ease of future truing and keeping the crud out) pay dividends in the long run. My all time favorite builder, Paul Hewitt in North West England, used to use nail polish to do the same job. A dab of oil on the inside of the eyelets can help too.
Some skilled builders use cordless drills to thread spoke nipples and take up alot of the initial slack. I'd stick to using a regular screwdriver (a philips head ground down - as described in Sheldons article) and count the number of turns on each spoke. You're looking for consistency - so don't use your fingers to thread the first dozen spoke nipples and then use the screwdriver only when you have too. You'll likely screw the first batch of spoke nipples on further due to them having a smaller outside diameter than your screwdriver...
The first wheel or two you'll build fine - at somepoint you'll probably make the classic error of crossing the spokes over the valve hole or something as equally dumb.
At a push you can even build a wheel and true it in a bike frame - a skill that's useful if you dig riding offroad and smash a rim into a rock. Grab another rim of the same dimensions from the local bike shop and just transfer the rim over. A very useful skill that can save a training week if you've travelled away from home.
Jobst Brandt's The Bicycle Wheel is a great book on the subject. Sheldon's article linked about has all the main points as well as plenty of hints and tips. Jobst has a novel method for getting the spoke tension correct. It's a little daunting at first... Tighter? Really? LOL.
For a first wheel I'd go with 36 spokes, a rim from a reputable manufacturer - like Mavic and one with double eyelets, just because it's a little easier and easier is good the first time around. 3x lacing. Do it half way right and it'll be as strong if not stronger than wheels like Mavic's Ksyrium SL. Front wheels are a tad easier, start with that first. Riding it for a while and see what happens... Please don't build something silly like a 36 spoke wheel with radial spoke lacing - you'll likely break the hub flanges if you tension the wheel nice and tight and then ride down a nice pothole or two. Losing spoke tension to a few spokes at once makes things very interesting and thankfully I've never experienced it first hand as the loss of skin looked rather painful.
Don't skimp on prep work. Little things like spoke prep or loctite (used not for holding the nipple but allowing for ease of future truing and keeping the crud out) pay dividends in the long run. My all time favorite builder, Paul Hewitt in North West England, used to use nail polish to do the same job. A dab of oil on the inside of the eyelets can help too.
Some skilled builders use cordless drills to thread spoke nipples and take up alot of the initial slack. I'd stick to using a regular screwdriver (a philips head ground down - as described in Sheldons article) and count the number of turns on each spoke. You're looking for consistency - so don't use your fingers to thread the first dozen spoke nipples and then use the screwdriver only when you have too. You'll likely screw the first batch of spoke nipples on further due to them having a smaller outside diameter than your screwdriver...
The first wheel or two you'll build fine - at somepoint you'll probably make the classic error of crossing the spokes over the valve hole or something as equally dumb.
Not hard but can be difficult. Get Jobst book, Gerd Schraners book, Art of Wheelbuilding, get a front 32 or 36 hole hub, rims, double butted spokes and give it a fly. How most of us who build wheels started. VERY satisfying, interesting, challenging. For me even after 26 years of building wheels. Something I really enjoy.
You are going to need to get the proper equipment too. You will need a truing stand for both the front and back wheels and a dishing tool for the back wheel. If you can get a centering truing stand, you won't need the dishing tool as long as you ensure that the rim remains centered in relation to the overall width of the hub.
I built my first wheel, a front, using just the the bike. The brakes make a good guide to lateral true and I used masking tape between the fork blades to check roundness. Years and thousands of miles later, it is as true as any of my wheels that I built, or serviced on the the truing stand I now have.
A truing stand is a nice to have item - but not critical.
A truing stand is a nice to have item - but not critical.
FWIW. In lieu of having someone who knows how to build wheels standing at your shoulder, looking at a standard 32x3 or 36x3 wheel AND reading Sheldon Brown's explanation until it makes sense should be an adequate FIRST STEP for most people ...
Then take your spoke wrench(es) -- usually BLACK "handled" for DT nipples & usually GREEN "handled" for most other nipple sizes -- and UNLACE a(ny) front wheel that you may have which has 28 spokes, or more ...
Loosen each nipple by only a half-turn-to-full-turn ... that is, incrementally ... best if you divide the wheel in roughly thirds so that for a 36 spoke wheel you would loosen ONE spoke, then count 13 & loosen THAT spoke, then count 13 & loosen the subsequent spoke, etc UNTIL there is no tension in the spokes ... then loosen the nipples completely from the spokes, unlace the hub ...
And then, relace the front wheel ...
Retension the front wheel by incrementally tightening the nipples ...
True the front wheel.
Look at where the hole for the nipple is. Ideally, it is NOT located within a cluster of four spokes.
Repeat as needed -- WAX ON, WAX OFF -- until you feel comfortable lacing a wheel ...
If you don't know the ERD (effective rim diameter) of the rim, then a [COLOR= #ff0000]metric tape measure[/COLOR] is an asset because you will want that information when you use one of the on-line spoke calculators to determine the ideal spoke lengh for the particular wheel & hub combination.
A [COLOR= #ff0000]tensiometer[/COLOR] is a benefit to ensuring that the tension on the spokes is as close to equal as possible on a non-disc front wheel AND as close to equal on each side of a rear wheel or a disc front wheel, but a tensiometer is not necessary if you have a good ear; but, a buying a tensiometer is probably a better way for you to spend you money instead of any of the books/videos or a truing stand (as maydog has noted, a truing stand is not necessary) .
Most rear wheels use two different length spokes. Since I have't read either Jobst Brandt's or Gerd Schraner's book so I do not know if they provide any clues-or-tips for tensioning the spokes on the rear wheel. I learned how to build my own wheels before either book was published. The process that 'I' use may be what they may suggest ...
BTW. My impression is that 99.9% of the people who read this-and-other Forums embrace double-butted spokes. I think (and, have previously stated) that recommending-and/or-using double-butted spokes is a religion which is based on a myth which is based on a misunderstanding of what makes a good wheel, so I recommend straight 14 gauge spokes.
Then take your spoke wrench(es) -- usually BLACK "handled" for DT nipples & usually GREEN "handled" for most other nipple sizes -- and UNLACE a(ny) front wheel that you may have which has 28 spokes, or more ...
Loosen each nipple by only a half-turn-to-full-turn ... that is, incrementally ... best if you divide the wheel in roughly thirds so that for a 36 spoke wheel you would loosen ONE spoke, then count 13 & loosen THAT spoke, then count 13 & loosen the subsequent spoke, etc UNTIL there is no tension in the spokes ... then loosen the nipples completely from the spokes, unlace the hub ...
And then, relace the front wheel ...
Retension the front wheel by incrementally tightening the nipples ...
True the front wheel.
Look at where the hole for the nipple is. Ideally, it is NOT located within a cluster of four spokes.
Repeat as needed -- WAX ON, WAX OFF -- until you feel comfortable lacing a wheel ...
If you don't know the ERD (effective rim diameter) of the rim, then a [COLOR= #ff0000]metric tape measure[/COLOR] is an asset because you will want that information when you use one of the on-line spoke calculators to determine the ideal spoke lengh for the particular wheel & hub combination.
A [COLOR= #ff0000]tensiometer[/COLOR] is a benefit to ensuring that the tension on the spokes is as close to equal as possible on a non-disc front wheel AND as close to equal on each side of a rear wheel or a disc front wheel, but a tensiometer is not necessary if you have a good ear; but, a buying a tensiometer is probably a better way for you to spend you money instead of any of the books/videos or a truing stand (as maydog has noted, a truing stand is not necessary) .
Most rear wheels use two different length spokes. Since I have't read either Jobst Brandt's or Gerd Schraner's book so I do not know if they provide any clues-or-tips for tensioning the spokes on the rear wheel. I learned how to build my own wheels before either book was published. The process that 'I' use may be what they may suggest ...
- I once considered it to be tedious to tension an asymmetrically dished rear wheel when compared to tensioning a front wheel, but now it is about the same for me.
BTW. My impression is that 99.9% of the people who read this-and-other Forums embrace double-butted spokes. I think (and, have previously stated) that recommending-and/or-using double-butted spokes is a religion which is based on a myth which is based on a misunderstanding of what makes a good wheel, so I recommend straight 14 gauge spokes.
Any company that makes rims should be able to give you the ERD for a given rim. Likewise, you can email just about any wheel builder and ask them. I think most wheel builders will happily give out an ERD. If a hub manufacturer doesn't give out the proper flange distance and pitch circle dimensions, they're either out of business or they're making a hub not worth using. DT Swiss offers a spoke length calculator as does quite a few other websites.
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