Wheelbuilding equipment



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David Nutter

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Hello,

My next project will be turning my old 10 speed into a fixed gear bike since the drivetrain has just
about expired and I fancy something more entertaining to ride than my very practical but rather dull
"fast shopping bike".

Anyway, I want to know if anyone can recommend good and relatively cheap bits of wheelbuilding
equipment as a new rear wheel built around a Sovos flip/flop will be the first task (beyond checking
the frame is sound). I have seen the Minoura kit sold by SJSCycles and Wiggle for around 66 pounds
which incorporates jig, dishing guage and wheelbuilding booklet
(http://www.wiggle.co.uk/product_detail.asp?ProdID=4000000478) but this seems quite pricy. Certainly
stands and dish guages alone can be had for much cheaper than this but may lack some fundamental
features that I don't know about. Sheldon's pages don't seem to have a "what to look for in a
trueing stand" section.

Finally, is the Park (or equivalent) spoke tension guage worth having? Opinion seems divided on the
web pages dealing with wheel building.

Regards,

-david
 
> cheapest option is to use the frame. Put the wheel in the wrong way round to check dishing.
>
> I built my last wheel in a tent, final truing on the bike...
>

I agree. Spend the money on Jobst Brandt's book

Tony

--
http://www.raven-family.com

"I don't want any yes-men around me. I want everybody to tell me the truth even if it costs them
their job."

Samuel Goldwyn
 
David Nutter wrote:
> Anyway, I want to know if anyone can recommend good and relatively cheap bits of wheelbuilding
> equipment as a new rear wheel built around a Sovos flip/flop will be the first task (beyond
> checking the frame is sound). I have seen the Minoura kit sold by SJSCycles and Wiggle for around
> 66 pounds which incorporates jig, dishing guage and wheelbuilding booklet
> (http://www.wiggle.co.uk/product_detail.asp?ProdID=4000000478) but this seems quite pricy.

I've got one of those. It's not bad. The jig does the job but could be built sturdier and finer. All
features on it are useful (some alternatives don't have all of them) but the centering guides should
be used as a rough guide only. Therefore a dishing guage is still necessary. The Minoura's DG is
fine except it's annoying that skewer needs to be removed (don't have to do this with some other
brands). The spoke key and booklet are absolute garbage, though (worse than useless), and should be
binned immediately.

> Certainly stands and dish guages alone can be had for much cheaper than this but may lack some
> fundamental features that I don't know about.

They'll all have the basic features you need, but some will be more or less convenient to use than
others. eg. May not be able to true from both sides of the wheel without taking out and flipping.
Each may require more or less fiddling about with but should be able to build equally good wheels.

I don't regret choosing the Minoura Pro (might miss its convenience if had a more basic one), I just
wish it was better made so to be even more convenient and reliable.

> Finally, is the Park (or equivalent) spoke tension guage worth having? Opinion seems divided on
> the web pages dealing with wheel building.

A tension guage is not needed at all when it comes to getting _even_ tension (just pluck spokes and
listen to pitch instead) but one might come in handy if unsure about what tension is required in the
first place.

--
~PB FA: 62cm Ti frame: http://tinyurl.com/6stt
 
On Wed, 5 Mar 2003 18:31:55 +0000 (UTC), Pete Jones <[email protected]> wrote:

>On Wed, 5 Mar 2003 16:56:13 +0000 (UTC), David Nutter <[email protected]> blathered:
>
>>can recommend good and relatively cheap bits of wheelbuilding equipment
>
>An old pair of forks you no longer need is about as cheap as it gets....
>http://www.btinternet.com/~peteajones/SEAsia/pic4.htm
>

oh yes, i love stuff like this. does it work? course it does...and that's all you need to know.

bob


>
>Pete
>----
>http://www.btinternet.com/~peteajones/
 
David Nutter wrote:
>
> Hello,
>
> My next project will be turning my old 10 speed into a fixed gear bike since the drivetrain has
> just about expired and I fancy something more entertaining to ride than my very practical but
> rather dull "fast shopping bike".
>
> Anyway, I want to know if anyone can recommend good and relatively cheap bits of wheelbuilding
> equipment as a new rear wheel built around a Sovos flip/flop will be the first task (beyond
> checking the frame is sound). I have seen the Minoura kit sold by SJSCycles and Wiggle for around
> 66 pounds which incorporates jig, dishing guage and wheelbuilding booklet
> (http://www.wiggle.co.uk/product_detail.asp?ProdID=4000000478) but this seems quite pricy.
> Certainly stands and dish guages alone can be had for much cheaper than this but may lack some
> fundamental features that I don't know about. Sheldon's pages don't seem to have a "what to look
> for in a trueing stand" section.
>
> Finally, is the Park (or equivalent) spoke tension guage worth having? Opinion seems divided on
> the web pages dealing with wheel building.
>
> Regards,
>
> -david

get a decent spokekey (Spokey or similar)

A wheeldishing gauge doesn't need to be more than two or three identical beerglasses (sorry, turned
over works best ;) ) on a tabletop. REst the rim on the glasses and measure the height from the axle
to the tablesurface with a handy object.
--
Marten
 
On Wed, 05 Mar 2003 16:56:13 +0000, David Nutter did issue forth:

> Hello,
>
> My next project will be turning my old 10 speed into a fixed gear bike since the drivetrain has
> just about expired and I fancy something more entertaining to ride than my very practical but
> rather dull "fast shopping bike".

I'm thinking about going that way with an old MTB. Somehow the notion of whacking the pedals into my
shins *really* hard seems endearing. ;-)

> Anyway, I want to know if anyone can recommend good and relatively cheap bits of wheelbuilding
> equipment as a new rear wheel built around a Sovos flip/flop will be the first task (beyond
> checking the frame is sound). I have seen the Minoura kit sold by SJSCycles and Wiggle for around
> 66 pounds which incorporates jig, dishing guage and wheelbuilding booklet
> (http://www.wiggle.co.uk/product_detail.asp?ProdID=4000000478) but this seems quite pricy.
> Certainly stands and dish guages alone can be had for much cheaper than this but may lack some
> fundamental features that I don't know about. Sheldon's pages don't seem to have a "what to look
> for in a trueing stand" section.

The Minoura kit is pretty good. I've used the jig and the dishing stick, don't know about the book
and spoke key though.

For slightly less money, Settle Cycles will do a Park TS-7 jig with a WAG-3 dishing stick. Both are
more sturdy than their Minoura counterparts, although the jig isn't as steady on it's base as the
Minoura, but it has a couple of holes in the bottom so you could bolt it to a workbench or a lump of
wood. I find it's OK without a base, provided you don't go wild with spinning the wheel.

There's a little booklet included with the Park kit, but I didn't think much of it, and there's no
spoke key. Park spoke keys aren't bad, but I find them difficult to grip if you've got any grease on
your hands. Personally I prefer the Spokey, although these are getting a little difficult to find.

> Finally, is the Park (or equivalent) spoke tension guage worth having? Opinion seems divided on
> the web pages dealing with wheel building.

I think it pretty much falls into the "nice but nowhere near essential" category. You can build
quality wheels without one, tensiometers help you keep a consistent spoke tension with every wheel.
I might get myself one, just because I like buying tools. ;-)

That said, jigs and dishing sticks are also nice but not essential. You can build a wheel with an
upside down bike, flipping it round in the dropouts to see if it's dished.

Also in the nice to have category is a nipple driver. These just make it a bit quicker to wind the
nipple on, and get everything to vaguely the same tension at the lacing stage. They're great for
leaving on your coffee table to confuse visitors with, but unless you're deliberately out to buy a
weird tool, I wouldn't recommend getting one for the average home wheelbuilder.

In short, you need a spoke key. Everything else isn't essential.

--
Huw Pritchard Replace bounce with huw to reply by mail
 
Huw Pritchard wrote:
> On Wed, 05 Mar 2003 16:56:13 +0000, David Nutter did issue forth:

>
> Also in the nice to have category is a nipple driver. These just make it a bit quicker to wind the
> nipple on, and get everything to vaguely the same tension at the lacing stage. They're great for
> leaving on your coffee table to confuse visitors with, but unless you're deliberately out to buy a
> weird tool, I wouldn't recommend getting one for the average home wheelbuilder.
>
> In short, you need a spoke key. Everything else isn't essential.

You can also file or grind a flat bladed screwdriver down to be a nipple driver. If you fileing it
use a cheap one as they are softer. You shouldn't be using it to put serious welly onto the nips so
it doesn't matter if its made of fairly **** metal.

--
Andy Morris

AndyAtJinkasDotFreeserve.Co.UK

Love this: Put an end to Outlook Express's messy quotes
http://home.in.tum.de/~jain/software/oe-quotefix/
 
"Huw Pritchard" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Personally I prefer the Spokey, although these are getting a little difficult to find.

Agreed - I like my spokey.

My LBS (settle) appears to have some in stock. (and some salmon koolstop V brake pads).

cheers, clive
 
Clive George wrote:
> Agreed - I like my spokey.
>
> My LBS (settle) appears to have some in stock. (and some salmon koolstop V brake pads).

Next time you pop in, could you ask them to put it on their website*, and perhaps generally keep the
site better corrected & updated? I bet they would then get more business.

* Although I appreciate that they might not want to include everything they've got/could ever get.
Spokey would be a good one though.

--
~PB FA: 62cm Ti frame: http://tinyurl.com/6stt
 
Pete Biggs <pLime{remove_fruit}@biggs.tc> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Clive George wrote:
> > Agreed - I like my spokey.
> >
> > My LBS (settle) appears to have some in stock. (and some salmon koolstop V brake pads).
>
> Next time you pop in, could you ask them to put it on their website*, and perhaps generally keep
> the site better corrected & updated? I bet they would then get more business.
>
> * Although I appreciate that they might not want to include everything they've got/could ever get.
> Spokey would be a good one though.

All 3 of the bike shops in central Cheltenham have Spokeys on the rack, one of which is Lakeland if
you want to order on-line. (Cheltenham Cycles. Williams & Lakeland)

Andrew
 
David Nutter <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> Anyway, I want to know if anyone can recommend good and relatively cheap bits of wheelbuilding
> equipment as a new rear wheel built around a Sovos flip/flop will be the first task (beyond
> checking the frame is sound).

I suppose you can use the bike frame or try to build your own, but in my opinion it's a pleaseure to
use the proper tools that are designed properly for the job.

I use the Minoura wheelbuilding stand, Minoura dishing guage, and Spokey. And light grease for the
spoke threads.

-Myra
 
David Nutter <[email protected]> said:
> Hello,
>
> My next project will be turning my old 10 speed into a fixed gear bike since the drivetrain has
> just about expired and I fancy something more

*snip*

Thanks to everyone who has replied. I've acquired a slightly better spoke key but (for now) I won't
buy any other specialist wheelbuilding equipment and see if I can do it with just beer glasses, the
frame and some long hours kneeling on the floor.

It'll keep me out of the pub anyway!

Thanks again.

-david
 
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