wheelbuilding hardware

[[email protected]]

I need two wheels rebuilt so I'm thinking of splashing out on a stand
to build my own. Space and money are at a premium

I need something that can pack up easily and is either freestanding or
could clamp to a domestic table (so I imagine a heath-robinson
homemade affair is less suitable). I have seen the following budget
oriented stands. Can anyone venture a practical opinion on any of
them or suggest any alternatives?

Minoura Workman Pro Wheel Building Kit available for GBP65-75
stand, dish tool and spoke key

Ultimate Truing Station Wheel Truing Stand about GBP70
One armed stand

SJS Cycles have M-Wave Bicycle Wheel Truing Stand for GBP36

There is a Tacx Exact Wheel Truing Stand for about GBP35

Park TS8 about GBP70+

tia
james

 

[Pete Biggs]

[email protected] wrote:
> I need two wheels rebuilt so I'm thinking of splashing out on a stand
> to build my own. Space and money are at a premium
>
> I need something that can pack up easily and is either freestanding or
> could clamp to a domestic table (so I imagine a heath-robinson
> homemade affair is less suitable). I have seen the following budget
> oriented stands. Can anyone venture a practical opinion on any of
> them or suggest any alternatives?
>
> Minoura Workman Pro Wheel Building Kit available for GBP65-75
> stand, dish tool and spoke key

The Workman Pro is not fantastically well made but it will suit your needs.
You can put it on a small table and build good wheels with it. Doesn't take
up much space when stored in a corner of a room either.

Free-standing at least has the advantage of being able to swivel the stand
to check the wheel from various angles without having to move yourself.

The Minoura spoke key is rubbish so immediate replace that with something at
least as good as the Buddy Spokey (from Wiggle). Take the instructions with
a sack of salt as well. Also, keep checking the centering with the separate
dish tool rather than relying on the stand's own centering gauge as it's not
reliable (because wheel doesn't necessarily sit precisely right in the
dropouts).

Remember that a better stand would't make your wheels any truer, just allow
you to true them more quickly.

~PB

 

[[email protected]]

On Sep 24, 12:27 pm, "[email protected]" <[email protected]>
wrote:
> I need two wheels rebuilt so I'm thinking of splashing out on a stand
> to build my own. Space and money are at a premium
>
> I need something that can pack up easily and is either freestanding or
> could clamp to a domestic table (so I imagine a heath-robinson
> homemade affair is less suitable). I have seen the following budget
> oriented stands. Can anyone venture a practical opinion on any of
> them or suggest any alternatives?
>
> Minoura Workman Pro Wheel Building Kit available for GBP65-75
> stand, dish tool and spoke key
>
> Ultimate Truing Station Wheel Truing Stand about GBP70
> One armed stand
>
> SJS Cycles have M-Wave Bicycle Wheel Truing Stand for GBP36
>
> There is a Tacx Exact Wheel Truing Stand for about GBP35
>
> Park TS8 about GBP70+
>
I had to do a goole to see what stand I had. I think I've got the
Minoura T-817 which seems to be 22GBP from wiggle.

I've found this absolutely fine both for building wheels from scratch
and also retensioning wheels after swapping a rim.

The only problem I've found is that the two bolts for truing tend to
move. I've put a nut on so I can lock them in place.

You do have to be prepared to take the wheel out of the stand and turn
it around in order to get it centred properly (and that's when those
two bolts move.

I've no idea whether the more expensive stands automatically "know"
where the centre should be so avoid the need to flip the wheel.

Tim.

 

[Coyoteboy]

[email protected] wrote:

> I've no idea whether the more expensive stands automatically "know"
> where the centre should be so avoid the need to flip the wheel.


Yup, I used to use an expensive park item that auto-centred itself, made
life very easy. But to be honest I've never struggled to build a wheel
in an old pair of forks with an old pair of V brakes. It takes a little
longer but works, and saves the price of a set of wheels lol.

J

 

[David Lloyd]

On 24 Sep, 14:47, Coyoteboy <[email protected]> wrote:
> [email protected] wrote:
> > I've no idea whether the more expensive stands automatically "know"
> > where the centre should be so avoid the need to flip the wheel.
>
> Yup, I used to use an expensive park item that auto-centred itself, made
> life very easy. But to be honest I've never struggled to build a wheel
> in an old pair of forks with an old pair of V brakes. It takes a little
> longer but works, and saves the price of a set of wheels lol.
>
> J

Agreed. The last time I built up a pair of wheels I used my bike on a
workstand, using the brake blocks to judge the lateral deflection, and
a pencil across them to catch the position radial offsets. I'm on the
point of having to have another go, so I'll be tracking down my copy
of Jobst Brandt's 'The Bicycle Wheel' very soon. I need to find a
better spoke key.

David Lloyd (at work)

 

[Martin Dann]

Pete Biggs wrote:
> [email protected] wrote:
>> I need two wheels rebuilt so I'm thinking of splashing out on a stand
>> to build my own. Space and money are at a premium
>>
>> I need something that can pack up easily and is either freestanding or
>> could clamp to a domestic table (so I imagine a heath-robinson
>> homemade affair is less suitable). I have seen the following budget
>> oriented stands. Can anyone venture a practical opinion on any of
>> them or suggest any alternatives?
>>
>> Minoura Workman Pro Wheel Building Kit available for GBP65-75
>> stand, dish tool and spoke key
>
> The Workman Pro is not fantastically well made but it will suit your needs.
> You can put it on a small table and build good wheels with it. Doesn't take
> up much space when stored in a corner of a room either.

I find this stand very good, although it is the only stand
I have used (apart from using v brakes).

> Free-standing at least has the advantage of being able to swivel the stand
> to check the wheel from various angles without having to move yourself.
>
> The Minoura spoke key is rubbish so immediate replace that with something at
> least as good as the Buddy Spokey (from Wiggle).

I carry my Minoura spoke key with me in my bike tool kit,
and use a park tool one at home.

Take the instructions with
> a sack of salt as well.

It would be best to not even read the section on wheel
building, it is dire, burn it.

Also, keep checking the centering with the separate
> dish tool rather than relying on the stand's own centering gauge as it's not
> reliable (because wheel doesn't necessarily sit precisely right in the
> dropouts).

The dishing tool is 15ukp on its own, and IMHO needed for
a stand of this quality.

 

[Pete Biggs]

Martin Dann wrote:

> I carry my Minoura spoke key with me in my bike tool kit,
> and use a park tool one at home.

I think it's even more important to have a good quality spoke key for
roadside emergencies. That's when you may need to tighten a spoke more than
usual, and that's when you're going to be stuffed if you round a nipple.

The Minoura one is fit for the bin only, IMO.

> Take the instructions with
>> a sack of salt as well.
>
> It would be best to not even read the section on wheel
> building, it is dire, burn it.

The translation from Japanese is quite funny though.

~PB

 

[CoyoteBoy]

On 24 Sep, 14:56, David Lloyd <[email protected]> wrote:
>I need to find a
> better spoke key.

Definitely, IMO, the most important part of building a wheel - all
else can be worked around, but a poor quality spoke key makes
everything a stress.

 

On 24 Sep,
CoyoteBoy <[email protected]> wrote:

> On 24 Sep, 14:56, David Lloyd <[email protected]> wrote:
> >I need to find a
> > better spoke key.
>
> Definitely, IMO, the most important part of building a wheel - all
> else can be worked around, but a poor quality spoke key makes
> everything a stress.
>
I recently built a wheel, the first time for 40odd years. The most useful
tool (for the original building if not the final trueing) was an electric
screwdriver. It must have taken at least an hour off assembling the wheel to
an approximate trueness. Fine truing can then use any reasonable spoke key. I
used the same one I used 40odd years ago.

--
BD
Change lycos to yahoo to reply

 

[Rob Morley]

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected]
[email protected] says...
> I need two wheels rebuilt so I'm thinking of splashing out on a stand
> to build my own. Space and money are at a premium
>
If money is at a premium just get a decent spoke key and use the bike as
a wheel stand. Brake blocks are fine for indicating axial runout, and a
pen fixed to the seat stays or forks with a rubber band handles radial
runout. Checking the dish is done by reversing the wheel. I've built
quite a few wheels using an expensive wheel jig/dishing tool, but for
building the occasional wheel you really don't need it.

 

[Coyoteboy]

[email protected] wrote:
> On 24 Sep,
> CoyoteBoy <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> On 24 Sep, 14:56, David Lloyd <[email protected]> wrote:
>>> I need to find a
>>> better spoke key.
>> Definitely, IMO, the most important part of building a wheel - all
>> else can be worked around, but a poor quality spoke key makes
>> everything a stress.
>>
> I recently built a wheel, the first time for 40odd years. The most useful
> tool (for the original building if not the final trueing) was an electric
> screwdriver. It must have taken at least an hour off assembling the wheel to
> an approximate trueness. Fine truing can then use any reasonable spoke key. I
> used the same one I used 40odd years ago.
>

Interesting idea! I only generally take ~2hrs to build a solid wheel
anyway though, im fairly handy with a normal screwdriver lol. Not sure
I'd use an elec screwy to do any tensioning at all though - you lose the
"feel for the spoke"

 

[Andy Morris]

[email protected] wrote:
> On 24 Sep,
> CoyoteBoy <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>
> I recently built a wheel, the first time for 40odd years. The most useful
> tool (for the original building if not the final trueing) was an electric
> screwdriver. It must have taken at least an hour off assembling the wheel to
> an approximate trueness. Fine truing can then use any reasonable spoke key. I
> used the same one I used 40odd years ago.
>

A Yankee screwdriver with a bit ground or filed so it has a 2 or 3 mm
spike in the middle of the blade is great for bringing all the spokes to
the same length quickly

--
Posted via NewsDemon.com - Premium Uncensored Newsgroup Service
------->>>>>>http://www.NewsDemon.com<<<<<<------
Unlimited Access, Anonymous Accounts, Uncensored Broadband Access

 

[Rob Morley]

In article <[email protected]>, Coyoteboy
[email protected] says...
>
> Interesting idea! I only generally take ~2hrs to build a solid wheel
> anyway though, im fairly handy with a normal screwdriver lol. Not sure
> I'd use an elec screwy to do any tensioning at all though - you lose the
> "feel for the spoke"
>
I only use a screwdriver until the thread disappears, then count the
turns with a spoke key until the tension is somewhere near right. I
always found a small ordinary screwdriver more useful than a spiral
ratchet or electric one. We also had a special spoke driver with a pin
in the end so that all the spokes were done up to the same depth, which
wasn't as good as you might expect.
I think we used to reckon 1 1/2 - 2 hours for a pair of wheels - I
remember Jim knocked out a pair in an hour once for someone in a hurry,
but normally it was something we did in between serving customers so it
could take all day (or longer).

 

[Jim Higson]

[email protected] wrote:

> I need two wheels rebuilt so I'm thinking of splashing out on a stand
> to build my own. Space and money are at a premium
>
> I need something that can pack up easily and is either freestanding or
> could clamp to a domestic table (so I imagine a heath-robinson
> homemade affair is less suitable). I have seen the following budget
> oriented stands. Can anyone venture a practical opinion on any of
> them or suggest any alternatives?
>
> Minoura Workman Pro Wheel Building Kit available for GBP65-75
> stand, dish tool and spoke key
>
> Ultimate Truing Station Wheel Truing Stand about GBP70
> One armed stand
>
> SJS Cycles have M-Wave Bicycle Wheel Truing Stand for GBP36
>
> There is a Tacx Exact Wheel Truing Stand for about GBP35

I got a tacx exact from probikekit for £27 inc delivery a few weeks back. It
does the job fine, although it doesn't come with a dish stick and I did
have to make a small modification to use it with a 10speed campy wheel
without taking the cassette off.

Overall I'm really happy with it for the price.

 

[Simon Brooke]

in message <[email protected]>,
[email protected] ('[email protected]') wrote:

> I need two wheels rebuilt so I'm thinking of splashing out on a stand
> to build my own. Space and money are at a premium
>
> I need something that can pack up easily and is either freestanding or
> could clamp to a domestic table (so I imagine a heath-robinson
> homemade affair is less suitable). I have seen the following budget
> oriented stands. Can anyone venture a practical opinion on any of
> them or suggest any alternatives?
>
> Minoura Workman Pro Wheel Building Kit available for GBP65-75
> stand, dish tool and spoke key

I have a folding Minoura stand which cost about £25 new three years ago.
It's fine, does the job well. If you're going to be building wheels
regularly I can see the point of going for professional kit (and some of
the professional wheel building kits you can get are really nice) but I
can get inside 1mm both laterally and in run-out with my el-cheapo one.

Prior to buying a stand I used to use an old bicycle turned upside down.
That works, too.

--
[email protected] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/
;; If Python is executable pseudocode,
;; then Perl is executable line noise
-- seen on Slashdot.

 

[Rob Morley]

In article <[email protected]>, Simon
Brooke
[email protected] says...

> Prior to buying a stand I used to use an old bicycle turned upside down.
> That works, too.
>
Much better to stick the bike in a work stand so you can get it at a
good height to work on.

 

[Phil Cook]

Rob Morley wrote:

>In article <[email protected]>, Simon
>Brooke
>[email protected] says...
>
>> Prior to buying a stand I used to use an old bicycle turned upside down.
>> That works, too.
>>
>Much better to stick the bike in a work stand so you can get it at a
>good height to work on.

I found that if you were sitting down in the comfy chair in the lounge
whilst "watching" telly the bike-upside-down stand put the wheels at
an ideal height ;-)
--
Phil Cook looking north over the park to the "Westminster Gasworks"

 

[Phil Cook]

Rob Morley wrote:

>In article <[email protected]>, Simon
>Brooke
>[email protected] says...
>
>> Prior to buying a stand I used to use an old bicycle turned upside down.
>> That works, too.
>>
>Much better to stick the bike in a work stand so you can get it at a
>good height to work on.

I found that if you were sitting down in the comfy chair in the lounge
whilst "watching" telly the bike-upside-down stand put the wheels at
an ideal height ;-)
--
Phil Cook looking north over the park to the "Westminster Gasworks"