Jump to content
IGNORED

WHHHAAATTTT????


Recommended Posts

I learned how to build wheels from George French's guide on his old G-Sport site. I've built dozens of wheels over the years and it is not any more difficult than knitting or making pasta.

That video makes it sound more complex than it is. Spend some time studying a wheel on your bike and the pattern that the spokes creates and it will come to you.

Sheldon Brown has a great guide, and I have a copy of Jobst Brandt's book on the topic, in case anyone wants to borrow it.

1. Do not trust manufacturers' published ERD. Measure it yourself.

2. Get the spoke length correct within 1mm. Trying to build a wheel with spokes that are +/-2 mm wrong SUCKS. 

3. Take your time.

4. A little lube on spoke ends goes a long way.

Edited by mack_turtle
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

For hub flange distance it's easiest to do it this way. Divide the width of hub by 2 then stand hub on flat surface by the end cap I find the edge of a table to work best, then measure distance from table top to flange and subtract that number from half the width of the hub. This will give you flange spacing.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've been building wheels for a few years too.  

Matt, I re-built the PowerTap wheel (with ZTR 355) wheel you built for me back in 2010.  I couldn't keep that thing tensioned to save my life.  I went with an Arch rim and changed the lacing (the CycleOps manual has some notes on how this thing is unconventional) and that seemed to fix the problems.  I had always meant to talk to you about this to get your thoughts on it.  It's partly troublesome because it has a relatively low max tension limit.

I also use Spocalc.xls which is Damon Rinard's creation and I think that's what Sheldon Brown links to.

Now, what's the deal with which spokes are innies vs outies?  I've seen conflicting opinions on this and for different reasons.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, AntonioGG said:

I've been building wheels for a few years too.  

Matt, I re-built the PowerTap wheel (with ZTR 355) wheel you built for me back in 2010.  I couldn't keep that thing tensioned to save my life.  I went with an Arch rim and changed the lacing (the CycleOps manual has some notes on how this thing is unconventional) and that seemed to fix the problems.  I had always meant to talk to you about this to get your thoughts on it.  It's partly troublesome because it has a relatively low max tension limit.

I also use Spocalc.xls which is Damon Rinard's creation and I think that's what Sheldon Brown links to.

Now, what's the deal with which spokes are innies vs outies?  I've seen conflicting opinions on this and for different reasons.

The powertap, with that giant flange, was always an issue with spokes. I've seen them built 2x and 3x. It's one of the reasons I went with a Stages for my MTB instead of the powertap

I also never had as much luck with the 355 rims. I didn't find them to be near as stiff as the Crest, Arch or Flow of the same vintage. 

Spoke direction... Man there is an esoteric discussion right there. 

#1 - spokes inside or outside, ALWAYS the same direction (leading/trailing) and inside/outside. Never do a mix of drive side outside trailing  and non drive inside trailing. Balance above all else.

I usually build with trailing spokes outside. Particularly on a disc rear wheel. But my road wheelset, an off the shelf powertap set I didn't build is the other way. 

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

27 minutes ago, Mattlikesbikes said:

Spoke direction... Man there is an esoteric discussion right there. 

#1 - spokes inside or outside, ALWAYS the same direction (leading/trailing) and inside/outside. Never do a mix of drive side outside trailing  and non drive inside trailing. Balance above all else.

I usually build with trailing spokes outside. Particularly on a disc rear wheel. But my road wheelset, an off the shelf powertap set I didn't build is the other way. 

 

 

By "...leading/trailing..." do you mean wheel spin direction?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

23 minutes ago, RidingAgain said:

By "...leading/trailing..." do you mean wheel spin direction?

Yes, so looking at a wheel from the freewheel side, trailing would be the spokes going counter clockwise from the hub to the rim. IE 2 o'clock on the hub and noon on the rim. Leading would be 10 o clock on the hub and noon on the rim. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And just in case folks were wondering... Those are 11-year old forks... Lefty Max...

Actually... Looking a bit more closely, I don't think they are Lefty Max... Maybe one of the late Lefty version that came out a couple years after. But at least 6-8 years old I'd think.

 

image.jpg

Edited by RidingAgain
Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, Anita Handle said:

Sheldon Brown is dead.

Sadly.

I was really lucky to have met him once, at Interbike. My formative wrenching years were self taught, fixing bikes on campus at the student bike shop with nothing but Sheldon Browns website. 

A few hundred wheels later and I still use the same methods I used on my first wheel, built with Sheldon Brown up on the CRT monitor in my dorm room, 20 years ago.

 

 

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...