RidingAgain Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 Is this How To video just meant to put you off of trying to build your own wheel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattlikesbikes Posted February 11, 2019 Share Posted February 11, 2019 Everyone should try building their own wheels. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Posted February 11, 2019 Share Posted February 11, 2019 29 minutes ago, Mattlikesbikes said: Everyone should try building their own wheels. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bamwa Posted February 11, 2019 Share Posted February 11, 2019 3 hours ago, Mattlikesbikes said: Everyone should try building their own wheels. I tried this on my huffy in seventh grade. Big mistake, like uuuge even. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mack_turtle Posted February 11, 2019 Share Posted February 11, 2019 (edited) 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 February 11, 2019 by mack_turtle 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Posted February 11, 2019 Share Posted February 11, 2019 Roger Musson's e book is a great source for wheel building. Shows how to measure ERD and hub offset. The video posted is somewhat confusing wheel building is not that difficult just requires time and patience. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidingAgain Posted February 11, 2019 Author Share Posted February 11, 2019 1 hour ago, mack_turtle said: 2. Get the spoke length correct within 1mm. Still working on just getting a spoke length for my Lefty hub. Where do you measure to... Related to the rim? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mack_turtle Posted February 11, 2019 Share Posted February 11, 2019 (edited) End of the spoke to the same on the opposite side of the wheel. You need two spokes with nipples and a rubber band to do this. https://www.bikeforums.net/13202085-post2.html Lefty hubs are tricky. Best too look up dimensions on that hub from Cannondale. Then use this zippy formula! Edited February 11, 2019 by mack_turtle 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mack_turtle Posted February 11, 2019 Share Posted February 11, 2019 JK. Use an online spoke calculator with your ERD measurement. Sheldon Brown has on in Excel format that has not let me down. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Posted February 11, 2019 Share Posted February 11, 2019 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. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridenfool Posted February 11, 2019 Share Posted February 11, 2019 There seem to be a veritable plethora of spokesmen for this activity. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheX Posted February 11, 2019 Share Posted February 11, 2019 1 hour ago, mack_turtle said: JK. Use an online spoke calculator with your ERD measurement. Sheldon Brown has on in Excel format that has not let me down. I have been using Sheldon's stuff for over 20 years. GREAT resource. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AntonioGG Posted February 11, 2019 Share Posted February 11, 2019 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. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattlikesbikes Posted February 11, 2019 Share Posted February 11, 2019 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. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidingAgain Posted February 11, 2019 Author Share Posted February 11, 2019 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? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidingAgain Posted February 11, 2019 Author Share Posted February 11, 2019 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattlikesbikes Posted February 11, 2019 Share Posted February 11, 2019 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidingAgain Posted February 11, 2019 Author Share Posted February 11, 2019 (edited) 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. Edited February 12, 2019 by RidingAgain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattlikesbikes Posted February 11, 2019 Share Posted February 11, 2019 2 minutes ago, RidingAgain said: And people couldn't understand why, but I have a lefty dummy axle if anyone needs to borrow it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheX Posted February 11, 2019 Share Posted February 11, 2019 30 minutes ago, Mattlikesbikes said: And people couldn't understand why, but I have a lefty dummy axle if anyone needs to borrow it. I have one as well. I have a 2017 Scalpel SI with the new Lefty on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teamsloan Posted February 11, 2019 Share Posted February 11, 2019 I rebuilt my son's 20" wheel lacing it to a cassette hub so his Hardrock could get a 9sp drivetrain. Sheldon Brown's guide was gold. It was good practice and proved to me that while I could build a wheel without a spoke tension meter, I don't want to build another one without it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mack_turtle Posted February 11, 2019 Share Posted February 11, 2019 4 hours ago, AntonioGG said: Now, what's the deal with which spokes are innies vs outies? I've seen conflicting opinions on this and for different reasons. Is that really a thing? I've built dozens of wheels and never gave that a second thought. Sounds like tin foil hat stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anita Handle Posted February 11, 2019 Share Posted February 11, 2019 Sheldon Brown is dead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Posted February 11, 2019 Share Posted February 11, 2019 Even dead, he still wins the derailer argument. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattlikesbikes Posted February 11, 2019 Share Posted February 11, 2019 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. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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