Ghetto wheel build.
Discussion
Following on from 'what bits have you bought' a while back, I said I'd put up some details of my wheel build. Will no doubt make a few cringe, but there we go..
So, the 'spec' was a set of H plus son archetypes on novatec hubs. I already had a 20h novatec front I'd used to rebuild a knackered R500, so that just got a decent rim on the same spokes. Rear was 24h - I've never felt the need for more, seem not to give wheels a hard time despite being about 80kg - so ordered a 482SB-SL off velobits on ebay, 60 quid, and 11 speed compatible. Rear rim was 45 quid from wiggle, front 55 from sigma 'cos they had stock and nobody else did.
Nipples - brass (had a ton in my bits box). Spokes - er, mostly unbranded again from the box of stuff. Basically I'm fastidious about bearings rolling well, and have found 'loose bearing' hubs don't seem to do well by me. So I've thrown away hubs/rims and kept the bits. DT revolutions rear NDS because leftover from something else. Might get around to re-building the whole lot with them, if I can be bothered.
Total cost = 160 (plus the front hub was about 30 quid a while back and is lasting well. Call it 200 all in.
Tools: Bike. Brakes, screwdriver, internets, lezyne patch kit(!), masking tape, spoke key.
Laced wheel up using the sheldon brown instructions (google). Make sure you get the spokes going the right way with the drilling of the rim (I won't repeat the whole instructions, there's plenty on the internet, and sheldon covers it really well) Bring it into light tension by going round putting 5 turns into each spoke.
Hot tip here: Start and end at the valve hole, always make a complete revolution so you don't loose track of what you're doing.
Once there's tension, start working on whatever is most out - dish, lateral true or radial true. When you've improved that, go back and look at the next 'problem'. Keep iterating over those three until you have enough spoke tension and you're happy, job done.
Tension by squeeze/ping (and comparing with another wheel). DS/NDS tension ratio is by virtue of the geometry of the wheel / flanges. Relative spoke tensions are whatever they need to be to make the wheel round - if you get the first 3 right, the tension variance between spokes is what it is, that's plain physics.
Dish is pretty obvious: If it clangs the frame, you need to tweak it. On a wider frame I've been known to duck tape a ruler to the fork..
Lateral true is a little more fiddly. Open up the QR on the brakes, then drag the caliper off centre. Pull in the QR to get the pad to *just* drag on the surface of the rim. High points will show as stick, low points will spin freely. When you have an even 'drag' all the way around, it's good. I do this from both sides, and in the early / coarse stages sometimes just pull both sides in close and eyeball the true.
The above also gives away the radial true (roundness) - the leyzene patch kit across the top of the brake blocks - most of the time I'm working on the upside down bike, but for this I just stuck it in the turbo (because that was a handy solution).
As an aside, you need really small adjustments to make lateral true (e.g. 1/8th turn) and bigger (e.g. 1/2 turn) ones for the radial true. In fact the radial true is the biggest pain of the whole process.
That's pretty much it. The masking tape can be used so you don't loose track of the area you're working, and also to track spoke windup: Once you have significant tension and you try to tension / loosen a spoke, you'll turn the nipple quite a long way while doing nothing more than twisting the spoke. Once it has enough twist, you'll actually start to get adjustment. Putting a little tape 'flag' on the spoke allows you to see this clearly. Once you've got your adjustment, you need to back the twist out of the spoke, otherwise your wheels will go out of true (as you ride, the spoke will get loaded and unloaded allowing the twist to 'work' out adjusting the nipple at the same time).
Now stress relieve (generally squeeze, tug, jump up and down on etc), and re-true.
Finally enjoy.
As to the wheels / hubs, I'm pretty impressed.
Even vs my (wideish, and a little older) HEDs, these roll really comfortably, and feel pretty confidence inspiring even on less than great tyres.
The brake tracks wear to silver pretty quickly - which is fine, they look like they were always that way after a few rides. Besides I have a hatred of open pros that is second only to my disdain for Rapha
The braking consistency (even wet) is very good (which does make me wonder if the alloy is quite soft).
The hubs roll smoothly and take cartridge bearings which can be got from non-cycling bearing shops on ye-internets for very little cash (wait until you see my ghetto bearing press
) That said, the front is 2 years and at least 10,000k old and smooth as you like. Rear we'll see. Quiet freehub, and I'm hoping it will suffer less cassette bite than previous wheels (has an 'anti-bite' metal insert, and seems to be a slightly harder alloy. At least replacement freehubs are cheap, unlike certain brands..
I reckon they'd be pretty spot on at twice the price. For the money brilliant - and despite the lengthy write up, it took me something like 4 hrs total while sat on the sofa watching TV.
So, the 'spec' was a set of H plus son archetypes on novatec hubs. I already had a 20h novatec front I'd used to rebuild a knackered R500, so that just got a decent rim on the same spokes. Rear was 24h - I've never felt the need for more, seem not to give wheels a hard time despite being about 80kg - so ordered a 482SB-SL off velobits on ebay, 60 quid, and 11 speed compatible. Rear rim was 45 quid from wiggle, front 55 from sigma 'cos they had stock and nobody else did.
Nipples - brass (had a ton in my bits box). Spokes - er, mostly unbranded again from the box of stuff. Basically I'm fastidious about bearings rolling well, and have found 'loose bearing' hubs don't seem to do well by me. So I've thrown away hubs/rims and kept the bits. DT revolutions rear NDS because leftover from something else. Might get around to re-building the whole lot with them, if I can be bothered.
Total cost = 160 (plus the front hub was about 30 quid a while back and is lasting well. Call it 200 all in.
Tools: Bike. Brakes, screwdriver, internets, lezyne patch kit(!), masking tape, spoke key.
Laced wheel up using the sheldon brown instructions (google). Make sure you get the spokes going the right way with the drilling of the rim (I won't repeat the whole instructions, there's plenty on the internet, and sheldon covers it really well) Bring it into light tension by going round putting 5 turns into each spoke.
Hot tip here: Start and end at the valve hole, always make a complete revolution so you don't loose track of what you're doing.
Once there's tension, start working on whatever is most out - dish, lateral true or radial true. When you've improved that, go back and look at the next 'problem'. Keep iterating over those three until you have enough spoke tension and you're happy, job done.
Tension by squeeze/ping (and comparing with another wheel). DS/NDS tension ratio is by virtue of the geometry of the wheel / flanges. Relative spoke tensions are whatever they need to be to make the wheel round - if you get the first 3 right, the tension variance between spokes is what it is, that's plain physics.
Dish is pretty obvious: If it clangs the frame, you need to tweak it. On a wider frame I've been known to duck tape a ruler to the fork..
Lateral true is a little more fiddly. Open up the QR on the brakes, then drag the caliper off centre. Pull in the QR to get the pad to *just* drag on the surface of the rim. High points will show as stick, low points will spin freely. When you have an even 'drag' all the way around, it's good. I do this from both sides, and in the early / coarse stages sometimes just pull both sides in close and eyeball the true.
The above also gives away the radial true (roundness) - the leyzene patch kit across the top of the brake blocks - most of the time I'm working on the upside down bike, but for this I just stuck it in the turbo (because that was a handy solution).
As an aside, you need really small adjustments to make lateral true (e.g. 1/8th turn) and bigger (e.g. 1/2 turn) ones for the radial true. In fact the radial true is the biggest pain of the whole process.
That's pretty much it. The masking tape can be used so you don't loose track of the area you're working, and also to track spoke windup: Once you have significant tension and you try to tension / loosen a spoke, you'll turn the nipple quite a long way while doing nothing more than twisting the spoke. Once it has enough twist, you'll actually start to get adjustment. Putting a little tape 'flag' on the spoke allows you to see this clearly. Once you've got your adjustment, you need to back the twist out of the spoke, otherwise your wheels will go out of true (as you ride, the spoke will get loaded and unloaded allowing the twist to 'work' out adjusting the nipple at the same time).
Now stress relieve (generally squeeze, tug, jump up and down on etc), and re-true.
Finally enjoy.
As to the wheels / hubs, I'm pretty impressed.
Even vs my (wideish, and a little older) HEDs, these roll really comfortably, and feel pretty confidence inspiring even on less than great tyres.
The brake tracks wear to silver pretty quickly - which is fine, they look like they were always that way after a few rides. Besides I have a hatred of open pros that is second only to my disdain for Rapha
The braking consistency (even wet) is very good (which does make me wonder if the alloy is quite soft).
The hubs roll smoothly and take cartridge bearings which can be got from non-cycling bearing shops on ye-internets for very little cash (wait until you see my ghetto bearing press
) That said, the front is 2 years and at least 10,000k old and smooth as you like. Rear we'll see. Quiet freehub, and I'm hoping it will suffer less cassette bite than previous wheels (has an 'anti-bite' metal insert, and seems to be a slightly harder alloy. At least replacement freehubs are cheap, unlike certain brands..I reckon they'd be pretty spot on at twice the price. For the money brilliant - and despite the lengthy write up, it took me something like 4 hrs total while sat on the sofa watching TV.
Edited by upsidedownmark on Tuesday 9th December 20:32
That's partly why I bothered to put up what I did. They're not.
People think they're a dark art because of the nonsense spouted by folks who don't know better (usually they have a 'pet' wheelbuilder to promote), or by folks who have a vested interest in making it seem like rocket science. Ditto the 'handbuilt wheels' thing that pops up every time someone mentions wheels, as if they're rolled on a virgin's thigh or some such nonsense.. Nothing magic about a handbuilt wheel, the whole process is very methodical, and entirely suited to being done by machine. Main difference is you get what you want, not what the marketing dept decided to create on the budget. Of course it's tailored to *your* budget, but.
Or to put it another way, if your wheel is borked, why not have a go? If you have ***k it up, just take it apart again and give it to a wheelbuilder. Nothing you do in a wheel-build is beyond being undone and starting over.
People think they're a dark art because of the nonsense spouted by folks who don't know better (usually they have a 'pet' wheelbuilder to promote), or by folks who have a vested interest in making it seem like rocket science. Ditto the 'handbuilt wheels' thing that pops up every time someone mentions wheels, as if they're rolled on a virgin's thigh or some such nonsense.. Nothing magic about a handbuilt wheel, the whole process is very methodical, and entirely suited to being done by machine. Main difference is you get what you want, not what the marketing dept decided to create on the budget. Of course it's tailored to *your* budget, but.
Or to put it another way, if your wheel is borked, why not have a go? If you have ***k it up, just take it apart again and give it to a wheelbuilder. Nothing you do in a wheel-build is beyond being undone and starting over.
Totally agree.
I recently managed to make the front wheel on my MTB look like a Pringle and no amount of local spoke tweaking was going to get it back. Looking at prices of new wheels online (it's on a Cannondale Lefty hub) it gave me all the motivation I needed. Is possibly scrap anyway so worth a go!
Once the rim was free of the spokes I bent it back straight (ish) again over my knee and started the rebuild also using the Sheldon Brown website and a few reference photos I took before taking it apart.
Many hard and rocky rides later it's still true and wheel building doesn't scare me anymore!
I recently managed to make the front wheel on my MTB look like a Pringle and no amount of local spoke tweaking was going to get it back. Looking at prices of new wheels online (it's on a Cannondale Lefty hub) it gave me all the motivation I needed. Is possibly scrap anyway so worth a go!
Once the rim was free of the spokes I bent it back straight (ish) again over my knee and started the rebuild also using the Sheldon Brown website and a few reference photos I took before taking it apart.
Many hard and rocky rides later it's still true and wheel building doesn't scare me anymore!
Good post Mark. I remember your post on the 'what bits have you bought' thread and I commented as I had just ordered the same parts for my first build. The only differences being i went for a 24/28 spoke arrangement with an anodised Archetype rim. I also bought a 'centering kit' from Rose bikes which contained a truing stand, dishing tool and spoke key all for about £60. Mine are currently on my bike and have completed a couple of test rides and i couldn't be more pleased with them. It's not a difficult process but it does take some common sense and a lot of patience!
Nicely done. As an ex 'pro wheel builder' for a lbs in my youth, I'd struggle without a Park Tools wheeljig!
Only thing I'd add is to not only focus on the immediate spokes when you're working on radial/lateral true - work the spokes either side too, in a smooth 'ramping up' of tension. Helps prevent issues further down the line with one or two spokes at crazy tension surrounded by much looser ones.
Oh, and destress, then destress some more!
Lastly, everything will work through with a bit of riding. Take it easy for the first 100 or so miles, then go round the whole thing again - nothing destresses a wheel as much as riding!
Only thing I'd add is to not only focus on the immediate spokes when you're working on radial/lateral true - work the spokes either side too, in a smooth 'ramping up' of tension. Helps prevent issues further down the line with one or two spokes at crazy tension surrounded by much looser ones.
Oh, and destress, then destress some more!
Lastly, everything will work through with a bit of riding. Take it easy for the first 100 or so miles, then go round the whole thing again - nothing destresses a wheel as much as riding!
Thanks for the nice comments Graeme - glad yours went well.. the more you do, the easier they get..
Sway - absolutely. My pet stress relief technique is a (wooden) hammer handle between adjacent spokes and give them a good 'tweak'. Quite brutal, but seems to bed things down well. I've not (yet) had one that moves after that treatment
Graeme - glad yours went well.. the more you do, the easier they get.. Sway - absolutely. My pet stress relief technique is a (wooden) hammer handle between adjacent spokes and give them a good 'tweak'. Quite brutal, but seems to bed things down well. I've not (yet) had one that moves after that treatment
I personally would avoid reusing spokes. They stretch all over the place, and make life significantly more difficult...
I've done it several times, transferring from a dinged rim to a fresh one (halfway through its like conjoined twins!), and I've sworn lots each time!
At the shop I worked at, we had loads of people coming in asking for mechanic jobs. The standard filter was 'can you build a wheel?', you'd be amazed how many people who consider themselves proficient enough to be a professional tech who look at you in horror at the thought...
I know I had it as some black art until trained, although I had a very good teacher (ex Polish National RR Team tech from the communist days). It does require a 'feel' to build a really good wheel, that's both super light and strong, but relatively straightforward to build a perfectly serviceable wheel first go if you just take it step by step.
As for truing a wheel, just get stuck in! You'll see if you're cocking it up well before you do any lasting damage, and a spoke key in a saddlebag can save a long walk!
I've done it several times, transferring from a dinged rim to a fresh one (halfway through its like conjoined twins!), and I've sworn lots each time!
At the shop I worked at, we had loads of people coming in asking for mechanic jobs. The standard filter was 'can you build a wheel?', you'd be amazed how many people who consider themselves proficient enough to be a professional tech who look at you in horror at the thought...
I know I had it as some black art until trained, although I had a very good teacher (ex Polish National RR Team tech from the communist days). It does require a 'feel' to build a really good wheel, that's both super light and strong, but relatively straightforward to build a perfectly serviceable wheel first go if you just take it step by step.
As for truing a wheel, just get stuck in! You'll see if you're cocking it up well before you do any lasting damage, and a spoke key in a saddlebag can save a long walk!
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