| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 1778.1 | | JUMBLY::MACFADYEN | There's no going back | Fri Nov 09 1990 05:53 | 551 |
| The Plain Gauge Guide to Wheelbuilding
Wheelbuilding is a skill shrouded in mystique. This is
a pity because you shouldn't be put off. If you have
the basic mechanical aptitude of most cyclists and are
in need of some occupational therapy you can easily
produce very good wheels. The psychic reward of riding
around on your own hand-built wheels is considerable,
not to mention the pleasure you can take from telling
everybody about it.
The cycling magazines do little to dispel the myth of
difficulty. So this article tells you the basics about
wheels and how to build them and contains the sort of
things I would have liked to know when I first
attempted wheelbuilding. I am not an expert, I've only
built a few wheels of conventional design, but they do
seem to be bearing up well.
By the way, you don't need to buy a wheel trueing
stand.
Choosing What to Buy
A wheel is made from one hub, one rim and a number of
spokes. However, you won't get far by asking the bike
shop for "A hub, a rim and some spokes, please." Each
of these parts comes in a daunting variety of options,
and you must choose the parts that are suitable for
the sort of wheel you want to build.
Hubs
Some choices about hubs are easily made. Do you want
quick-release or solid spindle? The quick-release
makes wheel removal very convenient, but solid spindle
hubs which must be bolted on are stronger. In
practice, convenience usually wins out. Do you want
large-flange hubs or small-flange hubs? Small-flange
hubs are much commoner these days, so the choice is
almost made for you.
Some choices are more difficult, in particular
deciding whether to go for new-style cassette hubs.
They make changing the rear sprockets very easy, but
they tie you to one manufacturer's gear system.
The final choice is deciding how much money to spend.
The more money you pay, the smoother and
longer-lasting are the hub bearings.
You should note that rear hubs come in two widths
these days: 126mm and 130mm. 126mm is the standard and
allows the use of six- or seven-speed freewheels.
Shimano's new eight-speed system uses 130mm. The frame
of your bike is built to accept one of these widths.
Spokes
Choice in spokes extends through material and gauge to
cross-section. Cheaper spokes are made from rustless
steel, which, it is true, doesn't rust, but quickly
looks dirty. It's nicer to use stainless steel spokes
which last longer and stay shiny.
The gauge of a spoke is a measure of its diameter and
thus strength: the lower the number the bigger the
diameter. 14 gauge is usual, 16 gauge might suit
racing wheels. To complicate matters, double-butted
spokes offer both gauges on one spoke by making the
spoke thicker at the ends than the middle. This offers
a useful weight saving without much affecting
strength.
For those who seek ultimate performance it's possible
to buy bladed or oval spokes which are flattened at
the sides to offer less air resistance.
Deciding on the spoke length your wheel requires is
tricky, since it depends on rim diameter, whether the
hub is small- or large-flange, the number of spoke
crossings and, in the case of rear wheels, which side
of the wheel the spokes are intended for. The best
thing to do is tell the shop these facts and let them
work it out.
Rims
First things first: buy alloy rims-brakes work much
better in the wet on alloy rims than they do on steel
rims. Other than that, it's another plethora of
choice.
The first is rim diameter, usually a choice between
British 27" and European 700C. A 700C rim is slightly
smaller in diameter, and is the emerging standard. If
you are building from scratch, it's better to go for
700C. You might stick with 27" if your bike's brakes
require it or if you are building one wheel to match
another existing one. ATB wheels, just to be
different, are 26".
The next choice is weight and cross-section. You'll
want a narrow section rim for racing, a wider rim for
touring and wider still for an ATB. Cross-section can
be a simple channel, or a more modern and stronger box
section, or an aerodynamically profiled section for
racing and time-trialling.
After this, decide whether you'd like coloured rims
(usually black or grey). They look great, but the
brakes will quickly wear holes in the finish. Another
option is whether or not to get heat-treated rims;
they are stronger but more expensive. If you are
building racing wheels, decide whether you'll be using
tubular tyres or wire-ons: tubular tyres require
sprint rims.
Finally, remember to get rims with the same number of
spoke holes as the hubs!
Diff'rent Spokes for Diff'rent Folks
There is a reason other than simple competition among
manufacturers for the wide choice in wheel parts: it
is that different types of bikes require different
types of wheels. For example, ATB wheels must be
strong and take wide tyres, racing wheels must be
light and stiff, touring wheels must absorb road shock
and be long-lasting. The wheel builder must select
parts that are appropriate to the intended use.
To complicate matters, many desirable attributes of
wheels are in direct competition with each other.
Strength and light weight do not go hand in hand.
Therefore the way in which the wheel is built should
represent a careful trade-off between the various
competing attributes, in which those attributes most
important to the intended use are given the most
consideration.
Attributes of Wheels
Just what attributes do wheels have, and how do they
affect each other?
o Lightness
Lightness is a very desirable quality in wheels.
Unfortunately it is in direct competition with
qualities such as strength and stiffness. Lightness
is achievable through lightweight rims and fewer
and thinner spokes.
o Strength
Strength is the maximum load that a wheel can bear
without failing. The maximum load a wheel is likely
to bear is a factor of the average load and the
severity of use: for example, the wheels of an ATB
ridden off-road by a heavy rider are liable to get
a hammering. Strength is achieved through
heavy-duty hubs, more and thicker spokes, and
heavy-duty rims.
o Stiffness
Stiffness is resistance to deformation under load.
A stiff wheel converts the maximum amount of your
energy into forward motion, however it makes for a
rough ride since it absorbs very little road shock.
The stiffness of a wheel increases as the spoke
length decreases, since spokes are the most
flexible part of the hub/spoke/rim combination.
Spoke length is decreased by reducing the number of
spoke crossings (the number of other spokes each
spoke goes over or under between hub and rim) and
by using large-flange hubs. Stiffness is also
increased by using more and thicker spokes.
o Resilience
This is a wheel's ability to absorb shock. It's the
opposite of stiffness, so can be achieved by
increasing the spoke length.
o Longevity
A very desirable attribute, let's call it
longevity, is that a wheel doesn't go out of true
or suffer broken spokes. This is where you can
score by building your own wheels: a good
hand-built wheel has a real edge in longevity over
its machine-built counterpart because it contains
no unnecessary stresses and because the spokes have
been artificially "aged" during building.
o Aerodynamic considerations
Aerodynamic considerations only become significant
at the high speeds of road-racing and
time-trialling. It may seem that variations in
wheel construction can't have much effect on the
aerodynamics of the bike, but the rotation of the
wheel increases the drag it causes. Also, small
variations in performance assume more importance in
competition.
A wheel can be made more aerodynamic by using aero
rims (which have a deep, rounded cross-section that
smoothes the airflow), fewer spokes and/or bladed
spokes. The use of aero rims has no particular
drawbacks, but using fewer spokes reduces the
wheel's strength and stiffness, and using bladed
spokes makes the wheel more difficult to build
since you must make sure the spokes are not
twisted; if they were, the advantage would be lost.
Examples of wheels
Here are some examples of the wheels used by different
kinds of bikes which show how different applications
require different wheels. Don't take these examples as
definitive.
o ATB: solid-spindle small-flange hub, 40 14-gauge
spokes built three-cross, very wide box-section 26"
rim. ATB wheels are built to take real punishment.
The very wide rims add strength and allow the use
of fat tyres.
o Touring: quick-release small-flange hub, 36 14-gauge
spokes built three-cross, wide box-section 700C
rim. Touring bikes require a strong, long-lasting
wheel that's not so stiff as to be uncomfortable to
ride. This makes touring wheels very suitable for
general purpose use such as commuting or shopping.
For extra resilience, touring wheels are sometimes
built four-cross.
o Road-race: quick-release small-flange hub, 32
double-butted (14/16/14-gauge) spokes built
two-cross, aero-profile 700C sprint rim. Road-race
wheels must be both stiff and light, and strong
enough to stand up to long distances on normal road
surfaces.
o Track: solid spindle large-flange hub, 28 14-gauge
spokes built radially, sprint rim. Track wheels
require a difficult combination of strength,
stiffness and low drag, with stiffness being
particularly important. A track rear wheel would
probably be built two-cross, at least on the gear
side.
Wheelbuilding Processes
These are the processes involved in wheelbuilding:
o Trueing
Trueing is the process of making fine adjustments
to the tension of each spoke until the rim spins
with no wobbles. Trueing should of course eliminate
sideways wobbles, but also up-and-down wobbles that
show that the rim is not quite circular.
o Centring
A centred wheel is one that sits perfectly central
in the frame: the rim is the same sideways distance
from each dropout.
o Dishing
A dished wheel is one where the rim is not centred
between the hub flanges. The rear wheel of any
derailleur-geared bike is dished because one flange
is pushed inwards to make room for the gear
cluster, therefore dishing is necessary to make
sure that the rim is centred in the frame. On a
dished wheel the gear-side spokes come up to the
rim at a steeper angle than the off-side spokes and
carry more tension.
o Stressing
Stressing is the under-publicised way of making
sure your wheels won't go out of true. By
stretching the spokes very tightly several times
while the wheel is being built, much of the initial
"give" of new spokes is taken up. A wheel built
with stressed spokes is much less likely to go out
of true once you start to use it than one built
with unstressed spokes (as machine-built wheels
are).
Building the Wheel
The first time you build a wheel it's best to start to
with something not too extreme: a conventional 36-hole
three-cross wheel would be a good start. A
wheelbuilding stand is not necessary, although you
might find it convenient if you intend to build wheels
regularly. I've found that using the bike frame is
good enough for occasional wheelbuilding. Using the
methods I've described, building the rear (dished)
wheel is no more difficult than building the front.
The tools you will need are a spoke nipple key and a
screwdriver.
Preparing the Frame
Build front wheels in the front forks of your bike,
and rear wheels in the rear. But first prepare your
bike as follows:
o Remove the wheels and set the bike upside down.
o Remove the front or rear brake blocks as
appropriate, and replace each block with a bolt
held in place by two nuts. These bolts will act as
the reference points against which you will check
the trueness of the wheel.
o If you are building a rear wheel, you may find it
convenient to remove the chain.
It's handy to have a chair you can sit on while
trueing the wheel.
1 - Lace the Spokes
The best way to lace a wheel is to have beside you
another wheel to copy. This makes the job much easier
than trying to visualise what the completed wheel
should look like, particularly in the early stages
when the partially-laced wheel just looks like a mess.
Here are some tips:
o Before you start to lace up a wheel, put all the
spoke nipples in a dish of oil. The lubrication
will pay off when you come to trueing the wheel
since the nipples will turn easily, even under
load, and it will help any trueing you have to do
in the future.
o Turn each nipple the same number of times onto the
spoke; say four turns to start with.
o Make sure the valve hole is not under a spoke
crossing: the spokes on either side of the valve
should be leaning away from it. Look carefully at
your example wheel to see how this is done. If by
mistake you position the hole under a crossing, the
spokes will hinder access of a pump to the
valve-then you'll feel stupid!
o Lace the spokes in four groups: first all the
left-hand side forward-leaning spokes, then all the
left-hand rearward leaning spokes, then all the
right-hand forward-leaning spokes, finally all the
right-hand rearward-leaning spokes. By the halfway
point, when you've done all the spokes on one side,
the wheel will have acquired some form and
strength.
o When you have finished, examine all the spoke
crossings to make sure they are correct.
2 - Tension the Spokes
You've got to develop a feel for correct spoke
tension. It's not too difficult. The best way is to
pluck the spokes on some good wheels and remember the
pitch of the note they make: the wheels you build
should sound similar.
To give some initial tension to the spokes, put a
couple of turns onto every spoke nipple. Repeat this
until all spokes are fairly tight, although not as
tight as you are eventually aiming for. Make sure that
every spoke nipple has been turned the same number of
times. If this results in some spokes being overly
tight or loose, adjust them to match the others.
3 - True the Rim
The wheel is assembled and the spokes are tight, but
it is not true; when you spin it, it wobbles.
It's inaccurate in two senses since it has both
sideways and up-and-down wobbles. Sideways wobbles are
cured by tightening the spoke inside the wobble and/or
loosening the spoke outside the wobble. Up-and-down
wobbles are cured by tightening pairs of spokes
beneath rises and loosening them beneath dips.
Start with sideways wobbles. Put the wheel into the
frame and spin it gently. The bolts mounted in the
brake calipers provide a reference against which
errors can be judged. If a wobble is large, tighten
several of the inside spokes, tightening the ones at
the peak of the wobble most. Don't tighten any spoke
by more than a full turn, and alternate between fixing
leftward wobbles and rightward wobbles.
To judge up-and-down wobbles, spin the wheel and look
at it from the side. Hold a screwdriver blade close to
the rim across the stays or forks to act as a
reference. To cure errors, tighten pairs of spokes
(one left spoke and one right spoke) under a rise, and
loosen pairs under a dip.
Trueing goes slowly at first, but take your time and
don't make large changes in one go. Check the effect
of every change, and at this stage don't worry about
wobbles of less than a millimetre or so.
4 - Centre the Rim
The wheel spins evenly, but is it centred in the
frame? The way to check is by flipping it: take the
wheel out, turn it round, and put it back in the
frame. If the wheel is not centred, the rim will have
moved to one side.
Correct this by tightening all the spokes on the side
that pulls the rim towards the centre, and/or
loosening all the spokes on the side away from the
centre. Make sure you make the same adjustment to each
spoke. Flip the wheel after each complete adjustment
to check what you have done. If the sideways change in
the position of the rim is less than a couple of
millimetres, the wheel is adequately centred.
This process will automatically build a
correctly-dished rear wheel.
5 - Release Spoke Twist
Some spokes may be twisted, and you should release
this before proceeding. Take the wheel out of the
frame and lie it on the floor (don't do this on a good
carpet!). Kneel over it, hold the rim at opposite
points with both hands, and lean heavily on the wheel
until you hear pinging noises. You've relieved enough
of the load on some spokes for them to untwist. Move
your hands a little way round and lean again,
repeating until each hand has moved half-way round the
rim. Turn the wheel over and repeat the process.
If you put the wheel back in the frame and spin it
now, you'll find that it's less true than it was.
6 - Stress the Spokes
Spoke stressing is important with new spokes, but can
be skipped if you are rebuilding with old ones. It
requires a short length of wooden rod about 1" in
diameter, for example a bit of broom handle or a
screwdriver handle.
Stand over the wheel, with the wheel vertical. Put the
rod through a spoke crossing, grasp the rod on both
sides, and push down quite heavily. Repeat this for
every spoke crossing. You don't want to break the
spokes, but you do want to give them a fright. An
alternative method is to grasp the spokes in groups of
four and squeeze hard.
After you have stressed the spokes, you'll find that
they are noticeably looser.
7 - True to Perfection
Now the process repeats itself:
a. Tighten the spokes to the final tension.
b. Check wheel centring, and adjust if necessary.
c. True the wheel, this time accurately. It becomes
hard to see small wobbles, so a good way to detect
them is by listening! With the wheel spinning
slowly, push the brake caliper slightly towards the
rim. When the bolt touches the rim, at the peak of
the wobble, you'll hear it. When correcting small
wobbles don't make adjustments bigger than half a
turn.
d. Release spoke twist, and perhaps retrue if any
errors appear as a result.
And that's it! Give the wheel a good hard spin, watch
the rim racing round without a trace of wobble, and
feel proud of yourself.
Finally...
There are a couple of things more to do.
If you are using channel section rims, some spokes may
be sticking up on the outside of the rim high enough
to threaten punctures. You should saw or cut off these
ends flush with the nipple. You may also need to
degrease the rim to remove traces of oil. Also, the
first time you ride on the wheel you should NOT hear
any pinging noises: if you do, you didn't adequately
release spoke twist and you may need to retrue.
But that's it. You've built a wheel, an exquisite
balance of tensile and compressive forces. You've
acquired the skill to keep it true and repair it
should a spoke break. Wheels are a mystery to you no
more.
�1989 Rod MacFadyen
|
| 1778.2 | frightful comments! | SHALOT::ELLIS | John Lee Ellis - assembly required | Fri Nov 09 1990 08:45 | 29 |
|
"You don't want to break the spokes,
but you do want to give them a fright." - my favorite line
I think this is a good introduction, and dispenses with a lot
of the mistique that may put people off building their first wheel.
It is so tempting to add more data, but that would imperil keeping
it simple. You might mention that high-flange rims are reputed
to make a stronger, stiffer wheel (e.g., because the spoke length
will be less) ... but does that matter if you can hardly find
high-flange rims any more (as you point out)?
Some people build rear wheels with more spokes than the front ones,
to put the strength where the greatest loads will be.
"The use of aero rims has no particular drawbacks..." - I thought
that aero rims tended to be heavier, and so you actually pay a penalty
below sub-racing speeds.
You might hint in the Trueing/Rounding section that getting a rim
too far out of round (e.g., in the Trueing process) may deform the rim
such that it can't be rounded again.
Oh, and I thought there was a special Campagnolo spoke-stressing tool
for about �55 (in quantity), that can also be used for a screwdriver
or a broomhandle. :-)
-john
|
| 1778.3 | more nits to pick .... | SUSHI::KMACDONALD | IronFish Tamer. | Fri Nov 09 1990 09:54 | 15 |
| Might add a couple things - in the lacing section, it should be noted
that copying the pattern of a machine-built wheel is generally not good
form. It's not bad, but there does seem to be some advantage to using a
correct pattern of trailing and leading spokes. Also note that it's not
too obvious on some rims, but there are definite sides to the spoke
holes (noted as one who has laced a wheel with the left side spokes in
the right side holes :-( ).
As for your statement that the sides of a rear wheel have different
spoke tension, seems to me that the movement of the rim to one side is
what tends to equalize that tension, even though the spokes are pulled
shorter on the freewheel side.... it's the balance of the two sides
tension that leaves the rim where it is, yes?
ken
|
| 1778.4 | Cloudy or what.... | JUMBLY::MACFADYEN | There's no going back | Fri Nov 09 1990 11:18 | 16 |
| Re lacing patterns: I've learned a little more about this since I wrote that
article (well over a year ago). The main thing seems to be to do the spokes
in neat pairs, so that the spokes opposite each other on the hub flange are
doing the same thing: ie both going in the same direction and both with heads
turned inwards (or outwards). Hard to describe this, easy to draw it...
About rear wheel spokes: the two sides do have different tensions, you only
have to pluck the spokes to know this. I understand what you are saying
though: the forces must be in balance somehow. So there is a sense in
which the spoke tensions are equal, and that is when you consider only the
forces acting out of the plane of the wheel. Since the gear-side spokes go
to the hub at a steeper angle than the offside spokes, they have to have a
higher tension in order to have the same out-of-plane force vector.
Rod
|
| 1778.5 | tension balance. lacing patterns | TALLIS::JBELL | Zeno was almost here | Fri Nov 09 1990 11:45 | 21 |
| >As for your statement that the sides of a rear wheel have different
>spoke tension, seems to me that the movement of the rim to one side is
>what tends to equalize that tension, even though the spokes are pulled
>shorter on the freewheel side.... it's the balance of the two sides
>tension that leaves the rim where it is, yes?
The tricky part is that the spokes are at different angles.
The tension along the spoke is different, but the axial components are equal.
That is to say, tension * Tan (angle out of plane) is equal.
----------------------------------------------------------------
The original article includes a section about designing a wheel
for stiffness. I claim that the lacing pattern will not make
a difference in the riding characteristics of a bike.
Any tire is going to be 100 times as compliant as the wheel.
-Jeff
|
| 1778.6 | | JUMBLY::MACFADYEN | There's no going back | Mon Nov 12 1990 10:31 | 26 |
| .5> Any tire is going to be 100 times as compliant as the wheel.
No, I disagree entirely. The spokes are the most compliant part of the
wheel, and just like different rear wheel spoke tensions, this is easy
to prove. Just go to your bike and press hard sideways on the tyre with
your thumb. The tyre will give a little, but the rim will move a lot - you
can easily push it up against the brake blocks. I could qualify this a
little in that I think spoke compliance is definitely greater than tyre
compliance for forces acting at right angles to the plane of the wheel,
whereas I'm sure tyre compliance is greater for forces acting into the
plane of the wheel. However when people talk about "wheel stiffness", they
mean its resistance to out-of-plane forces. When you get out of the saddle
for a climb or a sprint, and really begin to pay attention to bike
stiffness, you're applying large out-of-plane forces to the wheel.
.5> The original article includes a section about designing a wheel
.5> for stiffness. I claim that the lacing pattern will not make
.5> a difference in the riding characteristics of a bike.
Having said all the above, you'll know that I disagree with this
assertion entyrely!
Rod
|
| 1778.7 | I'm not convinced | TALLIS::JBELL | Zeno was almost here | Mon Nov 12 1990 11:37 | 9 |
| I agree that the spokes are more compliant in the axial direction.
And I think we agree that the tire is the most compliant
element in the radial direction.
In the original article, I think that you related wheel stiffness
to riding comfort. In normal riding I think that the tire
will have the most influence on the harshness of ride.
-Jeff Bell
|
| 1778.8 | | JUMBLY::MACFADYEN | There's no going back | Mon Nov 12 1990 12:31 | 11 |
| You may well be right when it comes to ride comfort, since that must be
mainly concerned with radial load, but I think spokes are critical to
perceived stiffness during high pedalling effort.
I read a comment by a top UK time-trialler recently where he was bemoaning
having to use a conventional rear wheel in a race rather than his disc which
broke just before he started: he said that by comparison a spoked rear felt
like it had a flat because it squirmed about so much.
Rod
|
| 1778.9 | Large flange .NE. shorter spoke | USWAV7::CLELAND | Why, I oughta... | Tue Nov 13 1990 07:28 | 29 |
| Re .2
> You might mention that high-flange rims are reputed
>to make a stronger, stiffer wheel (e.g., because the spoke length
>will be less) ...
Negative captain. I'm sure your reference to "high-flange rims"
is merely a typo, as there is no such thing as a high-flange rim.
High-flange hub(s), perhaps...
High-flange hubs can help produce a stiffer wheel, because there
is less spoke "area", from a cross-sectional point of view. They do
not make a wheel stronger because the spokes are shorter. Theory is,
the radius from hub-flange to rim-face is decreased, but the actual
distance from hub-drilling to rim-drilling is not decreased ** when
lacing in cross-spoked patterns **.
This holds true mostly for 3 and 4-cross lacing patterns, but is
arguably de-emphasized with 2-cross paterns. I believe because the
relative angle of the spoke is increased, in relationship to the hub.
The closer the spoke approaches a 180 degree angle relative to the
hub's radius, the smaller the distance from hub-drilling to rim-hole.
Radial spoking obviously would utilize shorter spoke lengths, when
lacing up a large-flange hub.
I ain't no expert, but I'm sure I'm at least partially correct.
If anyone can prove it different, please do...
Face.
|
| 1778.10 | I'll take the 6mm. please. | NOVA::FISHER | Rdb/VMS Dinosaur | Tue Nov 13 1990 08:15 | 9 |
| "Theory is,
the radius from hub-flange to rim-face is decreased, but the actual
distance from hub-drilling to rim-drilling is not decreased ** when
lacing in cross-spoked patterns **."
The spokes for a campy large flange front hub are 6 mm shorter than
those for a campy small flange front hub in a 3X 36 spoke wheel.
ed
|
| 1778.11 | thanks for the info | SHALOT::ELLIS | John Lee Ellis - assembly required | Tue Nov 13 1990 09:11 | 4 |
|
Yes, I did mean high-flange hubs ... of course you *could* describe
the new disk-like rims as "high-flange" but I wouldn't be the one
to do that, no.
|
| 1778.12 | more skepticism on spoking patterns | TALLIS::JBELL | Zeno was almost here | Tue Nov 13 1990 09:39 | 4 |
| 6mm out of about 300. That's a 2% difference in spoke length.
Can you really feel a difference?
|
| 1778.13 | what's a few mm?? | NOVA::FISHER | Rdb/VMS Dinosaur | Tue Nov 13 1990 09:50 | 14 |
| Well, the difference in hub radius (for the Campy small and large
flange hubs) is 14 mm so the 6mm is half of that. What does that mean,
I don't know, I've never used large flange hubs.
The difference in spoke lengths for 3X vs 4X spokes is 6mm. What does
that mean? To me it means that the 4X wheel is heavier.
Can I feel the difference? No, but then I can't feel the difference
between tubies and clinchers either, I guess I just don't ride enough
to appreciate the finer things in life.
Now, an aero seat post, I can feel that.
ed
|
| 1778.14 | | ALLVAX::JROTH | It's a bush recording... | Tue Nov 13 1990 10:05 | 9 |
| If you consider the torque of the hub on a driven (rear) wheel,
then a high flange hub would be stiffer in that respect. A high
flange hub wheel is stiffer if you consider lateral forces on the
wheel too.
I don't know how much you can feel that since I never owned a high
quality set of wheels with high flange hubs.
- Jim
|
| 1778.15 | high-flange and tubular | SHALOT::ELLIS | John Lee Ellis - assembly required | Tue Nov 13 1990 11:03 | 11 |
|
Well, last summer I brought a good set up high-flange tubulars
out of mothballs, which should answer both .-1 and ed's note.
The hubs are Campagnolo Record; the rims are Mavic Campionat du Monde;
the tires are GX's, as I recall.
Anyway, I immediately noticed the difference the tubulars made
("squishy!") which more than distracted from the hubs. Alas.
-john
|
| 1778.16 | The Bicycle Wheel by Jobst Brandt | BOOKS::MULDOON | I'll be right back - Godot | Wed Nov 14 1990 11:12 | 14 |
|
RE: all
The "definitive work" on this subject is 'The Bicycle Wheel'
by Jobst Brandt. He provides a great deal of technical info and
engineering analysis concerning wheels in general and the spoked
bicycle wheel in particular. I believe that Jobst works for HP
somewhere on the west coast and he is a regular contributor to
the newsgroup rec.bicycles on the USENET. You might try posting
there for his (and others') input, but be prepared for, shall we
say, "differing opinions". 8^)
Steve
|
| 1778.17 | The Bicycle Wheel, what'd he say? | USWAV7::CLELAND | Why, I oughta... | Tue Nov 20 1990 07:27 | 29 |
| I've read that particular text a few times.
I had to use the "plow" technique. I started at the beginning,
and plowed my way into the text. Each time, I would be entirely
lost by terminology, and forced to go back to the beginning to
start all over again. I was able to plow my way through the
entire book, but as far as comprehension is concerned, well...
I didn't find the book overly useful for a definitive text on
wheel building. No one else could perhaps approach his level
of research on the physical properties of the bicycle wheel.
Still though, I had taught myself how to build wheels by copy-
ing built ones. I learned how to lace from trial and error.
I'm probably still not performing the most efficient lacing
pattern, (in fact I use two different methods, depending on
the eventual spoke crossing, x2, x3, x4) but I'm still trying.
I bought Brandt's book to learn how to build my wheels tighter.
I was, and still am, not getting the spokes as tight as any
factory built wheel. The only help I received from the book
was to use a lubricant for the nipple threads. That was it.
I'd already discovered that little bit of knowledge on my own.
I'm building tighter wheels now, but I'd like some instruction
on how to properly tension a newly laced wheel.
I didn't find the text to be "hands on", or, in *my* case,
"in layman's terms". 'Cause me vocabewlerry ain't be 'zackly
d'at of a jeenious...
T'anks, Face
|
| 1778.18 | Difficult to over-tighten | JUMBLY::MACFADYEN | That's done it, I'm off | Wed Nov 21 1990 05:13 | 24 |
| Re .17: I found I was building wheels too loose when a couple of times
a spoke on a new wheel lost tension completely and warped the wheel. This
happens particularly with lubricated nipples (ooh).
In a bicycle mag I saw a reference to Brandt's book (which I haven't read)
which said that he recommended 100 kg per spoke (over 200 lbs). I have no
direct way of measuring spoke tension other than by the note the spoke
makes when plucked, so I thought I'd load a spoke up to that sort of level
and see what it sounded like.
Using an old hub and a bit of an old rim, I devised a way in which I could
hang my entire weight off one spoke, using the bit of rim to hold onto and
do a pull-up on. I weigh around 80 kg, not even Brandt's 100 kg, and by God
that spoke was tight, much tighter than in any wheel I'd ever built. It had
a really high note, at least an octave higher than spokes on my existing
wheels, suggesting that it was at least double their tension.
So I went back to the wheels on my racing bike and put a lot more tension
into them. No more spokes came loose and the wheel has stayed very true all
year through about 1500 miles of use. I intend to tighten the wheels on the
other bike similarly.
Rod
|
| 1778.19 | an esoteric work | SHALOT::ELLIS | John Lee Ellis - assembly required | Wed Nov 21 1990 08:06 | 10 |
|
Rod,
I wish I had a newly built wheel to check the tension on.
Brandt's book is good reading, in my opinion, but it is not
easy reading. If you cannot obtain a copy, I will send you
some sample pages, or you can borrow my copy.
-john
|
| 1778.20 | | JUMBLY::MACFADYEN | That's done it, I'm off | Wed Nov 21 1990 09:03 | 5 |
| Hi John, there's no difficulty in obtaining that book here, I've just never
bothered... I'll get round to it sooner or later.
Rod
|
| 1778.21 | Spoke Length Calculations | TALLIS::JBELL | Zeno was almost here | Wed Nov 21 1990 14:19 | 28 |
| Probably the single most useful item from Jobst's book is his formula
for calculating spoke length. You need to know these things:
D = rim diameter (i.e. where you want the spokes to end ~600mm)
d = hub flange diameter center to center across the spoke holes (~44mm)
W = flange spacing (~75 mm)
S = diameter of the spoke hole (~2.5 mm)
N = number of spokes (24 to 48, usually 36)
X = number of crossings (2 3 or 4)
From this info, caclulate
Hole Radius s = S/2
Rim Radius R = D/2
Hub Radius r = d/2
Spoke Angle T = 720 * X/N
A = r * sin(T)
B = R - r*cos(T)
C = W/2
Spoke Length = sqrt(A^2 + B^2 + C^2) - s
I usually subtract 2 mm to allow for spoke tensioning.
-Jeff Bell
|
| 1778.22 | "Building Bicycle Wheels" by Robert Wright | ISTG::ZIELONKO | Loose lips are the mothers of invention. | Tue Nov 27 1990 07:22 | 7 |
| I have managed to build a number of wheels for myself using a simple and
practical book called "Building Bicycle Wheels" by Robert Wright. The book is a
short (45 pages including index and appendices) and sweet "how to" on building
wheels. It's also quite cheap. The copy I have was priced at $1.95. (I bought
it sometime in the early 80s.)
Karol
|
| 1778.23 | Wheelsmith article in Bicycle Guide | SHALOT::ELLIS | John Lee Ellis - assembly required | Tue Nov 27 1990 08:57 | 13 |
|
...and the latest (December) Bicycle Guide has a piece on the
two guys behind Wheelsmith Fabrications, Menlo Park CA. -
Eric and Jon Hjertberg.
According to the article, they wanted to collaborate with
nearby Jobst Brandt on a book, but found he wanted to write
too theoretically for them, and so he wrote the book himself.
They have apparently analyzed hundreds and hundreds of wheels,
and brought machine-built wheels up to a new standard.
-john
|
| 1778.24 | | EDIT::CRITZ | LeMond Wins '86,'89,'90 TdF | Tue Nov 27 1990 12:59 | 5 |
| I believe BICYCLING ran a series of articles by Hjertberg
back in 1987 or 1988. I have copies of them, but it would
take me some time to find them.
Scott
|
| 1778.25 | there's a wheel too tight tonight in Winnipeg... | SUSHI::KMACDONALD | Drywall Poster Child for 1990 | Tue Nov 27 1990 13:24 | 15 |
| >that spoke was tight, much tighter than in any wheel I'd ever built. It had
>a really high note, at least an octave higher than spokes on my existing
>wheels, suggesting that it was at least double their tension.
Sounds like an interesting experiment! I did actually find a wheel once
that seemed like it was TOO TIGHT. It was a radially-laced wheel built
by a famous Canadian frame-builder (famous to us, because we were the
nearest shop in the States and we had to fix lots of his foul-ups). The
spokes were just "brick-hard" as one of my co-workers used to say, the
wheel had gone out of true, and I certainly couldn't tighten them to
true the wheel. However, in LOOSENING the spokes, 3 of them broke right
in the middle. Personally, seems to me those spokes were under too much
stress; as was I when the wheel's owner returned, oh well!
ken
|
| 1778.26 | Lacing the first spoke?? | RUTILE::STIMPSON | EIC Ferney-Voltaire | Mon Jan 21 1991 11:30 | 14 |
| Under Rod's tutelage (distance learning, since he wasn't in the room), I
tried to build my very first wheel this weekend. My main problem so far is
with lacing the spokes. Despite Rod's advice to use an already built wheel
as a reference, I managed to lace up the wheel wrongly, though to a layman
like me, it looked OK to begin with - the problem was that some of the
spokes were protruding head and shoulders above the tyre-side of the rim.
My second attempt was last night - this time, I think I have got it right,
but if it is a success, I'm sure there was a lot of luck about it. Thing
is...where and how do you start, bearing in mind that you need NOT to have
the spokes crossing above the valve hole? Once you have laced the first
spoke, you have determined where all the others must go!
Keith
|
| 1778.27 | wheel reference points | TALLIS::JBELL | Zeno was almost here | Mon Jan 21 1991 12:34 | 10 |
| You can start with the first spoke next to the valve hole.
In a 36 spoke wheel, the joint is exaclt opposite the valve.
This means that there will be more force pulling it together.
You could start spooking next to the rim joint.
Is the joint across from the valve on rims where the number
of spokes is a multiple of 8?
-Jeff
|
| 1778.28 | something in the air... | SHALOT::ELLIS | John Lee Ellis - assembly required | Mon Jan 21 1991 13:28 | 19 |
|
Coincidentally, I laced up some wheels on Saturday and Sunday.
The ingredients have been around for a year, and I've just not
had the time 'til now.
Anyway, I followed Jobst Brandt's instructions (first spoke to left
of valve-hole, with rim aligned so first rim-hole is upward, etc.).
Worked fine. I went around several times tightening four turns
each time, 'til the spoke-ends were almost flush with the nipples.
Now I will take it by my bike shop for help in dishing the rear wheel,
plus final tensioning, relaxation, and truing. (I intend to have a
reliable set of wheels, with many miles in them.)
FYI, Campy Record hubs (36 hole rear, 32 hole front), Campy Omega
aero rims (also 36 hole rear, 32 hole front :-)), Wheelsmith
double butted spokes.
-john
|
| 1778.29 | :-) | NOVA::FISHER | Well, there's still an Earth to come home to. | Mon Jan 21 1991 15:00 | 7 |
| It has been my experience that the rim joint is opposite from the valve
hole whenver the number of spoke holes is a multiple of two.
Of course, I have not seen all such rims ever made nor have I ever seen
a rim where the number of spoke holes was not a multiple of two.
ed
|
| 1778.30 | spoke counts | TALLIS::JBELL | Zeno was almost here | Mon Jan 21 1991 15:17 | 11 |
| Most bicycle wheels have a a multiple of four for the number
of spokes. This is because you would like to have the same number
pushing as pulling. on each side.
OK... trivia question.
You find a wheel that has 30 spokes.
What two lacing patterns could it use?
-Jeff Bell
|
| 1778.31 | a shot in the dark | SHALOT::ELLIS | John Lee Ellis - assembly required | Mon Jan 21 1991 15:33 | 2 |
|
ummm... radial and three-cross?
|
| 1778.32 | shot in the dark #2 | TPWEST::SHROYER | | Mon Jan 21 1991 15:38 | 9 |
|
While we're into guessing....
radial and two cross (each cross involves three spokes; five cross
group on each side)
I'd probably trade the rim in on something more traditional like 32
holes.
|
| 1778.33 | Seen long ago.... | SUSHI::KMACDONALD | Drywall Poster Child for 1990 | Mon Jan 21 1991 16:28 | 7 |
| > It has been my experience that the rim joint is opposite from the valve
> hole whenver the number of spoke holes is a multiple of two.
Seems to me that I ran across a few where this was not the case. Rims were
decidedly of the "economy plus" variety (like, the whole bike new was in
the 69$ range...). Why'd you bring this up; I was trying to forget! :-)
ken
|
| 1778.34 | trivia answer | WMOIS::N_FLYE | | Mon Jan 21 1991 20:36 | 8 |
|
Radial and Crow's (something or other). The second is definitely an
interesting "pattern". It only works on wheels with spokes in
multiples of six though.
Norm
|
| 1778.35 | heck, I dunno. | NOVA::FISHER | Well, there's still an Earth to come home to. | Tue Jan 22 1991 07:58 | 3 |
| 20 3X on the frewheel side and 10 radial on the other. ??
ed
|
| 1778.36 | crow's feet and radial | TALLIS::JBELL | Zeno was almost here | Tue Jan 22 1991 09:12 | 7 |
| The answer is that it's either radial, or crow's feet
if it has 30 holes. I'm not sure who the winner is.
Crow's feet is where you have groups of three. One is "pushing"
another is "pulling" and the third is radial.
-Jeff Bell
|
| 1778.37 | 40H front? | DOOZER::PENNEY | Richard Penney 830 4114 @RKA 1/19 | Tue Jan 22 1991 15:16 | 16 |
| First - does anyone know if any firm makes a 40 hole front hub? I want
reasonable quality, but not at Phil Wood price (I've read that they'll do
any number of holes to order). Also I don't want tandem weight.
Second - if as I suspect there's no such thing, what about getting a 20
hole hub and drilling the extra holes myself? No problem doing the actual
drilling - we're set up at home to do that sort of thing - what I'm
wondering is if there is a 20h hub with enough meat in the flanges to allow
for the additional holes.
Thanks,
Richard
ps In case you wonder why I want this, it's for the front wheel of my
trike. I want 40h to withstand the sideways cornering forces that you don't
get on a bicycle.
|
| 1778.38 | yep, they're made. | NOVA::FISHER | Well, there's still an Earth to come home to. | Tue Jan 22 1991 17:22 | 3 |
| I have a pair of specialized 40 hole hubs.
ed
|
| 1778.39 | They get 'em donated. | NOVA::FISHER | Well, there's still an Earth to come home to. | Tue Jan 22 1991 17:24 | 7 |
| re:.37 again. It might be easier to find an undriled hub and
drill all 40 holes yourself.
Whenever the US team goes high tech, they mention doing their own
drilling. Of course, they might be in a different price bracket. :-)
ed
|
| 1778.40 | 40 hole front? | IDEFIX::HEMMINGS | Lanterne Rouge | Wed Jan 23 1991 03:29 | 11 |
| Richard
Do you really need 40 hole? I raced a trike for many years with an old Campag
Gran Sport LF 28 hole built on a Mavic in the front. I didn't have any
problems and I'm sure the speed and my weight (75 kg) would have stressed it.
I would have used 28's or 32's in the back but couldn't afford to change the
hubs. My view is that trikes carry enough surplus weight already, I would go
for 36's and a strong rim.
If you are really stuck on the idea, try Swallow's in Laindon - they also do
heavy duty spokes (or they did 4 years ago).
|
| 1778.41 | | RUTILE::MACFADYEN | Drinking for peace | Wed Jan 23 1991 15:40 | 26 |
| > <<< Note 1778.27 by TALLIS::JBELL "Zeno was almost here" >>>
>
> In a 36 spoke wheel, the joint is exaclt opposite the valve.
> This means that there will be more force pulling it together.
I'd disagree with this assertion, and make one of my own - it doesn't
make a blind bit of difference where the rim joint is, since any part
of the rim feels the same load from the spokes as any other part of the
rim. To be more explicit, the spokes exert a uniform compressive force
on the rim: it's like a circular arch.
The question (in another reply?) about 30 spoke hubs is interesting.
Does anyone know how many different spoking patterns there are?
Keith's (.26) difficulty certainly exposed a continent of ignorance on
my part, that is, what procedure can one use to ensure that you lace a
wheel correctly? (Other than trial and error.) I looked at the wheel in
question and what had happened was that each spoke had gone into a
valve hole one step round from the one it should have gone into, with
the effect that half the spokes seemed too short and half seemed too
long. I sympathised deeply with this, having done that before too..
Rod
|
| 1778.42 | the things to watch out for.... | SUSHI::KMACDONALD | Drywall Poster Child for 1990 | Wed Jan 23 1991 16:43 | 25 |
| > my part, that is, what procedure can one use to ensure that you lace a
> wheel correctly? (Other than trial and error.) I looked at the wheel in
Best bet - find a good quality hand-built wheel that has all the nice lacing
characteristics you want. Get the same components and copy it slavishly!
Various pitfalls involve... 1) the spoke holes in rims alternate sides.
There are left- and right-hand rims based on which way the holes go when
leaving the valve hole. Don't try to lace a LH rim by copying a RH wheel.
BTW, RH and LH are relative, two rims will either be the same orientation
or mirror images, I don't know that there's a standard definition of LH/RH.
2) try to get the valve hole in between a 'group' of spokes, makes
pumping easier. 3) note that the spoke holes on the hub are offset between
the 2 flanges... 4) figure out how the spokes come off the hub to form
the groups at the rim. By doing this you can figure out how to get the spokes
coming off the hub correctly. 5) as you lace, be sure to get the trailing
spokes on the inside of the hub flanges. Important because sooner or later
somebody will make a snide comment about your wheel building ability if
you copy a machine-built wheel lacing pattern. :-)
Anyway, if you don't have a copy of what you're going to build handy, spend
some time figuring it out. It'll be obvious soon into the mission if you
screw up: just stop, and take it all apart again, it'll be less frustrating
in the long run and you'll have a good wheel to copy later on :-).
ken
|
| 1778.43 | eh? | NOVA::FISHER | Well, there's still an Earth to come home to. | Thu Jan 24 1991 05:30 | 11 |
| re: .41: "each spoke had gone into a valve hole ..."
Eh? Weird tube for that one, wot?
And, assuming [!] that "spkoe hole" or "spoke nipple hole"
was meant, It still sounds like the rim is only rotated 10�.
Now, if you lace half the spokes (trailing?) and then the other half
and "one step round" don't you just get an (N-1)X pattern?
ed
|
| 1778.44 | 40h - ta for replies | DOOZER::PENNEY | Richard Penney 830 4114 @RKA 1/19 | Fri Jan 25 1991 06:55 | 15 |
| Ed and Robin, thanks for your replies on 40H front hub. I'll see if I can
find a UK stockist of Specialised. I'd already thought of getting a blank
hub and drilling it myself, but doubt availability of such a hub.
Robin, what you say about 40H not being necessary sounds pretty convincing.
One think I have noticed however, having taken up triking again after a gap
of many years, is that roads are in a much worse state than I remember -
and fast cornering on what's often a bumpy surface can really get the front
pattering. Having said that I must get round to tensioning the existing
wheels (36H front, moderate quality rim), this being long overdue. I'll
then see how it goes for a while (no option here, being beanless).
Reckon making up some hollow drive shafts may be more interesting anyway...
Richard
|
| 1778.45 | How can I grind/file down spokes? | RUTILE::STIMPSON | EIC Ferney-Voltaire | Thu Feb 21 1991 07:38 | 18 |
| Thanks for replies on where to put the first spoke. Now I have another
problem..
The wheels are built and trued to perfection (after Rod inspected them
recently and "stressed the spokes" I had to start again but let that
pass).
Now the spoke-ends are protruding just that bit too much on the tube
side of the rim and I need to grind the things down. How do I do this
without a) investing in an expensive purpose-designed tool
b) damaging the rims ?
I can't use a file since the spoke-ends rest in circular rebates and
the tool would foul up on the (Mavic M3) rim.
Any suggestions? I'm trying to keep to a schedule which means I am
commuting on my bike to work from March 1 and I need finished wheels to
do this....
|
| 1778.46 | | SUSHI::KMACDONALD | Drywall Poster Child for 1990 | Thu Feb 21 1991 09:11 | 19 |
| > Now the spoke-ends are protruding just that bit too much on the tube
> side of the rim and I need to grind the things down. How do I do this
> without a) investing in an expensive purpose-designed tool
> b) damaging the rims ?
Might want to try a Dremel tool with a grinding bit; presuming you can fit
the bit into the space necessary. Your basic electric drill with similar bit
would probably work OK, too. If the spoke is sticking up AT ALL, you can use
a file, my preferred tool for this kinda thing. Using a BIG mill file seems
to work better than a small file (turn it so you're grinding with the EDGE,
not the face of the file). The weight of a big file makes it easier to control
and thus less potential rim damage.
In my experience, BTW, the spoke length gauges I've seen seem to come up with
spokes that are about 1-2 mm too long; I've had excellent luck using spokes
a bit shorter than the gauge said; when using the gauge length I've frequently
had to trim. This may have changed, as it's been quite a while since I
looked at a gauge....
ken
|
| 1778.47 | I hate it when that happens. | NEMAIL::DELORIEA | Resurrect the DEC Bike Club | Thu Feb 21 1991 15:00 | 22 |
| > Now the spoke-ends are protruding just that bit too much on the tube
> side of the rim and I need to grind the things down. How do I do this
> without a) investing in an expensive purpose-designed tool
> b) damaging the rims ?
Are the spokes protruding from every hole or every fourth hole?
I built a fixed hub wheel this past winter and had every fourth spoke protruding
into the tube area. Of course this was a mistake I made on where to start my
second half of spokes.
If it is every hole then the length of spoke is too long. It might be easier to
get new spokes and rebuild the wheel than trim the ends.
You could take one spoke off and thread a nipple onto the spoke so that the end
of the spoke is sticking past the nipple. Then cut the end of the spoke with a
heavy duty wire cutter. Next file the burr off the end of the spoke. Then back
the nipple off the spoke to re-thread the end of the spoke. Because nipples are
usually a soft metal you might be better off using a steel nut that will thread
onto the spoke than a nipple. That is unless you can find a really hard nipple.
T
|
| 1778.48 | I did it... | CSCOA1::HOOD_R | | Thu Jan 02 1992 20:00 | 74 |
|
Well, I took the plunge and built a wheel on my Deore LX (rear) hub
over Christmas. Following instruction in the base note and in the
DEC (Jan?) issue of bicycling, I successfully laced,tensioned and
trued a rear wheel for the my Stumpjumper. It looks pretty good,
even if I do say so myself. :^)
I laced the wheel in a three cross pattern. The rim I was using was a
"mirror image" of rims on my other wheels, so I started at the "up"
eyelet on the rim and laced all of the forward facing spokes on the
cassette/freewheel side of the hub. Then the rear facing spokes on the
same side. I then turned the wheel over and repeated.
I found that the most difficult part of lacing was deciding(realizing)
which side of the valve hole to start on, and whether or not the first
spoke should run to the inside or outside of the hub. Once decided, it
took about 1hr to lace the wheel and put 4 turns on each nipple.
I then did a good deal of tensioning all the way around until the
spokes were a good bit stiffer. Next, I put it on the bike and gave it
a spin. I started the truing process by getting the really major
side to side wobbles out of the wheel. Not having done this before,
I started by tightening the 4 or 5 spokes underneath peaks. Most of
what I read said "tighten spokes opposite the peak" but didn't say how
many. I found however, that tightening 3 spokes directly under the peak
gave me better results. I would tighten one turn on each nipple at a
time. When the wobbles were mostly out (less than a few millimeters),
I checked the dish. It was way to one side, so I pulled it over by
tightening all of the spokes on the side that I wanted to pull to.
(BTW, I used the "turn the wheel around" method to check dish).
When the wheel was centered, I checked for roundness. I pulled down
the major peaks to round the wheel out. I then put in final truing...
turning the spokes 1/4 turn until the side to side wobbles were less
than 1-2 millimeters. I basically tightened, tightened ,tightened to
true the wheel until the spokes were really tight. Only then did I
untighten spokes at the top and on the same side of the peak to
help the truing process. Once true, I did the
release-the-twisted-spokes-thing and the stress-the-spokes-thing, and
went back to truing. In all, it took about an hour for lacing and
2+ hours for truing.
I ended up with a wheel that has less than 1mm of side to side
wobble, 1mm of out of roundness. This is truer than the wheels that
I am currently riding on, so I consider it a success. It's not
as good as my local bike shop can do (but they do it for a living,
right?). My observations:
1) If I do this more than a few times, then I'll get a truing
stand. It's hard to really zero in on a high/low spot with the
wheel in the bike...eyeballing against a brake block. As the
wheel gets truer and truer, it gets harder and harder to pick
out exactly which spoke to tighten/loosen next. Since the local bike
shops charge $20-$30 to build a wheel (not including parts),
a truing stand would pay for itself in about 3-4 wheels
(or 8 "spot true"s).
2) No one should be afraid to try this. I started off with a Nashbar
ultralight ATB rim and some DT spokes (in case I destroyed the
rim on the first try). I wish now that I had built with a better
rim, because it was far easier than I expected. My total investment
was less than $30 (I already had the hub) and some time.
3) I can build a wheel good enough to ride on. I pounded this
wheel yesterday and it's as true as when I started. Only time
will tell how good they really are. Once I see how they hold up,
I'll give a try at spot truing all of my wheels.
4) Practice makes perfect. I'm sure I could do this in far less time now
that I have done it.
To all those pondering building a wheel: just do it!
doug
|
| 1778.49 | | RUTILE::MACFADYEN | yes, meaning no | Fri Jan 10 1992 12:20 | 5 |
| That's a very encouraging note. Your experience is like mine: building a
wheel is no big deal, and it's fun and builds confidence too.
Rod
|
| 1778.50 | and again... | MIMS::HOOD_R | | Thu Dec 02 1993 14:26 | 15 |
|
Here I am (almost two years later) and the other half of this wheelset
tacoed (the front Ritchey rim bought it). I bought a Campy rim and
DT spokes for $30 and built the wheel last night. This time, I needed
no instructions to build the wheel, and I cut over an hour off my
previous wheel build time. Afterwords, I trued every wheel in the house
and have convinced myself to not spend another $8 for a trueing.
This is a worthwhile endeavor for anyone who wants to remove the mystic
of wheel trueing and building. It is a (cheap) $30 lesson that pays
itself back in savings on wheel maintenence, and it leaves you with
a wheel that you are proud of and have confidence in.
doug
|