wheelbuilding

Any wheelbuilders here? I have two wobbly rear wheels, and a penchant to learn how to build my own. Any tips or good ideas on the process would be welcomed. So far I'm reading up and it doesn't seem too complex, mostly a fiddly work of patience.

In the meantime - the rear wheel on my commuter bike will not stop wobbling (side to side play, a mm or two), though I've opened up the hub and replaced the bearings with new ones and greased liberally. But at least it stopped clicking and "grumbling". One of the outer cones (the one attached to the axle shaft, non-drivetrain side) seems a little pitted - would just replacing this one help? Or is the hub probably just worn out?

The rims and spokes are fine, but used, which is why I'd rather fix up the hub a little than buy or build something new.

ETA: I just (doh) did a search, and found some good tips have been offered here before. Will read closely. In case anyone still wants to chime in, I'll be a little more specific - I'm looking to build a 26'' rear wheel for my commuter bike, for use every day in sometimes foul weather, but only on roads and some gravel. I.e. doesn't have to be super strong (I weigh 58 kgs) or exceptionally fast but I value low maintenance, longevity and smooth running very highly. I have the Gerd Schraner book, btw, very useful! And I have access to a truing stand and a tensiometer.

I see you responded to my wheelbuilding thread of long ago. I photo-documented my build and here is the link:

http://good-times.webshots.com/photo...02221940lQflwo

There is text that starts above the photo and sometimes gets cut off. Continue reading below the photo.

I built my own truing stand. That was fun and gave the process more organic-ness. The exploration and self-teaching of the build was just as fun as the build itself.

The wheels are still going strong and just as beautiful now as the first day I used them. I true them on occasion and nothing has been out of whack. I put in a few tweaks and I'm set. I like the choice of my build. I find a big difference on how the wheels respond compared to my old ones.

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Originally Posted by lph

I have the Gerd Schraner book, btw, very useful! And I have access to a truing stand and a tensiometer.

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Do you have a dishing tool?

Yup. Well, my gadget-crazed buddy has one.

My recommendation is to go as slowly as possible with your first wheel build. Don't over tension the spokes after you have laced them and before you start truing. Just thread the nipples on enough to remove obvious slack, then true, round, dish...true, round, dish, etc etc...and after there is some tension on the drive side, start stress-relieving the spokes after each round. Go 3x on the rear, both sides for the strongest wheel. There is no reason to go with less...you don't save any noticeable weight, and strength is generally compromised.

Also, it is a lot easier to build a front wheel as your first wheel. When you do a rear wheel for the first time, you will notice the drive side spokes will be much tighter than the nondrive spokes as they come into tension, if you keep the wheel dished as you go. Tensioning the nondrive spokes will affect the dish more than when you tension the drive side spokes the same amount. Hard to explain but you will find out. You will usually have to add a quarter of a turn or more to the driveside spokes to keep the dishing correct as you build...

Also, ensure you have adequate tension. To prevent spoke wind up, a good spoke prep is linseed oil. It provides great lubrication during the build, then also provides the same effect as loctite once it dries a bit. I dip the spokes collectively in a little puddle of linseed oil in a paper cup, and let the excess come off by lying them on newspaper.

It's a practice in patience and attention. Good luck and have fun.

Thanks Margo, good tips!

I'm in the process of getting used to the price tag on good hubs... :eek:

Yes, good hubs are pricey - but worth it

- Jo "likes her White Industries hubs" bob

Just stumbled across my old thread on wheelbuilding, and wanted to update it to say:

Wheeeee!!!! I've never had a better rear wheel than I have now! :D It's discernably stiffer, rolls like nobody's business, and TICKS. The hub is Hope and it lets everyone know it. I love it :p

I'll have to try my hand at building a wheel for my road bike too, next winter maybe.

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Originally Posted by lph

Just stumbled across my old thread on wheelbuilding, and wanted to update it to say:

Wheeeee!!!! I've never had a better rear wheel than I have now! :D It's discernably stiffer, rolls like nobody's business, and TICKS. The hub is Hope and it lets everyone know it. I love it :p

I'll have to try my hand at building a wheel for my road bike too, next winter maybe.

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Alright, that does it, I'm ordering rims and spokes today! I've been hemming and hawing about building a set of MTB wheels with the XTR hubs that I have, and you've convinced me to try it :)

What rim did you use, LPH? How long did it take you to finish the wheel as a rookie wheelbuilder? I'm wondering if I'll get to ride these this season. I have some experience truing/tensioning/dishing, and IME I'm very very slow ;)

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Originally Posted by Becky

Alright, that does it, I'm ordering rims and spokes today! I've been hemming and hawing about building a set of MTB wheels with the XTR hubs that I have, and you've convinced me to try it :)

What rim did you use, LPH? How long did it take you to finish the wheel as a rookie wheelbuilder? I'm wondering if I'll get to ride these this season. I have some experience truing/tensioning/dishing, and IME I'm very very slow ;)

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Cool! :D

It's a bit hard to estimate how long it took me, because in the meantime I got the original rear wheel fixed (i.e. I finally put the correct parts together in the correct order in the hub :o ) so I was in no hurry. I guess I spent maybe 4 or 5 evenings, but maybe just an hour or two each time. It takes focus and patience, which I don't have a lot of, so whenever I found myself getting a bit hungry or frustrated or unfocussed I just stopped. This was from scratch, I had never trued or tensioned a wheel before.

I haven't checked my wheel yet, I've ridden it for a week or so and have borrowed a tensiometer to check the tension. But it seems to be doing peachy :)

Thanks for the encouragement, LPH! Today has been a miserable drizzly raw day here in the Mid-Atlantic, so I took advantage of my indoor time to work on some new mountain bike wheels this afternoon. So far, the rear one is completely done- laced, trued, and tensioned. It's sooooo nice compared to my old one! Can't wait to ride it! After some dinner and a beer, I plan to lace up the front one :)

*bounces with excitement*

Very cool! You're fast :D Hope they both turn out beautifully.

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Originally Posted by lph

Very cool! You're fast :D Hope they both turn out beautifully.

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I had great directions to work from, and that made all the difference. I used Roger Musson's e-book (http://www.wheelpro.co.uk/wheelbuilding/book.php) and it was worth every penny.