How hard is it to build a wheel?

scblack

scblack

Leucocholic
I have the grand experience of building one wheelset, my current DH wheelset using DT spokes. Roger Musson's book is invaluable and MORE than worth the outlay - and he does reply to your queries in a very helpful way.

A tension meter is not necessary, as he says just pluck them and you can tell the required tension is there.

My wheels have been used for DH for two years with no problem whatsoever.

If you feel the need for tension meter and that gives you a warm and fuzzy feeling inside, by all means buy one. But its not necessary.
 
redbruce

redbruce

Eats Squid
0psi said:
Bwahahaha! The coolest piece of shit ever. I'm quite fond of a crows foot lacing myself.

I'm about to tie and solder a set of Stans Race Golds which should be interesting. Might have to experiment on the missuses bike before we hit the nice wheels.
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Might want to read what Musson says about tied wheels before you waste your time.
 
0

0psi

Eats Squid
scblack said:
A tension meter is not necessary, as he says just pluck them and you can tell the required tension is there.
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Nice. There is also no need for a pressure gauge, just squeeze your tyre, you can tell the required pressure is there.

There are two things I can tell you about tension meters.
All the best wheel builders I know use one. Guys that have built wheels for World Champions, guys who think 0.5mm deviation is unacceptable, the guys who make people say they're never going to ride a factory built wheel again.
The other thing I can tell you about tension gauges is that everyone who has built wheels without one is amazed at how crap their wheels are once they put a tension gauge on there. I've seen the look of amazement time and time again when I've forced someone to put a gauge to their wheels, even with guys that have worked in the industry for 15-20 years.

As for tying, I know several people who have ridden the same wheels tied and not and claim there is a difference. It is somewhat wheel dependant as to wether they'll be a noticeable difference between tied and not. If your rims will allow enough tension then you probably wouldn't notice a difference but if you are running light rims or spokes that have a limit to how much tension can be put through them then you'll certainly notice a difference.

Speaking of tension limited rims and spokes, how do you know you're approaching the acceptable limits of what your rim will take if you don't use a tension meter?

Personally I'm starting to think this Mussons guy sounds like a bit of a hack but hey, what would I know, I don't have a website! :target:
 
moorey

moorey

call me Mia
0psi said:
Nice. There is also no need for a pressure gauge, just squeeze your tyre, you can tell the required pressure is there.
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I realise you're taking the piss....but I NEVER use a pressure gauge. There's one on my joe blow, but I never look at it, and only ever go on a tyre squeeze. Might be essential for you roadie scum, but I'll pass. I think you should change your name to 100psi.....:pop2:
 
moorey

moorey

call me Mia
0psi said:
Speaking of tension limited rims and spokes, how do you know you're approaching the acceptable limits of what your rim will take if you don't use a tension meter?

!
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Well, duh! The nipple rounds off :lalala:
 
0

0psi

Eats Squid
moorey said:
I realise you're taking the piss....but I NEVER use a pressure gauge. There's one on my joe blow, but I never look at it, and only ever go on a tyre squeeze. Might be essential for you roadie scum, but I'll pass. I think you should change your name to 100psi.....:pop2:
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Actually I never use one on the roadie! :laugh: Pump them up till they're like a rock and you're good to go!

I usually run 26/28 on the MTB but the other day I put 30/30 in and it actually made quite a difference. More than I expected anyway.

And unlike yourself Moorey I don't have the time to get myself calibrated every 6 months :dance:

Edit: Funnily enough the 0psi handle came about as a combination of my old coach always saying "No pressure" and the fact that I never used a pressure gauge. Someone stuck one on my bike one day to discover I had about 14psi in there and that was back in early nineties when we hadn't even dreamt of tubeless.
 
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MARKL

MARKL

Eats Squid
0psi said:
There are two things I can tell you about tension meters.
All the best wheel builders I know use one. Guys that have built wheels for World Champions, guys who think 0.5mm deviation is unacceptable, the guys who make people say they're never going to ride a factory built wheel again.
The other thing I can tell you about tension gauges is that everyone who has built wheels without one is amazed at how crap their wheels are once they put a tension gauge on there. I've seen the look of amazement time and time again when I've forced someone to put a gauge to their wheels, even with guys that have worked in the industry for 15-20 years.
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Before I built my first set of wheels I was talking to a really good bike mechanic in his shop as he serviced a set of Lyrics in the time it takes most people to make a coffee - it was awesome to watch just so quick and easy...too quick for my slow brain to take anything useful in. Anyhow I spied the Park tension meter and asked him his opinion on it. His response was 'I didn't realise how crap my wheel builds were until I got it, now I can build wheels'. On that basis I went and bought one. I guess this is the wrong thread to mention my dial gauge...in my defence 0.5mm is acceptable.
 
M

MTB Wanabe

Likes Dirt
Wheel building really is easy with the right tools and patience. For someone starting out in wheel building I would recommend the following tools as a minimum:

-Good quality spoke wrench
-Spoke tension meter
-Some form of truing stand
-a gauge for measuring the dish

I recommend not skimping on the spoke wrench and tension meter but everything else can be adapted such as using an old fork for the truing stand.

For someone learning on their own, as in not being shown by someone, a tension meter is important to aide in the learning of what the required amount of tension is required in a wheel. Plucking is fine if you can here tone changes and be able to adjust that way but a tension meter will do the job a lot better.

Be patient with learning also. Your first wheel might take you up to about 3-4 hrs to get right. The top blokes will do a wheel in about an hour.

Get Roger Mussons book on wheel building as it is a fantastic guide and for $15 it really is a bargain.

Not an art but challenging to produce a quality product and very rewarding when you get it right and when you do, you will never buy a factory set again.
 
0

0psi

Eats Squid
MTB Wanabe said:
-a gauge for measuring the dish
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Nice but not entirely necessary. If you have a truing stand you can just flip the wheel around to check dish or as I usually do, two stacks of books which the rim sits on and a stack of 5c pieces in the middle towards the hub.

I like having the right tool for the job and at times I miss having a dishing tool but for the 3 or 4 wheels I build a year I haven't bothered yet. In my days of wrenching professionally it was a different story but back then I'd build more wheels in a week than I do in a year now.
 
Knuckles

Knuckles

Lives under a bridge
0psi said:
No jug of water?
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Okay, so this keeps cropping up. Is it in the fuckwits thread? Seriously want to hear the whole story. And if a tacoed wheel meant his life was over, water in the forks mist have been the apocalypse.
 
S

Shredden

Knows his goats
The rebound on my early 2000s rockshox psylos was broken and was wayyy too slow so I took the top cap off with vice grips and filled them with water. And it fixed them.
 
MARKL

MARKL

Eats Squid
Knuckles said:
Okay, so this keeps cropping up. Is it in the fuckwits thread? Seriously want to hear the whole story. And if a tacoed wheel meant his life was over, water in the forks mist have been the apocalypse.
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Shredden said:
The rebound on my early 2000s rockshox psylos was broken and was wayyy too slow so I took the top cap off with vice grips and filled them with water. And it fixed them.
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Whilst technically correct the abbreviated version of the story doesn't do it justicehttp://www.rotorburn.com/forums/showthread.php?233021-I-will-probably-get-punched-in-the-face-for-this-but&highlight=water+fork
 
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