Toward self-built wheelset

I am in the mood to build a new couple of wheels, after several years of "industrial" wheelsets.
My gist is flying over a low-mid profile (for long distances in quality), 24 fore/28 rear holes, non-disk brake, double butted spokes (I think aero' are hard to manage by hands, without tensiometer).
I haven't intention to loose my life (and to hole money pocket) around grams, rather I would prefer to look at reliability.
Personal data: weight 78 kg (172 lb), kms from 120 km to a century of miles, budget comparable with a good wheelset (400 EUR/$).
Any gentle suggestions of brands to look into?

On 03/05/17 15:23, Gabriele Russo wrote:
I am in the mood to build a new couple of wheels, after several years of "industrial" wheelsets.
My gist is flying over a low-mid profile (for long distances in quality), 24 fore/28 rear holes, non-disk brake, double butted spokes (I think aero' are hard to manage by hands, without tensiometer).
I haven't intention to loose my life (and to hole money pocket) around grams, rather I would prefer to look at reliability.
Personal data: weight 78 kg (172 lb), kms from 120 km to a century of miles, budget comparable with a good wheelset (400 EUR/$).
Any gentle suggestions of brands to look into?


I've built a few with Kinlin XR300 rims on the rear and recently XR200
front. I use 24 hole rear laced 16 3x on the right and 8 1x on the left
- skipping holes in the hub flange. I use 2/1.8/2 butted spokes on the
rear wheel. On the front I've used 32 spokes 2/1.5/2 in radial or 1x.
All DT spokes. I tried a 16 spoke front on XR300, but it felt soft.

Only problem I've had was some cracks around the nipple holes on the
rear wheel, due to too much tension. First build in a long time and no
spoke tension gauge. That problem is rectified.

Miche Primato road hubs seem good value for money. Light-ish and durable
too.

--
JS

On Tuesday, May 2, 2017 at 10:23:36 PM UTC-7, Gabriele Russo wrote:
I am in the mood to build a new couple of wheels, after several years of "industrial" wheelsets.
My gist is flying over a low-mid profile (for long distances in quality), 24 fore/28 rear holes, non-disk brake, double butted spokes (I think aero' are hard to manage by hands, without tensiometer).
I haven't intention to loose my life (and to hole money pocket) around grams, rather I would prefer to look at reliability.
Personal data: weight 78 kg (172 lb), kms from 120 km to a century of miles, budget comparable with a good wheelset (400 EUR/$).
Any gentle suggestions of brands to look into?

Mavic MA-2 36h

On 5/3/2017 1:15 AM, James wrote:
On 03/05/17 15:23, Gabriele Russo wrote:
I am in the mood to build a new couple of wheels, after several years
of "industrial" wheelsets.
My gist is flying over a low-mid profile (for long distances in
quality), 24 fore/28 rear holes, non-disk brake, double butted spokes
(I think aero' are hard to manage by hands, without tensiometer).
I haven't intention to loose my life (and to hole money pocket) around
grams, rather I would prefer to look at reliability.
Personal data: weight 78 kg (172 lb), kms from 120 km to a century of
miles, budget comparable with a good wheelset (400 EUR/$).
Any gentle suggestions of brands to look into?


I've built a few with Kinlin XR300 rims on the rear and recently XR200
front. I use 24 hole rear laced 16 3x on the right and 8 1x on the left
- skipping holes in the hub flange. I use 2/1.8/2 butted spokes on the
rear wheel. On the front I've used 32 spokes 2/1.5/2 in radial or 1x.
All DT spokes. I tried a 16 spoke front on XR300, but it felt soft.

Only problem I've had was some cracks around the nipple holes on the
rear wheel, due to too much tension. First build in a long time and no
spoke tension gauge. That problem is rectified.

I'm about the same weight as the original poster; I've had good results
with 24-spoke rear will offset rims (Velocity A23 in my case) that
reduce the tension imbalance on the two sides. But 24 spokes /is/
rather exotic and pushing the limit for a 172-pound rider like me. I
also used a tensiometer.

Double-butted spokes are a wise choice when the spoke count goes lower;
they stretch/elongate more under tension, and thus are less likely to go
completely slack -- when built properly -- eliminating a common failure
mode.

The 24-spoke count was dictated by the hub I wanted to use, which isn't
the wisest way to choose parts, but the wheel has worked nicely for 2
years and about 6-8 thousand miles. 28 to 32 will be more bombproof.

Mark J.

On Wed, 3 May 2017 09:09:16 -0700 (PDT), Doug Landau
wrote:
On Tuesday, May 2, 2017 at 10:23:36 PM UTC-7, Gabriele Russo wrote:
I am in the mood to build a new couple of wheels, after several years
of "industrial" wheelsets. My gist is flying over a low-mid profile
(for long distances in quality), 24 fore/28 rear holes, non-disk
brake, double butted spokes (I think aero' are hard to manage by
hands, without tensiometer). I haven't intention to loose my life
(and to hole money pocket) around grams, rather I would prefer to
look at reliability. Personal data: weight 78 kg (172 lb), kms from
120 km to a century of miles, budget comparable with a good wheelset
(400 EUR/$). Any gentle suggestions of brands to look into?

Mavic MA-2 36h

True dat! ;-)

We're funning ya, it's an inside joke.

Who's inside joking?

On Thursday, May 4, 2017 at 6:27:24 AM UTC-7, Gabriele Russo wrote:
Who's inside joking?

These days, unless you are building a set of wheels purely because you want to build a set of wheels, it's far more cost effective to buy a good set.

One of the major problems with building a set of wheels is getting a good set of rims. Most of the old shops would have a spoke cutter/threader, but they also have to have the hubs measurements and the rim measurements in order to cut the spokes to the proper length with your spoke pattern in mind.

With all of the correct parts it takes me about a half hour to build and tension a wheel. But the rest of the stuff turns out to be difficult to lay your hands on these days.

Il giorno giovedì 4 maggio 2017 15:40:55 UTC+2, ha scritto:
On Thursday, May 4, 2017 at 6:27:24 AM UTC-7, Gabriele Russo wrote:
Who's inside joking?

These days, unless you are building a set of wheels purely because you want to build a set of wheels, it's far more cost effective to buy a good set..

One of the major problems with building a set of wheels is getting a good set of rims. Most of the old shops would have a spoke cutter/threader, but they also have to have the hubs measurements and the rim measurements in order to cut the spokes to the proper length with your spoke pattern in mind..

With all of the correct parts it takes me about a half hour to build and tension a wheel. But the rest of the stuff turns out to be difficult to lay your hands on these days.

That's a fatal blow, a kiss of death to my weard idea...
As an old wheelbuilder (until at least 10 years ago) I was convinced there would still be a quality/cost effectiveness in the home assemblying. And I thought there was a value added (to be paid by extra money) in the industrial project of a brand wheelset.

On Thursday, May 4, 2017 at 7:42:59 AM UTC-7, Gabriele Russo wrote:
Il giorno giovedì 4 maggio 2017 15:40:55 UTC+2, ha scritto:
On Thursday, May 4, 2017 at 6:27:24 AM UTC-7, Gabriele Russo wrote:
Who's inside joking?

These days, unless you are building a set of wheels purely because you want to build a set of wheels, it's far more cost effective to buy a good set.

One of the major problems with building a set of wheels is getting a good set of rims. Most of the old shops would have a spoke cutter/threader, but they also have to have the hubs measurements and the rim measurements in order to cut the spokes to the proper length with your spoke pattern in mind.

With all of the correct parts it takes me about a half hour to build and tension a wheel. But the rest of the stuff turns out to be difficult to lay your hands on these days.

That's a fatal blow, a kiss of death to my weard idea...
As an old wheelbuilder (until at least 10 years ago) I was convinced there would still be a quality/cost effectiveness in the home assemblying. And I thought there was a value added (to be paid by extra money) in the industrial project of a brand wheelset.

In the case of touring wheels there may well be. But you have to plan carefully. For a set of sport wheels you most definitely cannot build a good set for what you can buy them.

I am 185 lbs when in riding shape and climb a lot of hills. When I get light wheels made by the best sources they do not last. But wheels that are just as good but heavier are so cheap that I couldn't even buy the spokeset for that set.

Here is a good set of hubs that you would buy for a set of wheels you intended to keep:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DURA-ACE-HUB...AOSwSypY~8q U

And here is a set of wheels that are made to be replaceable. You keep two of these sets around:

http://www.nashbar.com/webapp/wcs/st...71_-1___204727

On 04/05/17 23:40, wrote:
On Thursday, May 4, 2017 at 6:27:24 AM UTC-7, Gabriele Russo wrote:
Who's inside joking?

These days, unless you are building a set of wheels purely because
you want to build a set of wheels, it's far more cost effective to
buy a good set.

One of the major problems with building a set of wheels is getting a
good set of rims. Most of the old shops would have a spoke
cutter/threader, but they also have to have the hubs measurements and
the rim measurements in order to cut the spokes to the proper length
with your spoke pattern in mind.

With all of the correct parts it takes me about a half hour to build
and tension a wheel. But the rest of the stuff turns out to be
difficult to lay your hands on these days.


I disagree. The internet makes getting whatever rim, spokes and hubs
you desire, doable and economical.

--
JS