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Hand built wheels



 
 
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  #1  
Old July 18th 04, 09:57 AM
ritcho
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Posts: n/a
Default Hand built wheels


For once, I actually used my own hands! I proved that any klutz can put
wheels together and make them work.

Ingredients:
CXP33 rims (silver - to match the bike)
32h Ultegra hubs
14/15/14 dt spokes
brass nipples

Tools
Spoke key, flat blade screwdriver, Minoura rim trainer (in place of
truing stand), some light household oil.

I just followed the directions at www.sheldonbrown.com

Getting the dishing right is easy if you have a wheel that is already
ok. Set the bike with the good wheel in the rim trainer so that one
side is lined up on one of the (opened) rollers. Next, swap out with
the new wheel and start truing the wheel in situ using the rim
trainer's roller and the bike's rear brake as the dishing guide.

The tricky bit was figuring out how tight to make the spokes - "As
tight as they will go without damaging the rim" is not very helpful for
a first timer. A tensiometer would have taken the fun out of it, as well
as costing lots of money. Sheldon's site suggested two ways - 1. the
nipple gets hard to turn (not very precise); 2. Guess around an A
(440Hz) for the pitch when the spokes are plucked. A primary school
recorder is an excellent tool for comparison as it is much more
portable than a piano. Combine the two ideas and you get a pretty tight
wheel.

Follow the instructions on stress relieving spokes and voila! Fresh
wheels that are lighter than my Shimano 535s and much easier to fix.
Hopefully, they'll be more reliable too.

I'm slow, so it took me about 3 hours of work for each wheel (F and
R).

If you haven't had a go at it, try it next time you want a new wheel.
If you have, then I can already hear the "I told you so"s

Cheers,
Ritch


--
ritcho
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  #2  
Old July 19th 04, 12:03 PM
K&C Russell
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Hand built wheels


"ritcho" wrote in message
...

For once, I actually used my own hands! I proved that any klutz can put
wheels together and make them work.

Ingredients:
CXP33 rims (silver - to match the bike)
32h Ultegra hubs
14/15/14 dt spokes
brass nipples

Tools
Spoke key, flat blade screwdriver, Minoura rim trainer (in place of
truing stand), some light household oil.

I just followed the directions at www.sheldonbrown.com

Getting the dishing right is easy if you have a wheel that is already
ok. Set the bike with the good wheel in the rim trainer so that one
side is lined up on one of the (opened) rollers. Next, swap out with
the new wheel and start truing the wheel in situ using the rim
trainer's roller and the bike's rear brake as the dishing guide.

The tricky bit was figuring out how tight to make the spokes - "As
tight as they will go without damaging the rim" is not very helpful for
a first timer. A tensiometer would have taken the fun out of it, as well
as costing lots of money. Sheldon's site suggested two ways - 1. the
nipple gets hard to turn (not very precise); 2. Guess around an A
(440Hz) for the pitch when the spokes are plucked. A primary school
recorder is an excellent tool for comparison as it is much more
portable than a piano. Combine the two ideas and you get a pretty tight
wheel.

Follow the instructions on stress relieving spokes and voila! Fresh
wheels that are lighter than my Shimano 535s and much easier to fix.
Hopefully, they'll be more reliable too.

I'm slow, so it took me about 3 hours of work for each wheel (F and
R).

If you haven't had a go at it, try it next time you want a new wheel.
If you have, then I can already hear the "I told you so"s

Cheers,
Ritch


--
ritcho


Congrats Ritcho,

You have now graduated in the Dark Art of wheel building. I did a similar
set in silver with Open Pros to match the bike. Now enjoy the ride, it a
great feeling on your own wheels. Well done.

Kevin



  #3  
Old July 20th 04, 02:42 AM
DaveB
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Posts: n/a
Default Hand built wheels

ritcho wrote:

Tools Spoke key, flat blade screwdriver, Minoura rim trainer (in
place of truing stand), some light household oil.

Given that I don't have a rim trainer or a truing stand I was wondering
if anyone has come up with any interestign solutions on the cheap. I was
thinking of getting imaginitive with an old set of forks and trying to
fashion something around them.

DaveB


  #4  
Old July 20th 04, 03:26 AM
Suzy Jackson
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Posts: n/a
Default Hand built wheels

Good stuff, Richo. Now ya know the secret handshake, and you can
flame people for wussing out and getting machine built wheels.

Cheers,

Suzy
  #5  
Old July 20th 04, 04:00 AM
byron27
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Posts: n/a
Default Hand built wheels


ritcho Wrote:
For once, I actually used my own hands! I proved that any klutz can put
wheels together and make them work.

Ingredients:
CXP33 rims (silver - to match the bike)
32h Ultegra hubs
14/15/14 dt spokes
brass nipples

Tools
Spoke key, flat blade screwdriver, Minoura rim trainer (in place of
truing stand), some light household oil.

I just followed the directions at www.sheldonbrown.com

Getting the dishing right is easy if you have a wheel that is already
ok. Set the bike with the good wheel in the rim trainer so that one
side is lined up on one of the (opened) rollers. Next, swap out with
the new wheel and start truing the wheel in situ using the rim
trainer's roller and the bike's rear brake as the dishing guide.

The tricky bit was figuring out how tight to make the spokes - "As
tight as they will go without damaging the rim" is not very helpful for
a first timer. A tensiometer would have taken the fun out of it, as well
as costing lots of money. Sheldon's site suggested two ways - 1. the
nipple gets hard to turn (not very precise); 2. Guess around an A
(440Hz) for the pitch when the spokes are plucked. A primary school
recorder is an excellent tool for comparison as it is much more
portable than a piano. Combine the two ideas and you get a pretty tight
wheel.

Follow the instructions on stress relieving spokes and voila! Fresh
wheels that are lighter than my Shimano 535s and much easier to fix.
Hopefully, they'll be more reliable too.

I'm slow, so it took me about 3 hours of work for each wheel (F and
R).

If you haven't had a go at it, try it next time you want a new wheel.
If you have, then I can already hear the "I told you so"s

Cheers,
Ritch

nice work!
i am inspired!
I am currently running 540's on my banger and am far from happy but the
lure of wheels built to my own specs is tantalising.
so...where do i get a cheap trueing jig from??


--
byron27


  #6  
Old July 20th 04, 08:40 AM
Suzy Jackson
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Posts: n/a
Default Hand built wheels

DaveB wrote in message ...

Given that I don't have a rim trainer or a truing stand I was wondering
if anyone has come up with any interestign solutions on the cheap. I was
thinking of getting imaginitive with an old set of forks and trying to
fashion something around them.


The first wheel I ever built (thinks fondly back to the eighties) was
trued in the bike that it was intended for. I turned the bike upside
down, and taped a piece of chalk to the seat stay. Worked well, if a
little awkward.

Regards,

Suzy
  #7  
Old July 20th 04, 02:11 PM
K&C Russell
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Posts: n/a
Default Hand built wheels


"Suzy Jackson" wrote in message
om...
DaveB wrote in message

...

Given that I don't have a rim trainer or a truing stand I was wondering
if anyone has come up with any interestign solutions on the cheap. I was
thinking of getting imaginitive with an old set of forks and trying to
fashion something around them.


The first wheel I ever built (thinks fondly back to the eighties) was
trued in the bike that it was intended for. I turned the bike upside
down, and taped a piece of chalk to the seat stay. Worked well, if a
little awkward.

Regards,

Suzy


Same here. I flipped the bike over and trued the wheel, however, I used a
6" steel rule and a couple of rubber bands to hold it in place. I am still
riding the wheel without any trouble.

Mind you I have since invested in a wheel jig so that I can true the wheels
inside the house. I probably need a beer fridge in the garage.

Kevin

  #8  
Old July 21st 04, 09:19 AM
Tom Nicholson
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Posts: n/a
Default Hand built wheels

DaveB wrote in message Given that I don't have a rim trainer or a truing stand I was wondering
if anyone has come up with any interestign solutions on the cheap. I was
thinking of getting imaginitive with an old set of forks and trying to
fashion something around them.

DaveB


Upside down bike,

Rubber band on the brakes to bring them close to the wheel as you true
up, using the light between the pads and rim on either side to true
against. A light background helps.

A peg on the seatstay for the radial. Twist it so it touches the rim
and makes a noise on the high spots.

Dish comes naturally when sighting down the frame.

Bottle of something and some good music.

Joy of Joys the dark art is not so dark!.. actually I think it's a
well kept secret by those who want to keep the silly ones returning to
the bike shop for a true up at more than the cost of a good boottle of
trueing brew.

I've built many wheels and salvaged old ones this way. Perhaps Id
appeciate a trueing stand, but they are far too expensive.

Tom
 




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