Why build your own wheel?

I was looking into building a new back wheel and for the option I was
considering (Mavic Open Pro with Ultegra Hub) it looks like there's little
price advantage to building your own wheel. What I found was a $5 difference
in price online. It was going to be about $110 for the parts and $115 if I
bought the completed wheel.

So I guess the only reasons to build your own a
- To learn and have fun. Plus, if you know how to build you know how to
true and repair.
- To build something special
- To get the job done right (assuming you know what you're doing, I
don't at this point).


Shayne Wissler

Shayne Wissler wrote:

I was looking into building a new back wheel and for the option I was
considering (Mavic Open Pro with Ultegra Hub) it looks like there's little
price advantage to building your own wheel. What I found was a $5 difference
in price online. It was going to be about $110 for the parts and $115 if I
bought the completed wheel.

So I guess the only reasons to build your own a
- To learn and have fun. Plus, if you know how to build you know how to
true and repair.
- To build something special
- To get the job done right (assuming you know what you're doing, I
don't at this point).

The economics look much better if all I need to replace is the rim.

"Shayne Wissler" wrote in
news:fYWSc.250127$IQ4.209738@attbi_s02:
So I guess the only reasons to build your own a
- To learn and have fun. Plus, if you know how to build you know how
to
true and repair.

That's about it.

- To build something special
- To get the job done right (assuming you know what you're doing, I
don't at this point).

A good pro wheel builder can build anything you want and do a much better job
than you could.

A good pro wheel builder can build anything you want and do a much better
job
than you could.

He can do it faster, because of practice, but not better if you do it well.
The "pros" in this town, (Cork Ireland) vary from not bad to frightful.
I've built my own for years.

Use Jobst Brandt's book for starters.

My tips.

1. The only way to correct radial errors is don't put them in in the first
place. Give close attention to how much each nipple is screwed onto spokes
and only small adjustments per spoke.

2. Stress relieving is really important to prevent breakages. I find using a
large screwdriver handle more reliable for this than Jobst's hand squeezing
technique. I almost never break spokes, I tour and I weigh 200 lb at the
moment.

wrote:

A good pro wheel builder can build anything you want and do a much better
job than you could.

Hardly, unless you're mechanically inept or not good at following
instructions.

They could probably do it faster, though.

--
Benjamin Lewis

Although the moon is smaller than the earth, it is farther away.

Shayne Wissler wrote:
I was looking into building a new back wheel and for the option I was
considering (Mavic Open Pro with Ultegra Hub) it looks like there's little
price advantage to building your own wheel. What I found was a $5 difference
in price online. It was going to be about $110 for the parts and $115 if I
bought the completed wheel.

So I guess the only reasons to build your own a
- To learn and have fun. Plus, if you know how to build you know how to
true and repair.
- To build something special
- To get the job done right (assuming you know what you're doing, I
don't at this point).


Shayne Wissler



Unless the builder has a good reputation, I'd build the wheel myself.
Will save you a lot of hassle later.

Kenny Lee

"Shayne Wissler" wrote:
I was looking into building a new back wheel and for the option I was
considering (Mavic Open Pro with Ultegra Hub) it looks like there's little
price advantage to building your own wheel. What I found was a $5
difference
in price online. It was going to be about $110 for the parts and $115 if I
bought the completed wheel.

So I guess the only reasons to build your own a
- To learn and have fun. Plus, if you know how to build you know how
to
true and repair.
- To build something special
- To get the job done right (assuming you know what you're doing, I
don't at this point).

Yes, but.

Who are building these low priced online wheels? Will the spokes/nipples be
properly lubed, spoke line adjusted, wheels properly tensioned, trued, and
stress relieved? If not, you're looking at trouble down the line. If you
break a spoke or the wheel goes out of true, how do get it fixed? What if
you want something a little unusual (like an ordinary 36 spoke wheel!) and
can't find one online?

Here are the options as I see it.

1) Buy online and then true, tension, and stress relieve the wheel yourself
before riding it. (This may be less expensive than buying the parts.)

2) Have a good local wheelbuilder design and build a set of wheels for you.
This will be more expensive up front, but if you have a problem (unlikely if
he's a good builder), there shoild be no hassles.

3) Buy the parts and build the wheel of your choice. You'll have to figure
out the correct spoke lengths, lace, the wheel, etc. Since it's your own
wheel, you'll spend the time to get it right, and you'll have the confidence
to make on the road truing if you break a spoke or encounter other problems.

By the way, you might want to do a Google Groups search on Mavic Open Pro
problems...

Art Harris

"Shayne Wissler" wrote in message
news:fYWSc.250127$IQ4.209738@attbi_s02...
I was looking into building a new back wheel and for the option I was
considering (Mavic Open Pro with Ultegra Hub) it looks like there's little
price advantage to building your own wheel. What I found was a $5 difference
in price online. It was going to be about $110 for the parts and $115 if I
bought the completed wheel.

So I guess the only reasons to build your own a
- To learn and have fun. Plus, if you know how to build you know how to
true and repair.
- To build something special
- To get the job done right (assuming you know what you're doing, I
don't at this point).

If the ready-made wheel has the components you want, there's little to be
gained from buying the parts and assembling them yourself. This is what
machines are good for. What they're not got for (at least not in the way
they're currently used) is getting enough spoke tension and stress relieving
the spokes. Those skills, and the related knowledge of how to true a wheel are
very useful. It's not very difficult to take a machine-built wheel and
stress-relieve and tension it. The result will be as good as any wheel custom
built. All you need is a spoke wrench.

shayne- What I found was a $5 difference
in price online. It was going to be about $110 for the parts and $115 if I
bought the completed wheel. BRBR

So I guess the only reasons to build your own a
- To learn and have fun. Plus, if you know how to build you know how to
true and repair.
- To build something special
- To get the job done right (assuming you know what you're doing, I
don't at this point). BRBR


bing, bing, bing, we have a winner!!

Most of us who build wheels started this way. We didn't join a shop and then
built wheels but built our own first.

BTW-look at Velocity rims, better rim, IMO-

www.velocityusa.com

Peter Chisholm
Vecchio's Bicicletteria
1833 Pearl St.
Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535
http://www.vecchios.com
"Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

In article fYWSc.250127$IQ4.209738@attbi_s02,
Shayne Wissler wrote:
I was looking into building a new back wheel and for the option I was
considering (Mavic Open Pro with Ultegra Hub) it looks like there's little
price advantage to building your own wheel. What I found was a $5 difference
in price online. It was going to be about $110 for the parts and $115 if I
bought the completed wheel.

So I guess the only reasons to build your own a
- To learn and have fun. Plus, if you know how to build you know how to
true and repair.
- To build something special
- To get the job done right (assuming you know what you're doing, I
don't at this point).


Shayne Wissler

Because
- It will stay true

- When you have just destroyed a wheel in a crash you can replace the
rim and not have to wait for a wheel builder.


--
a href="http://www.poohsticks.org/drew/"Home Page/a
Life is a terminal sexually transmitted disease.