TheObieOne3226 said:*How much does it cost to have a wheel rebuilt from all of
the components. Assuming i had all the parts, how much do
you think it would cost for the actual labor? Any ballpark
figures you can give are helpful. Also, how difficult is
this? Is it something I could easliy do, and, if so, what
tools would I need? *
It depends what you mean by a rebuild. Presumably you want
to rebuild a unicycle wheel which means you don't have to
tear open a hub. This is much simpler.
So, the big question is: Why the rebuild?
Assuming that you want to change the mix of hub, spokes and
rims there are only a few possibilities. The first step is
obviously to take off the tire, tube and rim strip. You will
need a spoke wrench that fits tightly on the nipples, your
unicycle frame and some sort of lube (spoke prep, linseed
oil, even motor oil). If you don't need the old spokes then
a pair of wire cutters will speed things along.
There are a few different routes you can take:
1) If you are replacing a rim with another of equal size
(uses spokes of the same length), then use a spoke wrench
and gradually unscrew all the spoke nipples. Make several
passes around the wheel, backing off the nipples about a
turn at a time until the spokes are slack.
Then tape the new rim to the old rim, making sure to line up
the spoke holes so they are comparable. Now, one by one,
unscrew the nipples, transfer the spokes to the new rim, and
screw the nipples back on. Keep doing this until you have
transfered all the spokes, then get rid of the old wheel.
You now have a slack wheel - go to step 5.
2) If your spokes are FUBAR - breaking for no reason, bent
from crashes, etc. - then you need new spokes.
2a) If you don't care if the rim survives then just take a
pair of diagonal cutters (the inner cutting faces of vice
grips work too) and cut the spokes in the middle. Remove the
debris from the hub. Go to step 4.
2b) If you do care about the rim, then detension the
spokes first (see 1 above), and chop them out (see 2a). Go
to step 4.
3) If you are changing rim size, or using a hub of a
different size then you need spokes of a different
length. This may be true even if both rims are the same
diameter since the depth of the rims may be different.
3a) Assuming you want to keep the original spokes then
detension (see step 1) and unscrew the nipples completely.
Unlace the old spokes from the hub. Go to step 4.
3b) If you don't want to keep the original spokes then just
chop them out (see step 2) and go to step 4.
4) Lacing the new wheel: This is much easier than it sounds.
Take a good look at the holes in the hub. See how the
left and right holes are offset? The right ones line up
in between the left ones, and vice versa. Makes sense,
eh? If it is an old hub, check the holes for wear. You'll
see a deformed spot on one side of the hole where the old
spoke was sitting. This is where you want the new spoke
to go. No sense in deforming the hole twice - it just
weakens it even further. Notice also that the odd holes
have the spoke mark on the inside of the hub going either
clockwise or counterclockwise, and the even holes have
the mark on the outside going the other way.
Take your spokes and divide them into 4 piles. All symmetric
wheels use a multiple of 4 as the number of spokes - 28, 32,
36, 40, and 48 are common. One pile is the left side that
leans clockwise, the next is the left side that leans
counterclockwise, the next is the right side that leans
clockwise, and so on. Dip the threads into spoke prep,
linseed oil or some other lubricant and things will go
smoothly later on. And make sure you only screw the nipples
on with one or two turns at this stage. It keeps the wheel
slack which means you won't have to force anything.
Hold the hub so the axle is vertical. Drop a spoke in every
other hole in the upper flange. Be a bit clever about it
and figure out which way to do this so that the spokes will
seat in the old marks if it a used hub. Thread one spoke
through a spoke hole in the rim right next to the valve
stem hole. Now comes the only tricky part. Get this one
right and the wheel will lace perfectly - turn the hub
either clockwise or counterclockwise so that the spoke sits
in the old mark in the spoke hole (if it's a new hub it
doesn't matter). If this tilts the spoke AWAY from the
valve stem, then good. If the spoke tilts TWARDS the valve
hole, then flip the rim around 180 degrees while holding
the hub steady. Now the hole is on the other side of the
spoke and so the spoke should be tilting away. Lace up the
rest of this set of spokes, using every 4th hole in the rim
from the one you started with. When you are done the lacing
should be symmetric with three empty holes in between each
spoke on the rim.
Now take the wheel and tilt it until the hub is vertical
with the empty flange on top. Twist the hub until the spoke
nearest the valve hole tilts away from the valve hole. Look
straight down at the point on the flange where this spoke
inserts. Pick the spoke hole on the empty (upper) flange
that is half a hole AWAY from the valve-hole side. Lace a
spoke through this upper hole, then thread it into the rim
at the 2nd hole away from the valve stem. Now drop spokes
into every other hole as before and lace them into the
corresponding holes in the rim. When you twist the hub
correctly everything should be fairly symmetric - two empty
holes in the rim, then two spokes that are sort of parallel,
then two empties, and so on.
Turn the wheel so the axle is vertical again and drop the
next set of spokes into all the remaining holes in the LOWER
flange. This is your first set of crossing spokes. This is
the first intersting part about lacing up a wheel.
(Hopefully you've only screwed on the nipples with a turn or
two, otherwise this will be hard.) Take the hub and twist it
so that the spokes near the valve stem tilt away. Shake the
wheel a bit to seat the nipples and twist again. Now take
one of the swinging spokes and lace it into the wheel. If
you are doing a three cross this means going outside two
spokes and under the third, then into the right hole in the
rim. Spokes going into the rim go left-right-left-right, so
it shouldn't be too hard to figure out which hole to put
this spoke into. It should be the one exactly in between the
other two spokes from that side. Continue lacing up the free
spokes until you have one side laced.
Now look at the wheel. Does it look like a unicycle wheel?
Everything sort of symmetric? Is is obvious where the other
spokes should go? Good. Drop in the last set and lace them
in place. Does it look like a wheel yet?
Wheels at this stage don't really look like wheels yet.
Assuming that it is symmetric and laced like your other
wheels the problem is that the spokes aren't lined up right.
Time to "set" the spokes.
Hold the hub with a flange in each hand. Use your thumbs to
bend the outer spokes at the flange until they line up with
the holes in the rim. Do the same with your fingers on the
inner spokes. Keep at it until it looks sort of like a
wheel even though the spokes are slack. Now it is ready to
tension and true.
Step 5) Go to a bike shop and ask for their help. Hopefully
they will congradulate you on lacing the wheel properly.
Tensioning and truing a wheel isn't any harder, but it takes
a bit of feel that I can't describe in a post. It's also
intimidating if you've never done it before. Ask if you can
watch while they do it. If there isn't much going on then
most bike shops will say sure. If they don't then find
another shop.
Most people take a long time (3-10 hours) to make their
first wheel, but it comes out ok. I'd say about half the
time the first wheel has a lacing mistake that becomes
obvious about half-way through the process and requires a
re-start (the 10 hour folks), but it gets there eventually.
The next one goes a bit quicker.
After you've made 20 or 30 wheels you can knock one out in
about a half hour. The really good wheel builders that
have delivered a few hundred or more have had feedback
from customers that helps them pick the right components
for a customer.
Good luck,
Tim
--
cyberbellum - Level 0.5 rider
Optimists think the glass is half full. Pesimists think the glass is
half empty. Engineers think the glass is too big.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
cyberbellum's Profile: unicyclist.com4550Open ↗
View this thread: unicyclist.com29592Open ↗
