David Waters said:Hey folks, having been quoted 350 to have a set of hubs and
rims laced together
What with ? Chopper rear brake cables ?!
Quoted message said:I am thinking it may be prudent to build them myself.
It's not a bad idea. However it's _cheap_ to have wheels
built. Given the general faffing around involved, and the
really rather reasonable charges that I see locally, then I
can't claim there's a great economic reason for it.
Quoted message said:Would also be another skill to tick off!
Which is probably the reason why we do it.
Quoted message said:I have had a butchers at Sheldon Browns site to see what he
has to say and it all seems fairly straightforward.
It is. Read Jobst Brandt's book for the theory, but
follow Sheldon's instructions for the process, as he's a
little clearer. If you're prepared to accept good
recommendations without understanding their background,
then Sheldon alone is fine.
Quoted message said:I am completely bemused as to how to calculate the spoke
lengths though.
Many ways - and it is important.
One is just to go into a shop and buy them. If you're buying
loose spokes, then you're probably dealing with a shop that
builds too. They'll be able to find the lengths.
The way many shops do it is to use a look-up chart. For
standard crossings of Shimano hubs onto Mavic rims (or
similar commonplace parts) then it's easy.
For weird components though, you need to calculate it. This
involves measuring flange spacings, rim diameters etc.,
although these can often be looked up too. There are web on-
line calculators to do the rest, but it's not rocket
science. You also need to calculate rather than looking-up
if you want a half-radial lacing or suchlike.
Personally I read Jobst, then made up my own Excel
spreadsheet to calculate them. it's not hard (trivial
Pythagorean geometry).
Quoted message said:Also what kit am I going to need?
Very little.
Spoke key. GET A SPOKEY !!!! They're much superior to any
other than I've used, included Parks, DTs, Campags et al.
OK, so they look like cheap rubbish, but they work.
Spoke driver. This is an old Pozidrive hex bit, ground down
to be a flat bit with a spike on the nose. Useful for quick
assembly, and damn near essential for building on deep box-
section DH rims. You can manage without though, and they're
hard to buy.
Various rules, straight edges etc.
A stand. Useful for fast builds in a shop. The rest of us
can manage without. Many people lace on a table or their
knee, then use an inverted bike for final build.
My truing stand is home made, from a carved up scrap front
fork and some welded steel. All you really need is a fork
or two (which can still be atached to your bike) and a
pencil held in a bulldog clip as a truing indicator. I like
to use my thumbnail anyway, because I'm more accurate by
touch than by sight.
You'll need a dish stick, but this can be home made too.
Mine is a slice of plywood with two "feet" on it, and a
relieved space across the centre to clear the hub and
spokes. The indicator is another little stip of ply, and a
bulldog clip.
Quoted message said:What kind of spokes should I be going for?
Double butted DTs and brass nipples. They're easy to
build with, reliable, and almost as lightweight as
"ultimate spokes".
Don't mess around with funny spokes or funny nipples. They
save you almost no weight / drag and they're a real [censored] to
build. You can go for black spokes if you want, but nothing
more complicated - certainly not on a first wheelset.
There's also the lacing pattern to consider - read Jobst for
why. Personally I'd say that all 36s are 3x, 32s are either
2x or 3x (2x for under 32). Fronts under 32 can be radial,
but only if you're a drag-queen roadie - anyone else should
stick with crossing them like Leonardo intended. Rears with
wide cassettes however (and that's everything except fixed
wheels these days) should be half-radial, as it evens up the
tensions a bit. IMHO, but I think it's a good idea.
Resurrected '50s vintage stuff should be snowflake or
crowsfoot patterns, and tied and soldered at the crossings -
just because it looks retro.
And when you've built your wheels, _stress_relieve_ them !
(Sheldon tells all). This is the biggest difference between
a good hand-built wheel and a factory farmed tortilla.
My first-built wheel failed recently - after 7 years of
being the back end of my daily commuter and kerb jumping
hack. The rubbish Mavic 217 rim (I'll never buy another
Mavic) developed corrosion-induced cracking around the spoke
holes. Even with half the spokes pulled proud of the rim
surface though, it was still round and true. If you follow
those two guides, you _can_ build damn good wheels on your
first attempt.
--
Smert' spamionam
