I can finally call myself a real bike guy! Built and trued my first wheel!

[LukeTheJoker]

Been meaning to do this for a while, but to be honest I was a bit scared of it, last thing I wanted was to destroy a good rim by not tensioning it right or just plain fail at getting the lacing pattern right.

My health has been a bit off again lately so I have not been outside welding and grinding, but there is only so long you can sit inside looking at a computer without losing the remains of your sanity, so I decided I needed something to do, something not too physical and it would be good if it was productive, so I decided to give it a go!

I needed a particular hub and rim combination for a future build that is rather hard to find pre-made so it was a perfect excuse to build one up out of parts I have lying around, measured the spoke hole diameter of the hub, found a wheel the right size with a similar size spoke hole diameter and stripped it for the spokes, it donated 48 so I was able to pick and choose the best 32 for this build, the nipples were a bit chewed up so I grabbed the ones off the rim I pulled the hub from to use instead as they were nicer anyway and set to work, took my time and triple checked everything as I went so it took me 1.5 hours all up including truing the wheel at the end but I am happy with that, it was all pretty simple and logical, it was time consuming and fiddly at times, but is something I will definitely do again!

I was surprised by how easy it is to true the wheel once you get the hang of it, amazing how even half a turn can make such a difference! I got it close and was going to leave it there thinking it was good enough, but decided to just tweak it a little more and got it really straight within another 5 minutes, really happy and now I am wondering why I waited so long!

So here it is, a downhill mountain bike disc brake offset hub mounted to a heavy duty 20x1.75 aluminium rim, with a 203mm disc brake rotor for good measure:

I would have preferred if it was not a quick release hub as I have heard horror stories with disc brakes and quick releases coming lose but I will fix that when I build the bike by mounting the calliper in front of the fork instead of behind, so when the brakes are applied the wheel tries to move further into the dropouts rather than down and out of them.

Best bit of the whole thing? Aside from the 15 minutes spent truing the wheel, I did the whole lot sitting in a comfortable chair in our air-conditioned dining room!

If you have been wanting to do it, but have been putting it off, really, just give it a go!

Luke.

 

[ctaccruiser]

Grreat Job! i have been wanting to give it a go, but it seems time money constraints as well as figuring out lengths. I'll keep reading the info on it. Congratulations !!! Craig

 

[the_undecider]

That's how I learned, just went for it. First try was lacing a new rim to an existing wheel. My dad suggested taping the new rim to the old one where the valve stem holes lined up and move all the spokes over, one side at a time (drive side then non-drive or vise-versa depending upon what side of the old rim you taped the new one. Other than lacing, you get all the experience of tensioning and truing.

Then, I built a set of 29er mtb wheels from scratch. I followed Sheldon Brown's website on wheel building for how to lace them up. I enjoy it, very relaxing.

 

[B607]

I don't want to be the downer Luke, but...look at the spokes on the left side of the wheel. In groups of four. They go straight into the hub. Then look at the spokes on right side of the wheel, again in groups of four. They cross like crazy on their way into the hub. I'm no lacing expert, but I believe something is "funny" with your lace job. If it was easy, everyone on this forum would lace their own. But they don't. Looks to me like you're well on your way but still on the learning curve. Gary

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Thanks Gary @B607, pretty sure that is just the picture angle though, here is another pic from straight on:

It matches perfectly with the other rim with a coaster hub. It is my first time at it though, so please tell me if there is an issue...

Luke.

 

[mikeeebikey]

Please don't kill messenger!
Wow you posted that why I agreed with Gary!

 

[LukeTheJoker]

All good, not upset!
Just trying to see if I do have a problem, here is a picture from the other side:

Appears to be the same pattern as the 3G Jemima wheels, this angeled photo gives the same look with the groups of four almost straight on one side and crossed on the other:

Is it just the angle of the photo or have I made a stuff up?

Luke.

 

[mikeeebikey]

e="mikeeebikey, post: 795356, member: 17065"]Please don't kill messenger!
Wow you posted that why I agreed with Gary![/quote]
Sorry, I should have been clearer in my edit post!
-Looks like the first picture was an optical allusion, that last one looks right.

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Please don't kill messenger!
Wow you posted that why I agreed with Gary!

Sorry, I should have been clearer in my edit post!
-Looks like the first picture was an optical allusion, that last one looks right.

Thanks Mikeeebikey! That is load off my mind, thought my eyes were playing tricks on me!

Luke.

 

[GuitarlCarl]

Nice! I've got a couple of wheels I need to build too... but I have to wait until BONINE... It's ambitious to build my first set of wheels where you have to cut and thread most of the spokes, but that's gonna be 1/2 of my build! Anyway... Good job Luke, I like the big disc brake too. Should be able to STOP on a dime... wait... What do you guys have for dimes?

Carl.

 

[Slick Rick]

I would tell anyone to overcome the fear! Good for you. It only gets easier if you stay at it. I have built around 50 or so at this point. I love it! It takes my mind to that Zen plane. LOL

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Should be able to STOP on a dime... wait... What do you guys have for dimes?

Carl.

Dime equals 10cents yeah? We have 10cent pieces, but the 5c is smaller...
We still say stop on a dime over here anyway, we only went decimal/metric maybe 50 years ago...

Luke.

 

[mikeeebikey]

Besides having dimes, these lucky dogs get cleveland style Ford's just overflowing their salvage yards, Holden is there, and Mel Gibson. That's a wrap for me!

 

[The Black Monark]

Great going Luke! I'm a firm believer that anyone can do this, it is just a series of steps to install the spokes, and a little practice truing to get the wheel round and straight. For whatever reason many any of us have a mental-hurdle about building bicycle wheels, but once that's jumped, no problem.

 

[RustySprockets]

Anyone feeling timid about wheel building should just grab an old pair off a junked Pacific or Magna, disassemble one, and use the second as a guide to re-assemble the first. The only tool you'll need is the proper size spoke wrench. Once you gain some confidence, you can move on to pricier parts and fancier patterns. It's a great skill to have.

And Luke, your pattern is spot on...it just gives a weird illusion sometimes. 36-spoke four-cross, am I right?

 

[jerrykr]

First one I did, I started with a pile of spokes a hub and a rim that someone had taken apart. I assumed cross 3 and followed a book I bought. After a number of tries, getting things wrong, finally everything looked right, but all the spokes were too long. I took that thing apart and started over more times than I can count. Finally I read somewhere to try cross 4. That was the problem. My advice now for starting out, is to take a "junk" wheel that has nothing wrong, take it apart and get it back together correctly. At least you know all the parts are correct. Practice a few times on that wheel, and you won't have to look at the instructions. Edit: Rustysrockets beat me by 2 minutes.

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Anyone feeling timid about wheel building should just grab an old pair off a junked Pacific or Magna, disassemble one, and use the second as a guide to re-assemble the first. The only tool you'll need is the proper size spoke wrench. Once you gain some confidence, you can move on to pricier parts and fancier patterns. It's a great skill to have.

And Luke, your pattern is spot on...it just gives a weird illusion sometimes. 36-spoke four-cross, am I right?

Sounds like a good idea!

I think this one was 36 spoke 3 cross? I am not really sure, just copied another wheel...

Luke.

 

[The Black Monark]

Looks like 3x to me:

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Looks like 3x to me:

Cool, I counted 3 too, but was not sure if that was the way they were counted... 4x must be pretty crazy on such a small wheel with a high flange hub, the spoke nipples must pull at a fair angle, I assume it is normally only used on a bigger wheel?

Luke.

 

[DJ Bill]

You see how the spokes are positioned just below the "3" in the picture?

Notice how it is a nice wide gap? That is where your valve stem hole needs to be, in one of those gaps, if you don't already have it there. I can't tell for sure from your pictures. You can either weld up the hole and redrill if it is in the wrong position, or just shift your spokes over a few holes. (I'm kidding about the welding, Luke...!!)

As far as truing goes, nothing is as cheap as your present bike and a pair of zip ties attached to the fork or chain stays to act as a truing stand.. If a rim is already bent before you try and build a wheel from it you may have a difficult time getting it to true up.