Jtgyk

I'm curious as to just how hard it is to build a good rear wheel?
What tools are needed and how much time is involved.

VenturaCyclist

I'm guessing you want to build an externally geared rear wheel. Some people true a wheel on the bike and some people use a trueing stand. Figure more time truing the wheel on the bike and less time using a stand. You should already have a good spoke wrench. Figure on less time if you have a laced wheel to use as a model. Figure on more time if you're modeling off paper. Anywhere from a few hours to a few days.

As an internally geared wheel is symetrical figure on a whole lot less time. But this doesn't appear to be the case for the 3 bikes you have listed.

DannoXYZ 

Not hard, get Brandt's book and read it thoroughly. If you're only planning on building a wheelset or two, you don't need a lot of tools:

- 4-sided spoke-nipple
- flat screwdriver
- spoke-pre or blue Loctite

You can use the brake-pads on your bike as a truing-stand for lateral movement. I lay a piece of masking tape across the fork and seat-stays above the rim as a guide for radial roundness guide. Move the tape closer and closer to the rim as it gets more round.

If you plan on building a LOT of wheels, get:

- truing stand
- electric screwdriver with nipple-driver bit
- tensiometer

VenturaCyclist

You sound inexperienced to me. Only for that reason I would skip the loc tite. I do recommend the red loc tite when you have ridden a few miles and are happy with your wheel.

DannoXYZ 

That's blue Loctite, serves same function as Spoke-prep. The spokes on the bottom lose tension and when they lose all tension such as hitting hard-bumps or if the initial-tension was too loose, the nipple can rattle and unscrew themselves. This throws the wheel out of true over time. Spoke-prep or blue Loctite will prevent the nipples from loosening and results in a wheel that stays true longer. And they don't lock the nipples to the spoke, the wheel can be trued quite easily. You would never want to use red Loctite anyway since rims do get tweaked and bent slightly over time and you'll want to be able to spin the nipples to make slight adjustments to true the wheel.

Over time, the thread-locking compound also serves to insulate the nipples from the spoke and reduces anodic corrosion and allows you to easily true the wheel years later. This is especially important when using alloy nipples, where the non-anodized variety can corrode much faster than the ones with anodizing.

VenturaCyclist

It is true that there are as many different philosophies as there are wheel builders. Some believe in dry assembly, lubricated assembly, blue loctite, red loctite and super glue. There are probably others that I've missed.

I am more of the lubricated assembly and super glue philosophy. I try to keep grease off the end of the spoke, bottom of the nipple. After I've stress relieved and put a century on the wheel I put a drop or less of super glue down the nipple.

Jtgyk

Wow...this sounds less straightforward than I thought.
My reason for wanting to build my own is that I am just over 350# and can't find much in the way of wheels that I can rely on. 40 spokes on a Deep V rim has been recommended, but I can't find anything like that.
If I need a custom build...I may as well learn to do it myself.
It may save me some $ while I acquire a new and useful skill.

VenturaCyclist

You can do it! To add to your list of expenditures get a copy of Shraner's The Art of Wheelbuilding.

malpag3

Hey, i'm with you Jtqyk! I'm looking at building up a FG/SS durable wheel set with my g/f. It'll be both of our first wheel builds.

Are FG/SS rear wheels easier to build because there is more uniformity between drive train and non drive train side?

VenturaCyclist

Fixed gear, single speed and internally geared wheels tend to be symetrical the symetry tends to confuse people less but they use the same lacing pattern. Getting the wheel true and round takes patience. You want to also take the time to stress relieve the wheel and true and round after a few miles.

I would recommend a 4 cross lacing pattern for Jtgyk.