Jockie

I re-painted my spokes and have been attempting to relace the wheel but I am experiencing some problems.
The wheels are Shimano WH-7701. In the linked Shimano technical document it has a section labeled 'Spoke Lacing' which is useful for the overall pattern but not so much for the actual process of getting there.
I've built/rebuilt 4 pairs of wheels to date, follwing Roger Musson's book but never any like these.

My attempts have resulted in some frustration and the spokes getting scratched and looking in worse shape than before the re-painting!
I'm hoping someone here can offer some good advice on how to go about lacing this odd hub to this equally odd rim with these disheveled spokes.



Problems I've experienced include: laced spokes obstructing the insertion of a nipple in neighbouring hole in the hub flange; spokes washers not staying in their seated position in the rim holes.

On a side note, I suppose I should really have another go at re-painting the spokes. Before, I used steel wool on them and then one coat of acrylic paint from a spray can (car body paint); the paint was left to dry for one week. If anyone can suggest a more hardy painting solution than the one I chose, then such advice would be warmly accepted.

FBinNY 

When lacing unusual wheels like these, or any that have complex or unusual patterns, I start by standing the hub on a block of wood with an axle hole. I put the standing hum in the center of a table, and using books, or soup cans, support the rim in roughly the right place around the hub.

This allows me to place spokes without needing to attach nipples, so I can check the pattern without putting stuff together and taking it apart. It also allows me experiment with sequence, so that one spoke or nipple doesn't get in the way of the next one.

Be careful as you work to keep the stepped washer properly located in the rim (it tends to shift out of position) and recheck it when you first start adding tension.

If you can't lace both flanges at the same time, lace one and tighten just enough to keep parts home, flip the wheel and lace the second.

davidad

I would avoid wheels like that like the plague. Even shimano didn't like em. They changed the design a couple of times.

FBinNY 

Good advice, except that the OP crossed that bridge long ago, and wants help with where to go from there.

BTW, to the OP, a reminder that the spokes cross right to left between the rim and hub. In other words, the spoke on the right side of the rim is laced to the left hub flange.

Retro Grouch 

I rebuilt a similar wheel, a 16 spoke tandem wheel, for a customer. I didn't do it his way but FB's plan sounds logical to me. The nipples go in the hub and pretty well point each spoke toward the only place in the rim it can go to.

See if you can find a tension spec for that wheel. The tandem wheel that I built had thicker than typical spokes and took a prodiguous amount of tension.

Jockie

Thanks for the good advice FBinNY and Retro Grouch.

Retro Grouch 

Thinking back, I think that I trial laced each spoke in the hub and took note of which rim hole it seemed to be pointing toward. I don't think the hub and the rim will let you do it wrong.