jeffrbake

I thought I would share my first wheel build. Total cost (including tools) was about 600.

I learned the hard way that powder coated brass nips are NOT a smart choice... The coating scraped off so easily...

Hubs are DT Swiss 350, can't see them in the picture.

MagicHour

How difficult did you find wheel building to learn? It's the one part of the bike I don't work on but always wondered about.

I guess an even more descriptive question would be: "How difficult is it to learn to build WELL the typical type of modern spec (alloy) wheelset I would want to ride" i.e. 16/20 or 20/24 spoke count 23mm wide/sub 1600 gm ie. ROL Race SL, HED Ardennes, Boyd Altamonte etc. I would assume there would be a learning curve before you could plunge into wheels like above rather than the typical Open Pro or similar classic 32h wheel builds without a few practice runs or messing up once or twice?

Cost savings vs how many times I could actually see myself building wheels to want to invest in the gear and tools etc.?

howheels

Don't discount the hobby aspect of it. Learning the process, demystifying it, and mastering it can be much more satisfying that just paying someone else to worry about it for you, even if you don't come out ahead financially.

jeffrbake

As far as learning: I did research for about a week, watching every video and refrencing the books I had on hand before I started even buying the components. Do alloy rims if new, carbon introduces other complexities. I did have to lace them twice, as I messed up on the hole placement, but other than that the process is rather straight forward.

Cost wise, I do think I ended up saving a bit, but I did this to learn HOW the process works more than the cost savings it would give me. My goal when getting into biking was to learn every aspect of the bike.
The tools can be a bit pricey, but are a one time buy, and have great use beyond just making the wheel.

Overall, I am happy I built them, I learned a ton and it was a very fun process.

Quiglesnbits

This makes me smile, and I agree. I know way more about the biology and chemistry of sourdough bread than I need to, and I'm working on getting there with cycling. Just remember to try not to talk about it for 20 minutes to your coworker's wife at the holiday party.

Maelochs

Just remember when the annoying people latch onto you at an office party, you can tell them about lacing rims with sourdough spokes or whatever ... you will have a blast and will shed Klingons as well.

jeffrbake

Ha. Sourdough is next on my list.

You will get there as far as cycling goes, and boy does it feel good. Word of warning, the investment for the tools is a tad high, but it is worth it.

MagicHour

Thanks all for responses to my question. Haha glad you brought up the hobby aspect of it, and equipment not sure if I'm looking for another one at this point! I've been really neglecting my fly fishing/fly tying/photography hobbies the last couple years because of cycling. Maybe I should stick to my bi-annual new bike build/rebuild and regular maintenance tasks to get my bike mechanic ya-yas out and leave wheel building to the experts.

Jeffrbake - enjoy the new wheels! Apologies if took your thread on a tangent.

on the path

Nice work on the wheels, they look great!

I enjoy wheel building immensely, I find it very relaxing. I like to take my time doing it. The slower you go the better the wheels turn out. This year it was a Powertap wheel, and also I switched out nipples, for color and material, on another wheel. I'm looking forward to coming up with an excuse to build another wheelset soon, maybe as part of a lightweight bike build up.

For tools, I'd already had some spoke wrenches and some other goodies, including a screw-holding screwdriver that works great for inserting the nipple into the rim and getting it threaded onto the spoke. I got lucky, as a mechanic friend gave me a decent used Park Tool truing stand and also a dishing tool. I don't have a tensiometer, I tension the spokes by ear (I'm a musician). I don't doubt a tensiometer is an effective tool, but I've been very happy with the results I've gotten after building 10 or so wheels.

I could go on, but I think I'm turning into that guy at the party that people are trying to get away from..

ThermionicScott 

+lots.