coasting 

I have built my own bikes, all 3 of them. I know how to do it pretty well now, but I have always left the wheels to the pros. Well, pros means mass market machine pre-built and that has been hit and miss. I can't justify economically getting a genuine pro to custom make for me.

One of the reasons why I avoided wheel building is I didn't feel confident in getting all the measurements and tech details right and I know how bad it is to keep buying parts then realising it doesn't fit. I've messed up on handlebars, seat posts, stems. But those are easy to swap out.

So, I was wondering if there is anyone who sells the parts like in a set-menu rather than a la carte. I want a big mac meal of wheel parts...something like this:

https://www.bdopcycling.com/DIY%20WHEELS.asp

Do the options available for parts allow enough choice?

hueyhoolihan

i've never done it, but i wouldn't be surprised if you got on a chat line with some website like bikehubstore or something similar that they would be able to give you all the information you need. of course, you would or should be obligated to make the purchase from them, so if this works, you might want to think ahead a little.

but if you DIY, it's pretty easy really. i just start with the rim i want, and match a hub with the proper number of holes, get the erd or of the rim, make sure the OLD of the hub is right, that the nipples are the right size.... wait , you're right it is a PITA.

rpenmanparker 

BikeHubStore (Brandon) in the US will work with you to get the right spokes for your choice of hubs and rims. But I honestly don't know how you could beat the deal you referenced. BDOP is great to work with.

coasting 

i told you so!!!!!

That's why i want all the matching and compatible stuff to be group together.
Set 1. a set of spokes, hubs and rims (compatible)
Set 2. a different set of spokes, hubs and rims (compatible)

This way I buy happy meal set 1. and pick from this set options knowing it will all fit together correctly.

coasting 

yes...bob knows his products and that's why i keep an eye on his stuff and his DIY wheel set caught my attention because it solved my problem with wheel building. Seems to be a great idea. I wonder if seasoned bike assemblers who do their own wheels can comment on this DIY kit.

rjones28 

I used BHS. Brandon was happy to double check my work on spoke length choices.

bbattle

Yes, you can find all types of hubs, rims, spokes to make whatever wheel your heart desires. If you figure out your spoke lengths, you don't need to buy everything as a kit but can go a la carte.

Lots of wheelbuilding instructions and videos online.

rjones28 

Looks like a nice kit at a great price. Plus, you can probably just hike over to his place and pick it up.

coasting 

i was asking for opinions from seasoned wheel builders...and i get rjones. oh boy.

redlude97

if i was going to go through the trouble of building wheels, i would at least use a wide rim profile

rjones28 

The KinLin XC-279 is a wide profile rim - 23mm.

Doohickie

I worked with my local bike shop to buy a rim, hub and spokes (which they sized for me). I could have paid maybe 10% less online, but the extra I paid was more than worth it for the spoke sizing alone. Plus the LBS helped me with questions before/during the build, and they inspected the finished wheel for me. If you have a favorite shop that you go to with any frequency, they will probably be happy to help you build your own wheels in terms of providing spoke sizing and general advice.

The actual assembly process is pretty much like assembling a Lego set. Once you have the basic assembly done, you slowly tension it until you get it right. If you end up with too much of a wobble, you can always back off the tension and try again. As I recall, my first wheel took about 5 hours to build (while watching a baseball game that went into extra innings and drinking a few beers). I purposely had the ballgame on because I wanted something that would help me work slowly; I didn't want to rush it.

redlude97

oops i read that as the xr-270

chaulky61

Wheelbuilding book for building bicycle wheels

rjones28 

Are you sure that spoke count is appropriate for your weight and road conditions?

coasting 

so how long should a build take? if i get it as a DIY kit will it be easier?

i have trued my wheels many times and it takes me hours.

Brian Ratliff

I learned to build wheels from (the late) Sheldon Brown. His wheel building tutorial is one of the best.

I use the DT swiss website for calculating spoke lengths. Plug in the hub, rim (or measurements of both) and the number of crosses and it'll spit out spoke lengths. I usually round down to the nearest available length (within a mm; some fancier spokes only come in even lengths, for instance). I'd rather have a little trouble initially threading the spoke than run out of threads as I am tensioning.

Also, if you have an old-school bike shop in your area, buy your spokes from them and have them calculate the length.

The problem with a kit is the kit will have to be custom (otherwise why build a custom wheelset); the market is extremely small and the people in it are extremely picky about their rim/spoke/hub combinations. DBop can do it because he limits choices and he's already got that stuff lying around; stuff it in a box and ship it. If you just want Ultegra/OP, I'd recommend buying a wheelset from Performance, loosen all the spokes and retension by hand. Might work as a standalone business if you had a wheelbuilding school (or awesome instructional materials + marketing effort) attached to the effort and found a cost effective way of providing a very wide selection of rims/spokes/hubs.

Brian Ratliff

It all depends on how practiced you are. My first wheelset took an entire weekend with a lot of missteps and the spoke tension was all over the map which eventually required a rebuilding after I managed to break a non-driveside spoke (who does that? ). My last wheelset took a couple hours (while watching football, I believe) and I've not had to touch them since (ridden for almost a year).

Unless you miss-size the spokes, a kit should be no different than fully custom. The only variable is spoke length.

Doohickie

Like I said upthread...my first wheelbuild took about 5 hours.

halfspeed

Those are good parts that should build into good wheels. They are available only in a 20/24 hole combination so if you're north of Clyde territory, you might want something a bit more robust.

coasting 

and what do you mean by that!

RollCNY

lighten up.

himespau 

Looks interesting.

BoSoxYacht

$230 shipped is a great price for those parts. Even if you paid a shop to build them, it's still a pretty good deal.

moppeddler

There was just another wheelbuilding thread, and I thought the concensus was that it wasn't any cheaper to do it yourself.