where to have wheels built??
 

can anyone recomend N.Y. bike works???

i'm cross-posting this from the worldclass cycles thread:

build them yourself, it's not hard, really it's not.

if you're not comfortable doing that, lace 'em up yourself, get them close to round and true, then take them to the lbs, confess your sins and ask them to help you out.

they might make fun of you, but they'll true and tension them for WAY less than a complete build.

i dont have spokes + i have no clue how to lace them, i asked trackstar,the guy said $280+ tax, mind you i have the hubs already.

I think you had a misunderstanding. I seriously doubt they would ever charge that much. Maybe they just hate you.

bikeworks builds great wheels.

$280 for rims, spokes and labor?

Out of control.

yep! thats what they quoted me. for open pro's 36H + straight ga. spokes + labor, excluding tax.

here's how to do it: go to the lbs with the hubs (and rims if you have them, if not, buy them there), and ask them to set you up w/ some spokes (get double-butted), and a spoke wrench.

take all the parts home and lace the wheels (see sheldonbrown.com for the technical details), and then get them as close to true and round as you can (see sheldon again for the 'fork, pencil, and rubber band method).

once you've done that take them back to the lbs to be trued and tensioned.

$120 for Rims, $1 per spoke, $72, which brings you to about $200, plus $40 per wheel to build. not unreasonable.

they dont know me to hate me,probably cause im not a messenger i guess.

What are Open Pros? $40 a rim?

So, $80 (rims) $60 (spokes) ??? (labor).

It shouldn't cost you more than $180.

I agree with Dolface.
Wheel building can be intimidating but it really isnt as hard as it seems. Let Sheldon guide you and let your LBS do the final true.

also, what mrRed said.

Open Pros are $60 each?
Whoa.

yup.

I hate messengers (Grumpy Smurf)

Enjoy

Nevermind, then.

I guess I misunderstood you. I thought you wanted just a build (i.e. JUST labor). I was joking about them hating you!

is there ever a clinic where one can learn how to build a wheel? while i can build a bike blindfolded, I neverlearned how to do the wheels :( i hope to find someone who can teach me so i dont get shaged ever again

ma3's are solid rims, for about half the price of open pros.

That must be what I was thinking of.
Or CXP22s?

cheack your local bike co-op, they'll prolly have classes.

na, the price is reasonable, and they build great wheels. I've also never had a problem with the few wheels built for me at NYC Velo. Both shops take time and care in building their wheels and they should last you forever. If you want to try yourself. I say go ahead. There's a couple of books on it that should point you in the right direction. Always start at sheldon brown.

truer words were never written...

yeah, i have a book, THe bicycle wheel - a truing stand,spoke wrench. i dont really understand what im reading esp about calculating spoke lenth

I used to be in the same position as you before.
Scared to work on anything in case I messed up all my parts.
So I just sat down. Read all the crap I could about building wheels & spoke length calc and stuff.
Realized how simple/logical it all really was.
and just took it slow when I built up my first wheelset.

You gotta start somewhere. Don't be scared off by thinking its hard and is only for hardcore messengers.

Just take it slow and see the logic behind what you are doing. And be VERY methodical.