Originally Posted by
madmatt1740
Once again, I appreciate the feedback. I have the itch to build my own wheels, but how hard is it. I am fairly mechanical, and tune up most issues on my own bikes, but I am a bit leery if my LBS is hesitant to build me a wheelset. I know I would need a good truing stand, but how difficult on a scale of 1-10 is it to build and properly tension your own wheels???
If you do most of your own wrenching, then you've got the know-how. The tools are a toss-up between how much you want to spend and what ROI you expect to get on them. Most home builders don't need a bajillion dollar Park top of the line pro stand. You can build a good stand for fairly cheap (plans all over the internet), you can get a Minoura Pro for around $60 online if you poke around a bit. I got mine for $55 on sale at Nashbar. I paid $35 for a WAG-4 dishing tool from Park, $12 for a set of generic black/green/red spoke wrenches, and I made a nipple driver by filing down a screwdriver bit for my drill (to speed up my builds). The most expensive thing I have is my Park TM-1 tension meter, and I think it was $65. While not necessary if you have a reference wheel for truing-by-pitch, the quality of my wheels has gone up since I started using one. My initial build was done using Sheldon Brown's wheelbuilding instructions for lacing. I read Jobst Brandt and Roger Musson's books on wheelbuilding.
Overall, it's not that difficult. Start out with building a front wheel, then move on to a dished rear. I'd say it's a 7/10 the first one you build of any specific type, then gets progressively easier. After a couple pairs I didn't even need to look at my lacing guide any more.