Originally Posted by MrCjolsen
A shop will charge about a buck for a straight gauge spoke. A hub can cost from 20 to .... well, lots of money.
Most shops charge from 50 to 100 to build a wheel.
One option is to lace the wheel yourself and take it to a shop for the final truing and tensioning.
If you do that, then the wheel you will have will be superior in quality to a machine built wheel.
Don't underestimate the quality difference between a hand-built wheel and a machine built wheel. Even if the hand is yours.
Whaaa??? I build wheels nearly every day and I'm good at it
and I don't charge anywhere near that much! I don't know any builders who do.
Our
double butted spokes are about a buck each. I don't normally build with straight gauge. Labor per wheel is $30, unless you need spoke head washers which adds $5 for both parts+labor.
As to the lace it yourself first advice: unless you are absolutely sure your spoke lengths are perfect, and you used the correct thread prep for the type of wheel you are building,
do not try this at home.
I offer a lifetime (of the rim) warranty against spoke breakage and truing on wheels I spec and build. I cannot offer that unless the wheels are completely done by me. You'd only be saving 5 or 10 bucks anyhow. Not worth it IMHO.