Originally Posted by cranky
I've been riding around on a dented rim and have decided that I want to finally learn how to build wheels out of interest and to take my wrenching to the next level. I have read Sheldon's guide and picked up a copy of The Bicycle Wheel and begun to read that.
The question is, will my first wheel actually be usable(36 spoke)? Or will it take a lot of practice? If so, how do I approach that, for example, do I buy thrift store bikes and build/rebuild until I get it right? Or buy some new but cheap rims?
Lastly, any recommendations on the tools(truing stand and dishstick) and where I should buy them?
Thanks!
Cranky, I'm almost in the same position as you, and I too would also be interested in any advice people can give.
The only thing that I'm ahead of you on is I just bought a truing stand from Nashbar. Hey, vpiuva , I think that it's a Minoura. Rests on the table and, they say, you don’t need a dishing tool. The instructions that come with the truing stand are terrible. Obviously written by someone who does not know English. But I was able to figure them out.
I haven’t built a wheel yet but I used the truing stand to true three of my wheels. Worked great. I can now adjust the wheel for being out-of-round, which I never could adjust with the wheel on the bike. It’s also way easier to see the minor changes and where it is out of true.
Now I need to decide on what rim and hub to buy for my first build. I plan to jump right in with a good wheel that I intend to use. I figure that I can always re-build it if something is not right.
Lets keep this thread going as we progress through the wheel building learning curve and see how we do.