Hello bicycle friends,

My question today is in regards to wheel building. Lacing a new Shimano Nexus 3 SPD hub to an old 26 x 1 3/8 wheel (broken Sturmey Archer 3 SPD internal hub). I calculated the ERD of the rim and took measurements on the Nexus hub and entered all the informaiton into a few spoke calculators and got a spoke length. My question now is: is there any way to lace a spoke (of the determined length) into the hub/rim to check if the length that I came up with will work (before ordering a bag of 50 spokes to find out that it didn't work)? I suppose this could apply to any wheel build. Any information would be greatly appreciated, thank you!

You mean like CAD?

Just make sure all of your measurement are correct, and use a reputable SpokeCalc.

You should compare the difference between the sturmey archer hub and the Shimano hub spoke hole diameter, They are likely to be fairly close. and assuming that you favored the old spoke cross pattern, and still have the old spokes, and since you are using the same old rim, you should be able to go with the same size spokes. FYI... Even the jump in flange size from an old high flange hub and a small flange hub is only 3mm.

I'll take the measurements of the old spokes and measurements of the old hub and see how they match up with the spoke length number I came up with and the dimensions of the Shimano Nexus hub. I'll end up using new spokes no matter what just because this is for a customer and the wheel will look heaps better with $40 worth of new spokes and nipples. Thanks for the advice!

Even experienced mechanics sometimes get the wrong lengths. A reputable spoke calc usually does the job well - I use the free one on the UBI site.

You know the old saying...

"Measure twice, cut once."...but in this case "Measure twice, lace once."

Good luck.

Dan

That's what I would do.

Most hubs are real close to the same so, unless you are using a hub with an unusually wide flange or something, the hub has minimal effect on spoke length. Rims, on the other hand, affect spoke length a lot so you have to be careful with the ERD.

Incidentally, I'd be real cautious of using a rim that old. I'd hold it against a plate glass window or something to check for flatness, and I'd check the thickness of the brake track as well as I was able. Buying all new spokes and lacing the wheel make for a significant outlay of money and time. It would be a shame to waste that on a wonky rim.