I am putting together my first personally built bike and have everything ordered except rims and crankset. I'm sort of at a loss on what to do. The bike is mainly going to see the road (23-25mm road tire), so it is mainly being built as a flat bar on cyclocross frame/fork. I'm using a Nexus 8 out back and single gear sprocket set. However, there will be a few times it will see some trails (32-38mm cyclocross tire). Looking to buy a complete front rim with bolt on hub and the I'll lace up a rear on the Nexus. It'll be a fun learning opportunity to screw up and end up at the LBS. I've already dropped a pretty couple of pennies on parts, so I don't want to spend a ton on the rims. On the same token, I don't want to buy something that is going to need to be replaced in a year either.

700c X ?
Who makes decent front bolt on rims?
What type of rim will be best suited to my uses?
How many spokes do I need? (Currently thinking 28 front/36 rear per Sheldon Brown's article)

Already planning on SS spokes and brass nipples. Still need to plug everything into a spoke length calculator for the rear.


Jeremy

Depending on your weight, your plan sounds good on spoke counts etc.

As far as rims, what kind of trails are you thinking? Rail trails, or single track? If you are going to go with anything real rough, I would say to seek out a strong rim (there are a lot of popular choices I went with Velocity Chukkers, which would be overkill for many, but I weigh over 300 pounds).

The key is to pick a rim width that is reasonable for the two different widths of tire you want to use. Look at the rim width versus tire width table on Sheldon Brown's site and make sure that whatever rim you go with is the appropriate width.

If I was making your decision, I would find a front wheel that met my needs, and then buy a rear rim to match it. Since you are probably looking for an off the shelf front wheel, then I wouldn't want to limit my selection too much other than width, and strength requirements.

First, you need a front bolt-on hub. The rim really doesn't have any impact on how the hub is attached to the fork.

And disk or rim brakes? That does have an impact on rim choice.

I'd build for the cyclocross style riding you seem to be planning on doing. That'll put a lot more stress on your wheels than road riding, unless you go curb-climbing. You could use disk brakes and get a set of cyclocross rims, though you might have problems using 23 tires on such rims and have to stick with 25s.

I weigh between 130-140 lbs, so weight isn't much of an issue. I could build up the front wheel but figured the least amount of messing something up, the better. Where are the good places to shop for rims?

There are a lot of sites to explore rims... I had a set of wheels built at CUSTOM HAND BUILT BICYCLE WHEELS Built By Professionals - Prowheelbuider.com and selected components based on their site. They sell rims and other supplies along with their custom wheels... I don't know about their prices compared to others, but it is a place to start... and good people to deal with as well. I have a really solid set of wheels for my 26" mountain bike from them... They would probably answer questions on suitability of their rims too, since they went a few rounds of refinement with me to make sure that I got what was right for my needs. You can probably find similar support with other vendors, but I happen to have experience with them.

Ever built a wheel before?

A front wheel is a lot easier than a rear wheel....

the hub is not the rim ..

Ask at your local bike shop, what they can get .. a factory made wheel is potentially low cost , premium components will kick up the cost.

I was thinking of that too... if the OP is intent on building the rear wheel, it might be a good idea to build the front wheel too, as practice.

However, if budget is an issue, the components can cost more than a built wheel.

Alright, guys. I put bolt on rim when I meant write bolt on wheel. Not everyone that uses the interwebs is a complete idiot, just multi-tasking too much at work.

I will be using cantilever brakes to start and may be switching to mechanical disc later. I have never built a wheel. But, I have torn down an RX7 and placed it back together well enough not to kill myself. I also work as a design engineer, so I'm decent with mechanics. I figured at worst I can get it strung and then let the LBS do the tuning on it. Either way, I have the rear gear hub ordered, so I or someone is going to have to build it.

I'll check out the website you posted, Little Darwin, and contact the local places again. I haven't been particularly ecstatic with the locals responses so far though.

nobody works, at their job, while posting here , Now get back to work !