PARILLA125

Hello,

I am new to the forum, and new to the hobby for that matter. I bought a custom Motobecane with Ultegra components, and have been very happy even since. I put a wider carbon fork on it to give it a little more edge, but now it needs something else. It currently has the Shimano WH-R550Wheelset (16H front, 20H rear), with which I have been quite happy with. Now I am looking to put a more aggressive weelset on it. I am planning to build a wheelset with a more aggressive spoke pattern, deeper rims, wider bladed spokes and possibly lower spoke count. Have any of you guys done this? I have been looking for rims and hubs, but I could not find any that fit this description. I believe I am looking in the wrong place; it would help it someone could give me a few references/sites for rims, hubs and spokes.

This would be my first attempt to build a wheel, so any tips or insight in the process would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Zach

urbanknight

A lower spoke count than 16/20? Do you weigh less than 100 lb?

AngryScientist 

go back to the drawing board.

PARILLA125

I'm 152 as of today

AngryScientist 

you're pretty light, but low low spoke count wheels are a recipe for trouble, especially if you're just training on them.

urbanknight

Then there's no reason to go lower than 16/20, and even that build will require a very skilled wheel builder to get in true and with tension high enough not to break spokes and low enough not to collapse the rim.

urbanknight

ftfy

ElJamoquio

Bad, bad, bad, bad, bad idea.

Hunt-man

Did you look at these? I'm thinking about a pair. But I'm 175-180 and not going near low spoke wheels.

https://pedalforce.com/online/product...ducts_id=16623

PARILLA125

Is there any website that you guys would recommend for ordering hubs, rims and spokes? I think I will stick with 16/20 then, but I would like to build a wheel with a more exotic spoke pattern... still bad idea?

AEO

you can't do exotic patterns with 16/20 because the numbers and angles don't add up.

exotic numbers are

18h, 36h: crow's foot
24/32h: 2:1 triplet
32h: 2 leading, 2 trailing
36h: 3 leading, 3 trailing

desconhecido 

We have a Trek around here that my wife rides that has odd spoke patterns front and rear. I think it's like 20 spokes and not spread evenly around the rim. I guess they're strong enough and they stay true, thank ***, but I sure wouldn't want to try to build such wheels. 36h 700c wheels with 2.0 straight gauge spokes -- those I can build.

rydaddy

Function >> Form.

How cool are you going to look when you're stranded somewhere because your "exotic" laced wheel took a dump on you?

urbanknight

Just out of curiosity, how many wheels have you built? I'm not saying you can't do it, but trying to do an exotic pattern without any experience is like trying to run a marathon having no running history. Aside from that, the only lacing patterns I see working on 16 and 20 spoke wheels is 1x or radial. I wanted to do a 24 spoke crow's foot for the front of my build, but I got a great deal on a 28h hub, radial laced it, and moved on. There isn't much functional reason for a crow's foot, and I would never do that on a low spoke count for the rear because you're reducing the number of pulling spokes by 1/3.


Add 24h crow's foot, 24h or 32h or 48h modified crow's foot (radial spoke in between each set), and twisted spokes (any pattern which uses crosses).

Skaog

Just drop a few Ks on a hot Carbon Wheelset. It will make your bike look more aggressive, however it will not make you a better rider.

PARILLA125

This would be my first experiment with building a wheel. I have talked to a few people who have built a wheel with a relatively low spoke count (such as 16/20). After successfully following instructions from a wheel building book, they took the wheel to their local bike shop to confirm that it is safe to ride on. The only thing that I would have to read up on is how to assure that the tension is correct, and as I have hear, you simply "pluck" the spoke or squeeze two spoke together to feel the tension. Everyone that I have talked to that attempted to build a wheel, has successfully completed it and is still using it for their setup.

I do agree that it is risky, but so is riding on a Zipp 808...

Building my own wheel would probably cost more than buying a wheel of equal quality or performance, but my goal is not to save money, but simply to enjoy the hobby. (If building a wheel could be enjoyable )

Hunt-man

If you do, buy a spoke tension gauge. Based on my bad experiences, plucking / feeling won't get it done.

PARILLA125

Thanks Hunt-man... Great to know!

PARILLA125

A general question about wheel building just came to mind:

Would a tubeless rim change or complicate things at all?

pdedes

wheelbuilding is an art. great artists start with sketches and studies. you might want to begin with building some basic wheels first. radial and 1x wheels aren't a bad place to begin, or you could start with building a few 3x to get some practice.

urbanknight

Bad move. Most shops today don't have actual expert wheel builders. Just guys who know how to turn a spoke wrench.

Tension gauge, as Hunt-man suggested. For low spoke count wheels and/or lightweight rims, I would not consider any alternative to be safe.

You've heard incorrectly. Once again, probably not a big deal on 32+ spoke counts on sturdy rims, but you have a much narrower margin of error with lower spoke counts and lighter rims.

How so?

Absolutely. Once I built my first pair of wheels, it was as addicting as a drug.

pdedes

and i understand you're not from the form-follows-function school. for myself, i prefer the doctrine of one.

AEO

yes.

you'll have to figure out how to get the nipples to the proper place on the rim through a single hole in. usually accomplished by a magnet and brass nipples.

PARILLA125

I bought a pair of sealed hubs about a month ago, they are 20H and 24H. I will probably build those up first as a test case. I just wish they were bladed... I have been looking for a place to buy rims, every bike shop says that 20/24 is quite sparse, I don't understand since 80% of the bikes they sell are 20/24 or less. I guess my final resort is to finding rims online.

Any recommendations on a 20/24 rim set? And, where I could order them from?

Thanks,
Zach

pdedes

neuvation has their rims available for 50 apiece, fairwheel bikes i think carries kinlin rims in the drillings you are looking for.