:)

OP, here's my two cents, or since I have only built one kids' 16 inch front wheel, maybe you should consider it 1.5 cents. I'm in the same boat and I posted to the Bike Mechanics forum. I was convinced to go ahead and build my own wheels. So I'm collecting the pieces right now, I've got the hubs, and now trying to decide on rims. I know of some pro wheel builders around here so if I change my mind about building them I can always pay someone to do it. However I think if you are mechanically inclined and able to patiently follow instructions then you can DIY. That being said, it will not be a money saving venture. You can get some pretty nice wheels for a deal these days. Also I would say that if you want a low spoke count, aero bladed spoke wheelset, with some radial spoking, you might be better off going with pre-built. Traditional 2 or 3 cross spoking with round (can be butted or swaged) spokes I suspect are easier to build, tension and true by hand. I'm planning on a rear 32 spoke 3x with front 24 spoke 2x campy wheelset. If I wanted a modern wheelset I'd probably be better off just buying Campy Zondas or the like which are prebuilt and not really possible to replicate by hand.

Thanks for the 1.5 cents.... This is certainly not a money saving venture. I wasnt' looking to go for top of the line, latest and greatest either though. However, I really don't need to spend a ton of money to see an improvement, at least weight wise, over the porky 2100g wheels I'm riding now. What it comes down to is that the idea of building my own wheels has interested me and I happen to be in the market for some new wheels.

While doing some online research I came across that build kit offered by BHS that I ended up ordering and thought it an interesting idea. The kit approach takes some of the work of figuring out spoke length, parts selection, and such out of the picuture, which can be mind boggling and leaves me with the building part. Not that I don't want to learn that stuff, but it seemed like a nice head start on the first go at it.

I'm a pretty mechanically competent person as a licensed aircraft mechanic, restorer of vintage VWs, and engine builder. I know that some folks consider themselves competent mechanics because they can change the oil in their car. I'm certainly beyond that skill level.

As far as cyling specific wrenching, I've built up several bikes for myself and friends with excellent results. Building my own wheels seems to be the logical next challenge in the DIY/hobbyist aspect of cycling.

I agree with with Halfspeed. Don't get me wrong, I like Sapim Lasers a lot and build my own wheels with them but they are very windup prone. I just think the first time DIY builder is going to have better luck and a lot less frustration with the Race spoke.

Thanks for your thoughts.

The build kit with the Lasers has been ordered, paid for, and shipped. Should be at my front door next week, so Lasers it is. I'll of course let everyone know how it goes. Probably post a pic or too as well.

You're cheap. I'd charge at least a six of IPA over and above airfare.

I'd stay with my big brother, near his route to work, and see some Sox games with my bro. Airfare would be payment enough.

Tape little flags on your spokes so that you can see if they are winding up. Bladed spokes are easy to build with because you can see when they start to twist.

Good tip.

They will "wind up", that's normal. Then you back off a 1/4 turn or so to un-wind.
A little stress relief once in a while also helps "pop" them back to neutral.

You don't need to do anything special. I like a tape flag on the first (and second for rear wheels) spoke following the valve hole. Notice how far the flag goes on the first spoke with approximately the same tension before the flag stops moving. Over-shoot and backup by that much on all the other spokes in the wheel half (halves for front wheels).

It'll work fine as long as you don't have any sticky nipples (you should not with new parts) even on 2.0/1.5mm butted spokes.

Other people use Sharpie dots on every spoke.

Proper lubrication (I like zinc anti-seize which will corrode preferentially to alloy nipples) on the spoke threads will keep windup more reasonable and make the building experience more pleasant.

Flexing the wheel (hands at 9 and 3 o'clock, push down with the axle on a board or something so you don't dent your floor, repeat until you've covered all the spoke pairs, then flip the wheel over) also relieves windup but should not be necessary.

Thanks for the tips! Another vote for anti-seize it seems. Is there an advantage to the spoke prep stuff over just anti-seize?

OP, i do my own wheelbuilding, not for saving money, but for the enjoyment of doing it. If that's what you are after, go for it. There is a lot of satisfaction in building things from scratch. Now, all i need is a 3D printer :)

If you're a commercial manufacturer it allows you to use less expensive wheel building machines, run your machines at a higher production rate, and not use expensive hand-labor without dealing with the warranty returns from heavy riders on your under-tensioned wheels. That's the market Wheelsmith invented spokeprep for.

As an individual hand-building wheels it offers no benefit.

I'm really looking forward to building these. I totally agree with you. I've been flying model airplanes for 20 years (man I feel old after typing that) and the satisfaction you get from flying something that you've built yourself cannot be accurately described to someone who doesn't pursue such things. Same goes for my 1963 VW. Stripped that car down to nothing and built it back up. Built my own engine too. I just love that type of thing.

I just wish I had ordered the stuff a few days earlier. I'm off all next week and have a century planned for next Saturday. Not sure if I'll have sufficient time before the ride to get them built up and put a few miles on them. May have to stick with my current wheels for that ride.

Makes sense.

It's a lot of fun riding around on wheels you built yourself. The hubs you ordered a cheap but hardy. I've order from BHS a couple of times and the hubs were the same as those that came on my Boyd carbon wheels. No problems with either of them. Good luck and take your time. It's better to go slow than having to redo.

Good to hear some experience with BHS and their products, thanks.

I did my first wheel build with Lasers and didn't have a problem. I wrapped a pair of pliers in electrical tape and grabbed the spoke immediately after the nipple to prevent it winding. To tighten the nipple, I used a nipple driver from the rim bed. Now, if you need to true the wheel after it is built up with a tire installed, you need to put some tape on the spoke so you can see the windup since using a nipple wrench does not allow you to grip the spoke as closely to the nipple.

My favorite site for kinlin rims and laser spokes is pandora wheels.

edit - but if you stress relieve religiously, you probably won't need to true the thing until a long time in the future....

Everything arrived well packaged and in good shape. I built up both wheels yesterday. Took my time along the way and I think they are ready for a test ride. Without a tensiometer, I have no idea what the final tensions are, but based on the tone when plucked, they are fairly even on each side of each wheel, not perfect, but pretty good I think. The lateral and radial true is <1mm on each wheel. Some of the key points of the project to answer some of the questions asked in this thread:

I used anti-seize on the spoke threads. Seemed to work fine.

To monitor spoke twist I put a dot near the nipple with a sharpie marker. Worked quite well. Wipes right off with a little alcohol.


Looking forward to riding them tonight, weather permitting. I weighed them and they came in at 1609g with skewers. Not super light weight, but good enough for me. I'll post some pics and ride report when I get time. I didn't find the process difficult, it is just time consuming and needs to be done with attention to detail and patience. Only time and miles will tell how good of a job I did. I hope they do well, they sure do look good.

:thumb:

OK, I am trying to understand the DIY wheel angle. Excluding the experts (who obviously know what they are doing), why would an amateur go through with building his own wheels? From what I have gathered you are still outsourcing the parts from the Chinese, so why not go ahead and get unbranded Chinese wheels?

If you have to ask, you won't understand.

It has nothing to do with sourcing parts from China. The hubs are the only unbranded item I used, not that it matters. I did it because, well, I wanted to. The same reason people build their own home, or restore a car on their own I guess. That is just the type of person I am. There is a little satisfaction knowing that if someone asks where I got my wheels, I can say, that I built them. Heck, I already get looks of amazement when people find out I built my bike up from a pile of components that I chose myself.

The short answer...... I did it for the personal satisfaction of learning something new.

thank you for taking the time to explain your thought process