I know what my rims are, and the stickers have no aesthetic apeal to me, so there is no question that I will pull them off. The question is when. It seems it would be easier to remove the stickers before I build the wheels, because it will beeasier to remove them, and clean up the residue without spokes in the way, but do the stickers serve any practical purpose to wheelbuilding? Prbably not, but I thought I'd ask. What about the one that says "Do not remove this sticker under penalty of law"?

i pull mine off before i build them.

I usually forget to pull them off until after I build the wheel. I use naptha to clean up the residue.

According to Sheldon:
So, as long as you remember which way the label was oriented, it's okay to take it off. I guess you can also figure this out by the orientation of the eyelets adjacent to the valve hole.

it's probably like the tag on beds that says the same thing. if you sell the bed without the tag, that's when it's a legal issue. probably the same thing here, too. just my guess.

I forgot to say:

I take them off before I build the wheel, too. Granted, I've only built two wheels so far, making me no expert.

Also, there's usually stuff on the label you might want to write down, such as the maximum PSI the rims can handle.

The sticker is opposite the valve hole, and over top of the seam. It can be a useful reference while truing, especially the vertical true. I'd leave it until built.

how would you mark them for a builder if you are having rims polished and powderocated

They're opposite the valve holes, as mentioned above.

I believe what he is saying here is that orienting the words so that they can be read from the drive side shows attention to detail that speaks of good craftsmanship. So if you pull off the stickers, the former orientation of the letters on the stickers becomes irrelevant.

You are correct, sir.

+1

whoa! pretensious wheelbuilder alert

Whom are you calling "pretensious" [sic]: Sheldon for being an eccentric perfectionist or me for quoting him?

the way sheldon words that makes it seem like doing that makes it. it doesn't help the performance, but you'll get MAD style (bike virgin) points if you do it this way.

Dont trash talk Sheldon Brown. He is and will continue to be the man.

i'm not trash talking him. he has definitely been one of the most valuable resources i have ever used, but even the best can take it over the top.

I like Sheldon's little tips like this for wheelbuilding. It's kind of a "code" that let's you judge the work somebody does, even if it is based on something stupid. If your wheelbuilder takes the time to orient the rim that way, put the valve hole over the hub marking, and put the tire on so the label is opposite the valve hole, it's a sign that he puts pride in his work.

Not saying that if a wheelbuilder/shop doesn't do this they aren't quality, but if they do, they most definitely are.

sheldon, while he may have good information, is, and always will be, a ******bag.

Doesn't change the fact that you were born from satan's a**hole.

I don't mind the stickers, as long as there's not too many of them. I kept them on my suzue promax, figured that at least 20 bucks of the cost were the stickers, might as well keep them on.

I've built three wheelsets this week and found that having the stickers on while building greatly helps the process. When I find out where the wheel is out of true, I generally count up or down from either the sticker or the valve hole to remember which spokes need adjustment. Having two points of reference makes it much easier than having one (and a small, hard to find one at that.) I pulled the stickers off of two of the wheelsets after building and had no trouble at all with the removal (third set was sold to someone else, so I thought I'd let them decide on stickers or no.)

Awww, somebody needs a hug today. Come on buddy, turn that frown upside down!

huh, i always put my tire labels in line (on the same side as) the valve hole...

yeah, I try to line up hub stamp w/ valve hole w/ tire label...mainly as a safe outlet for my OCD