I am currently contemplating whether or not to build a new set of wheels or buy pre built. I will have an experienced wrench help me through the process b/c I work at a bike shop. One thing I do know it that if I build them they will have Dura-ace hubs. Some information that might help you, I am 6'1" and can get up to 154 pounds on a good day. I like climbing and would like to race in the near future. ------Andrew

I'm assuming that your post is asking whether learning how to build wheels is worthwhile - the answer is yes. Aside from the pride of building them, you will also gain a lot of knowledge of how to diagnose problems and maintain your wheels.

If you have a wrench helping you, great. If not there are several books out there that are good. Not to discredit any of the pro builders out there, but building basic wheels is fairly easy - things get harder as you get into lower spoke counts/patterns and more exotic rims and hubs.

Do it! Should be a no brainer if you work in a shop and have help.

what kind of build would you recomend given my weight and dura ace hubs ( i was thinking about 24 count in the rear.)

what kind of build would you recomend given my weight and dura ace hubs ( i was thinking about 24 count in the rear.)

The number of spokes you use will depend on the stiffness of the rim. If you are using a light rim, then more than 24 would be better. With a heavy or aero rim it would probably be ok. It's also better to use more light butted spokes rather than fewer heavier spokes.

You could also consider 2:1 lacing with the DA rear hub... 16 DS, 8 NDS. Get a 32 hole hub and rim, and lace the drive side 3x and the NDS radial heads in, skipping every other hole. You'd need a stiff rim for that.

You could also consider 2:1 lacing with the DA rear hub... 16 DS, 8 NDS. Get a 32 hole hub and rim, and lace the drive side 3x and the NDS radial heads in, skipping every other hole. You'd need a stiff rim for that.

You could also lace the NDS (Non-DriveSide) with a 1 or 2 cross pattern instead of radial. Since many 32 hole hubs are not designed for radial lacing, this may be slightly more robust.

Spoke lengths for DS would be same as for other 32 spoke wheels. Spoke lengths for the NDS would correspond to those of a 16 spoke wheel with the same number of crossings.

what would be a nice stiff rim that could handle a low spoke count?

what would be a nice stiff rim that could handle a low spoke count?

Deeper section rims with no eyelets should be the stiffest... Velocity Deep V, or a Fusion or Niobium 30 should also be adequate. I'm going to lace a 28 hole Niobium 30 this way (21 spokes)... I'll let you know how it turns out.

You could also lace the NDS (Non-DriveSide) with a 1 or 2 cross pattern instead of radial. Since many 32 hole hubs are not designed for radial lacing, this may be slightly more robust.

I wondered about this too, Mark... but figured that using only half the holes it should be safe. The flange failures I've seen always have the flange coming apart across several spoke holes. With a 32 hole hub you can easily cross them if you want. I have 28 hole and 36 hole hubs that I'm building this way and crossing would not be so simple with the odd number of holes on the NDS.

I wondered about this too, Mark... but figured that using only half the holes it should be safe. The flange failures I've seen always have the flange coming apart across several spoke holes.

Yes, you are using only half the spoke holes - but the amount of material supporting the load (the material between the holes) is smaller as well. In addition, with half as many spokes, each spoke has twice the tension. So the peak stresses on the edges of the flange holes that are used will be much higher when using only half the number of NDS spokes.

Side note: The reason that flanges usually break with multiple spokes pulling out is not just because the spoke tensions are combined (that is only a secondary factor) - it is because fatigue cracks form (and propogate) along the lines of highest tension stress. On a spoke hole, the peak tension stresses are on the edges of the hole on ether side of the spoke (orthogonal to the direction of the spoke). Once a crack initiates, it continue to grow in direction orthoganal to the direction the spoke pulls - in other words, the cracks usually grow in a direction generally toward the adjacent holes. As the crack grows, and the flange cross-section between the holes decreases, it increases the stresses on the edges of the adjacent spoke hole, which may initiate another crack, which will grow toward the first crack. These cracks continue to grow, often meeting each other, until the combined stress of the spokes pulling on the remaining cross-section cause a brittle failure of the intact portion of the flange, resulting a several spoke wide span of flange breaking away.

Thanks for all of the helpful replies. Wheel building is going to be a new adventure and a learning experiance. I can fix pretty much anything on a bike, and wanted to learn how to build wheels. Thanks ---Andrew

Do yourself a favor. Stick with the simple wheels for the first pairs. Learn the basics, THEN go fancy.

If you follow the path I took, it goes: build simple wheels, build progressively more fancy wheels till you figger out that the simple ones are better, then go back to building simple wheels again.

Next on my list is a pair of Campy Omega XL clinchers on Mavic 571/2 hubs.

M

OK guys, this is this kids first wheel build. Sounds like it will be an all-around wheel set in addition to racing. K.I.S.S.

I recommend 28 double-butted spokes rear, 24 in front. Rear could be 2 or 3 cross, front could be 2x, 1x or radial.

This might be a little bit on the lightly built side, perhaps 32 3x in the back and 28 2x in the front would be better, if you get serious about racing you can always buy or build something newer and lighter.

Thanks for all of the helpful replies. Wheel building is going to be a new adventure and a learning experiance. I can fix pretty much anything on a bike, and wanted to learn how to build wheels. Thanks ---Andrew
Be careful who you tell about your new skill, or you might get plenty of non-profit experience.

I'm in total agreement with fishman. For everyday riding I'd go for the 32 3x rear and 28 2x front. Enjoy the manliness of building your own wheels and maintaining them independent of LBS help, which may or may not be so good (as in good even tensioning).

Then go for the bling bling. If you make a mistake with the bling bling wheels, you only have yourself to blame (since you are the hack that built them :D ). This has good karma because It's hard to stay pissed at your own self for very long.