Rear Elixir is dead (again) so swaped for the 100% reliable, never failed, super powerfull hayes 9’s.

F*** that, they pissed their guts all over the garrage floor, 4 years inactivity didnt dot hem any good apparently.

Dig out the shimano XTR’s I was supposed to be selling, goodrich hoses are about a ft to short despite a smaller frame! Dam you stupid specialized cable routing.

Decide to build up the new wheels. Get the first 8 spokes in then spend an hour trying to figure out the next step.

Give up, phone GF, winge and moan, she suggests having a beer, I have a beer. Everything feels better.

Go back to build wheels, and get both done really quickly. Not bad considering I had no guidebook and was just copying the pattern off another wheel! Rear is true in all directions to within a fraction of a mm and so stiff I couldn’t deform it enough to check for windup in the spokes! (shouldnt be any, used brass nipples and plenty of R&R super-coat grease). Front still needs trueing as I had another beer to celebrate 🙂

So still no useable bikes, but at least I’ve found a new skill 😀

beer is good

I think its more the break than the beer 😉 – when you get wound up your objectivity goes out the window – you need to step back, take a break, rethink, relax and then go back fresh 🙂

always more useful than a GF, Sheldon RIP
http://sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html#lacing

http://sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html#lacing

indeed but no ‘net at home 🙁

Spoon method for wheelbuilding;

Take 8 spokes of the correct length, fit them to altentatin holes in one flange and every 4th hole on the rim. Screw them all into the nipples so about 1.5-2mm of thread is left showing.

Pick up the wheel your copying and figure out which ones youve just fitted.

Figure out how to put the opposite (pushing/pulling and drive/none-drive side) spoke in, you only need to figure out one. This bit takes by far the longest and really fustrating, I went for a beer then came back to it. Then its the same every other hole, every 4th hole.

Back to the first side, the next 8 spokes go in the remainig holes formt he other side, and halfway between the other spoke holes in the rim. 3x over the first 2 under the third spoke.

The last 8 spokes are easy, in the hub, over 2 under the third.

Screw all the nipples up untill the thread just diapears, if your lucky the wheel is now straight and perfectly dished with even and good tension. Ifd youve not sold your soul to the devil, put a turn on each spoke untill the tension seems about right. Then get the dishing aproximately right (it’ll stil be wobbling, hence aproximate) by adding and subtracting a half turn from alternating spokes. The true it as normal.

Like I said, the new rims (mavic en521, thoroughly recomended as a result) are so stiff I couldn’t release the tension in the spokes to undo any windup, even with my full bodyweight! Either that or there wasn’t any windup.

You should now have somethign vaguely wheel like.

anyway, you shouldnt listen to me, or youll end up with noodlewheel:

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/wheelbuilding-spot-the-mistake

HAHA, even I avoided that mistake!

Although I keep looking at them and thinking that they look wrong, but I think that’s just the silver spokes, silver hub and black rim playing tricks on my eyes, the spokes look somehow offset, but I’ve counted and they’re definately 3x on all spokes.

Boloks, shouldn’t have read Sheldons guide, I didn’t check if the eyelets were symetrical or angled one way or the other 🙁

Ahhh well, practice makes perfect.

dont think Ive seen a hub with angled holes yet.

no, it’s the rim I’m thinking about, whether they holes were drilled radialy, or faceing one flange or the other 🙁

Ooops 🙁

Good to know I’m not the only one who has these sorts of ‘episodes’. Sometimes they can last for hours. Hours of cursing and sweating and fuming.

I’ve learnt.

Not to rush.
Not to do too many things at once.
Not to do it the night before.
Expect it to take four times longer than you expect.
Be clean, tidy, methodical and meticulous.
Read the manual.
If something’s broken – bin it.

I still manage to forget all of the above at times though.. 😛