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  • First wheel build advice…
  • sb88
    Free Member

    First wheel build advice…

    Morning folks,

    Am embarking on first wheel build from scratch. Have re-built an old wheel before using original bits / replacement spokes to match, but never bought new bits to build from…

    Am going to use Roger Musson’s book, ‘A practical guide to wheel building’ as a guide.

    A few questions then…

    Thinking I will use Deore hubs for price + reliability. (Non-disc)

    – These wheels will be for 1990s 7 speed MTBs. Maybe 8 speed if I have the correct bits in the garage. So, should I use the latest Deore T610 hubs and just space for a 7/8 speed cassette? Or get the older Deore hubs for 7/8/9 speed and hope they continue to be available for a while…

    – Will I need washers on the spoke ends where the enter the flange of the hub?

    – Worth bothering with second-hand or NOS hubs (old Deore LX are shiny!)

    – Worth building a front disc wheel for ‘future-proofing’, but on a rim brake rim…. Or is this asking for trouble (putting a disc brake on a wheel with semi worn rim in the future= bad?)

    – Also, Shimano don’t seem to list the non-disc hubs on the Deore page on their website. What the hell?
    http://bike.shimano.com/content/sac-bike/en/home/groupset-landing/mtb/deore.html

    I know these are all decisions I have to make myself, but interested to hear others’ thoughts.

    Cheers,

    Sb

    unovolo
    Free Member

    Not a expert on this but would go with a current Deore hub,as it will be backward compatible with 7/8/9speed.

    Regards building with a disc hub I have done it with a rear wheel on a Saracen I was restoring/modernising.
    Although the frame was v-brake only my thoughts were it could be used as a spare on one of my newer bikes.
    I built the wheel with a XT centrelock style hub which has a moulded rubber cap over the centrelock splines so its not immediately obvious that its a disc hub(purely to keep the retro aesthetic)

    Regards fitting spoke washers so people do, the experts reckon it reduces stress on the flanges/eyelets. Personally never seen a wheel with them yet and most seem to manage just fine without them.

    sb88
    Free Member

    Not a expert on this but would go with a current Deore hub,as it will be backward compatible with 7/8/9speed.

    Regards building with a disc hub I have done it with a rear wheel on a Saracen I was restoring/modernising.
    Although the frame was v-brake only my thoughts were it could be used as a spare on one of my newer bikes.
    I built the wheel with a XT centrelock style hub which has a moulded rubber cap over the centrelock splines so its not immediately obvious that its a disc hub(purely to keep the retro aesthetic)

    Regards fitting spoke washers so people do, the experts reckon it reduces stress on the flanges/eyelets. Personally never seen a wheel with them yet and most seem to manage just fine without them.

    Unovolo – thanks for a matter-of-fact and simpler reply – much more straightforward than some mechanics’ answers I’ve had!

    Basically: get latest/ish hubs. Get same ones front and rear. Make wheel! Spacers for 7/8sp cassette as necessary…

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    Bez
    Full Member

    Washers are there to account for discrepancies between the length of the spoke elbow and the thickness of the flange. I’ve never used them, and with modern kit it shouldn’t be an issue.

    Whether you build a disc hub is up to you. Personally I hate to see a disc wheel with a used brake track, but unless you’ve worn it down severely it’s just aesthetics. Using a non-disc hub obviously gives you an opportunity to do another build when you get a disc brake 😉

    On the hub front, just get what you want. If decent NOS hubs come up on eBay for a good price then why not, I’ve picked up a few XTR/XT hubs that way, and the old top end kit lasts just about forever. Certainly better than more modern Deore (though that’s fine too for most not-too-demanding uses).

    Lube your nipples, pay attention to lacing the first spoke in each quarter (within a few wheels, at some point you will get halfway through lacing and realise you’ve loused up somewhere), stick with three-cross for your first set, remember that using too low a tension is a more likely mistake than using too high, don’t make too large an adjustment at any one time, and most importantly of all, back off each spoke by 1/8-1/4 of a turn whenever you adjust it.

    If you want an easyish guide, try one of these (and even these you can ignore much of it).
    Sheldon Brown: http://sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html
    Steve Litt: http://troubleshooters.com/bicycles/wheelbuilding/index.htm

    unovolo
    Free Member

    Worth stretching the budget for (new)XT hubs if you can mainly for the better weather sealing or keep a look out on ebay for NOS Xt/Xtr if the prices are agreeable.

    Built a couple of pairs myself so far and its worth taking time whilst building them to de-stress the spokes regularly to remove any wind-up, simple process just involving grabbing hold of alternating pairs of spokes and giving a strong squeeze.

    Are you using a truing stand, or old frame/forks to build them with?

    sb88
    Free Member

    Worth stretching the budget for (new)XT hubs if you can mainly for the better weather sealing or keep a look out on ebay for NOS Xt/Xtr if the prices are agreeable.

    Built a couple of pairs myself so far and its worth taking time whilst building them to de-stress the spokes regularly to remove any wind-up, simple process just involving grabbing hold of alternating pairs of spokes and giving a strong squeeze.

    Are you using a truing stand, or old frame/forks to build them with?

    Just taken delivery of a lightly used Deore XT rear hub – Shinier than the new stuff! Keeping eye out for matching front hub…

    Probably lace up at home, possibly tighten up and true at local bike co-op as they have a rentable workspace…

    Bez
    Full Member

    That’s worth doing. A jig is far preferable to using a frame/fork (though the latter’s adequate for truing an already-built wheel that’s gone a bit wonky).

    tom200
    Full Member

    I wouldn’t worry about future proofing, once you have the hang of it you will be looking for an excuse to build some new ones.

    swanny853
    Full Member

    You can build a jig pretty easily with some wood, nuts and bolts. Most of the home made ones online seemed very nice, but a bit over-engineered, so I did my own. Only tools required are a hacksaw, pencil, ruler and a drill (pillar drill if you can get access to one is a lot easier, not necessary though).

    My second model will do 26 and 700c, different axles and hub widths, and cost less than £20 including the clamps that hold it together (so that it can come apart). It collapses flat too. I haven’t got a picture of that one but the original is pretty similar, just one wheel size/hub width. Could take a picture if you want.

    [url=https://flic.kr/p/z42Ap8]Wheel jig mk1[/url] by MatGoesSomewhere, on Flickr

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