Ok so i have just bought a set of new wheels from Merlin (cheapo for commuting purposes) only to discover my other bike has a split hub. Now low on funds i need a rear wheel (26er) with centrelock, whats the best option out there? I am wondering whether it would be better to make the rear a 6 bolt as there seems to be more choice but then funds will be less as i will then have to buy a rotor. German shopping doesnt really seem to yield any bargains. What can i realistically expect for £100?
I'd just buy a basic shimano wheel MT55 and MT15 are both under £100 as is the Mavic crossride. (All on wiggle)
You'll not get anything that'll set the world alight, but shimano generally make good, reliable wheels.
I have a set of the mt15 wheels and they are ok but i thought i might be able to get something better. Are the mt55 and mt65 exactly the same wheels but with a few grams knocked off?
Ok i am going to make a leap here. I have a wheel truing stand and roger mussons wheel building book and i have dished and trued a few wheels previously but i have never built a wheel from scratch. I am assuming because i can read and have some engineering nouse that it shouldn't be too complicated. As for parts am i still looking at purchasing from the usual online stores and where is best/cheap for lots of spokes? I am up for the challenge although i hsve no idea how to work out what spoke length i would require.
I think I might have a rear 32h Deore centrelock hub kicking around if you want it for peanuts?
If you don;t know how to do the spoke length calcs yourself there are various online spoke calculators around that let you pick hub/rim from a list or enter measurements manually, there's a DT swiss one, and EDD to name a couple, google will provide...
Spokes from one of the german retailers, probably fairly cheap for the hub too.
Not sure about rims (postage to the UK maybe an issue?)
There are plenty of spoke calculators about
http://bikefat.com/5-best-spoke-length-calculators/
Make sure you get the right length nipples.
The actual wheel building isn't that hard as long as you are patient and methodical. Leave the beer in the fridge until after you've finished.
Personally i'm trying to get to a stage where all our wheels are handbuilt (by me if needs be) as lots of factory wheels need odd bits and pieces that might not be available the year after the wheel is discontinued or updated (or even before then!)