So I’ve decided to try to build a pair of MTB wheels. Can anyone recommend a good book/guide/whatever, and a cheap-but-still-usable stand?

Also how does one know what size spokes to use?

Roger Musson book. Download as a PDF for £10 – he gives details of how to build your own workstand, and everything else you will ever need.

^ That is the answer to all of your questions

Roger Musson, or if you’re too tight for that, the guide on the Sheldon Brown site will be enough to get you started. But get the Roger Musson guide, it will save you some swears, possibly.

Spoke length is determined by the combination of rim diameter, the type of spoke pattern you’re aiming for, and the dimensions of the the hub. Probably best to get the guide first, have a read, then slowly work it out rather than order a load of spokes that turn out to be wrong.

Roger Musson book.

+1. worth it. And patience is your friend

As much as I love tech I wish Roger would self-publish that so I can read it on paper…

Anyway, book ordered. I’ve a pair of spare Crests in the garage, some cheap Superstar hubs off eBay in the post, and the Shimano hubs in my wife’s bike are beyond pitted.

Roger’s book- though in all honesty I used only a fraction of it- really just the lacing section tbh.

You can tension and true them in the bike with cableties, that’s what I’ve always done. A stand is definitely better but it’d be another bit of clutter in my garage.

Size of spokes, there’s a simple answer and a harder one. Simple answer is, stick it into a reliable calculator like DT Swiss or spocalc, trusting the quoted sizes. But that last bit is the clincher, it’s not always right, or you might have a slightly different part…

There’s also the wheel building guide on Sheldon Brown.com – not as technically comprehensive as Musson’s guide, but enough to get you started. Having a wheel of the same configuration to hand also helps, particularly when lacing the wheel and working out which direction the spoke heads are going, counting eyelets etc. makes life a lot easier.

I use DT Swiss Spoke Calc online – simply enter the hub and rim dimensions and away you go.

Some of the basic wheelstands are fine – they make life easier rather than making the wheel build better – plenty of people build rubbish wheels on expensive stands! I started on a pair of forks and still use a frame when doing fatbike wheels as my stand doesn’t go wide enough.

i recently built a pair (my second pair ever) of wheels, i started to cobble together a post for the forum – but it’s not really any more complicated than:

“i followed the instructions, now i have a pair of wheels. I tried to lace the second one from memory, but buggered up the lacing pattern, i went back to the book*, and fixed it”

(*roger mussons)

Musson’s guide is great. Double check your ERD yourself, don’t trust the rim label, along with your hub flange dimensions too. Use tip, cocktail sticks are great for inserting nipples through the rim. For spoke lenghts, i take an average of the online calculators.

https://www.amazon.com/Bicycle-Wheel-3rd-Jobst-Brandt/dp/0960723668

Musson is your man.
Building in a frame or fork works, Blu Tac some cocktail sticks to the stanchions / stays as guides.
Grind an old flat screwdriver into a nipple driver. (Doesn’t have to be a cranked affair).
And always, always, lube your nipples.

I bought the Roger Musson PDF book 3 years ago and decided to update it the other day. I couldn’t get into the site so emailed him. Roger replied within an hour. His book is the only one you’ll ever need and revisions are free if you purchase from him.

As much as I love tech I wish Roger would self-publish that so I can read it on paper…

I’ve even put mine in a nice little folder. 🙂

I build a fair amount, a really good book i found is the art of wheel building by Gerd Schraner.

As for stand im really not sure mine is old, if you have a frame spare or forks you could use those to get you going.

I have the above book in pdf if you would like an evalutaion copy.

spoke lenght http://www.prowheelbuilder.com/spokelengthcalculator

Just wondering – what do people do to fit thru-axle hubs into e.g. a basic park tools wheel truing stand? With hope hubs I’ve always swapped the axle ends out for QR ones but that can be a bit of a pain with other hubs.

Stevet1 – Member

Just wondering – what do people do to fit thru-axle hubs into e.g. a basic park tools wheel truing stand? With hope hubs I’ve always swapped the axle ends out for QR ones but that can be a bit of a pain with other hubs.

http://www.parktool.com/product/thru-axle-adaptors-for-ts-2-2-and-ts-2-truing-stands-ts-2ta

…or on the cheap end of the scale, these 15mm to qr adapters: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/J-L-15mm-Thru-Axle-to-9mm-Quick-Release-QR-Hub-Conversion-Adapter-fit-Hope-Mavic-/301853632494?hash=item4647e0e7ee:g:FhoAAOSwvzRX0jSP

And patience is your friend

I find a few bottles of Peroni help.

Wheel jig on a stool, beer next to me, let the wheel building commenced.

That and a methodology from the Roger Musson book….