How much to build a wheel?

Thinking of buying rims (Stan’s/ Pacenti), hubs (Hope Evo 2) separately but how much more would it cost for someone to build it up for me?

Any recommended builders near Leeds/ Ilkley?

I’d imagine if you walked into a shop with a load of parts you’d bought elsewhere it would be around £20-£25 per wheel labour.
I’d also imagine if you bought the parts from the shop, it might well be cheaper……

Double post!

Your best bet is Hope Hoops IMO.
Check out wiggle, £260 for a wheel set.
Pro2 Hubs on Stans Crest or Flow EX.
Bargain.

Is that how little you charge an hour Peter?

Any shop that charges less than an hour for a wheel build is either stupid for under charging or not building very good wheels.

If you can’t get a shop to do it at a reasonable price email me .I charge my mates £10 a wheel .

I enjoy building wheels so don’t make anything it just pays for a takeaway for the family.

My local charged me £126 for a front wheel built around a Stans EX – this with me having supplied the hub. Same wheel / hub combo pre-built on-line £116 complete. I’ve possibly got a better wheel with better local back-up, and I did support my LBS, but the cost stung a little.

You can buy them ready built you know…..

I can build wheels and do so sometimes to replace a worn out rim or broken spokes. But when starting from scratch I find its much cheaper to buy a ready built wheel than buying the hub, rim and spokes seperate. Add in the cost of someone building it for you and surely thats just silly!

Roger Musson’s book for a tenner and then some tools and learn to build yourself – it is very satisfying to ride wheels built by your own fair hands.

You can then fix your own wheels etc in the future.

Cheers

Danny B

£60 to rebuild a taco’d 719 inc a new rim

Yes I know you can buy them off the shelf, but surely if you can buy brand new hubs for £30 (rather than £80 – £140 retail) then surely it must be cheaper to do it that way?

Is that how little you charge an hour Peter?

It was a bit of a guess to be fair, I’m not at work. We have menu pricing for everything. 🙂

Have you seen how much nice spokes cost 🙂

Yes, I would say so. You can get great deals for hubs sometimes, not always but sometimes with rims but not really ever for spokes and nipples (haha). Have you asked your lbs? It would be interesting to hear what they say!

…also if you go bargain hunting for hubs and rims doesnt that negate the whole point of building “exactly” the wheel you want – which is the only remaining reason I can think of for doing this.

Good point!!

matthew_h – Member
Is that how little you charge an hour Peter?

Any shop that charges less than an hour for a wheel build is either stupid for under charging or not building very good wheels.

I’ve just been quoted £20 for a new front wheel build, plus £15 for spokes and a Hope hub at less than CRC are selling them for.

My LBS has quoted me £20 if I supply all the bits, and even the local “try it on a bit” wheelbuilder will build a wheel from scratch for £30. If you buy the bits from him he’ll charge you retail for the bits and very little for the build.

There are clearly a lot of very stupid people about, and the majority of shop built wheels in Calderdale and Huddersfield are on the point of exploding through shite build quality. 🙄

dickydownes – Member
Thinking of buying rims (Stan’s/ Pacenti), hubs (Hope Evo 2) separately but how much more would it cost for someone to build it up for me?

Any recommended builders near Leeds/ Ilkley?
Give Cycle-fast.co.uk a ring. Dave is pretty good, and will give you some honest quotes. If you supply the bits he’ll charge for teh build but isn’t exorbitant. He may even do the parts at a competitive rate too. Tell him that bloke with the Superleggera hubs recommended him!

He’s in Halifax, so a nice trip out from Ilkley.

£25 a wheel in labour , its not gone up in years but all local shops seem about the same so have to stay competitive

Scapegoat, you’ve obviously not had any wheels built by try-cycles. There mainly a road/touring shop but will do anything for there customers.

I had a set of wheels built by them before i learnt to do it my self, hope bulbs on 321’s, they were used for 6 years in the alps for 2 weeks every summer, then allover north England and Scotland on the dh bike then a all mountain bike then they were sold on as true as the day they were made with only ever having to replace 1 spoke. and I’m no light weight.

I do agree with nearly every other shop though.

when working as a mechanic we charged £20 per wheel if parts bought from us but we’d charge trade on the spokes. if parts wern’t bought from us (except spokes, £20 rrp spokes) if nothing bought from us £30pw

Speaking of hubs, any good deals on? Spokes from rose every time.

Crosstrax in Adel have a Hope Pro mechanic/wheel builder working for them. 01132610120

Agree with above though – buy Roger Musson’s book and have a go yourself. Most satisfying bit of bike maintenance I’ve ever done.

Worst case – you balls it up and have to pay a pro anyway…

Rscott – Member
Scapegoat, you’ve obviously not had any wheels built by try-cycles. There mainly a road/touring shop but will do anything for there customers.

I had a set of wheels built by them before i learnt to do it my self, hope bulbs on 321’s, they were used for 6 years in the alps for 2 weeks every summer, then allover north England and Scotland on the dh bike then a all mountain bike then they were sold on as true as the day they were made with only ever having to replace 1 spoke. and I’m no light weight.

I do agree with nearly every other shop though.

I was being ironic, the poster above had suggested that £20 for a build was a recipe for rubbish…. I would happily take my wheels to any of the Hudds LBS for building. You may not get much of a smile for your £30 at Wheelpin, but the build was good.

Do you mean ANdy at Kirkburton? Yeah, good guy.

I have an urge to build a wheel. Do I need a jig?

New Hope XC HUB off ebay £10, + new Stan’s 29er rim £66, + spokes (cost?) + wheel build £30 = £106 + spokes.

Surely you can’t buy cheaper than that – can you?

you can buy a front Hope Hoop with a stans rim for just over £100.

Where?

Wiggle and halfords

Cost me around 38 a wheel with DT spokes last time I got some built. Supplied my own hubs and rims.