Never done it before, but it’s something that I’ve always wanted to give a go.

I’m looking for advice from those that have done it themselves: how did you get started, what resources did you find useful, which tools did you find essential etc?

If there’re any tips and tricks you’d be willing to impart, I’d appreciate it.

Thanks.

I taught myself, just sitting on the floor with an existing wheel to copy. With truing, just take it slowly – no more than half a turn per nipple to start with.

take your time – it is not that hard if you TAKE YOUR TIME
Read sheldon site or get the wheel pro book

You can use a set of forks as your wheel jig or build one from wheel pro

Spoke key is all I ever used

Get the wheelpro book.

I used a spoke wrench and I made a nipple driver out of an old screwdriver, it didn’t have the ‘loose’ handle but it allowed me to wind all the nipples on to the same point, to give a good starting point.

It’s not that hard (IMO), but start with something simple (no low spoke counts), read through the whole process a couple of times before you start and take your time. If you get frustrated then walk away and come back after a short break.

Oh, and always have a bit of masking tape to hand so you can mark the spoke you’re working on.

wheel pro book

+ 10

plus get a Spokey – they are the best spoke keys by far.

Did my first one a few weeks ago, surprisingly easy and very pleasing thing to have done. Sit down with a beer and sheldon’s website and take it slow.

tis therapeutic after a while, and with good materials they will be the best wheels you’ll have !

wheelpro book.

Thanks for the advice all. I’ve just purchased the Wheelpro Book and am off to get a Spokey.

Dan.

with good materials they will be the best wheels you’ll have !

think I’ve got to do a few more builds before mine get to that status. Not had any of mine fold on me so on par with bought wheels 🙂 (never folded one of those either)

Wheelpro, spokey and borrowed a wheelpro DIY jig for my first wheel then built got someone else to build my own jig

Nice achievement, good skill to have even if it’s a little ropey, not sure I trust them as much as bought wheels yet, see how my latest manages on the back of my “big” bike, fingers crossed.

+1 for the sheldon guide

I bought a truing stand.

And the Park tools tension guage. It’s not essential and cost £60 but does make life very easy, especialy if you’ve got Stans rims with a tension limi or it it’s easy to get the tension way out between spokes with stif rims. My first set I built were perfectly straight, but the tension seemed off, went through them with a tension meter and they’ve been perfect ever since. £60’s still about what a pair of builds costs at the LBS (+90p/spoke Vs 30p from germany) so it’s paid for itself with 4 builds so far this year (it’s addictive!).

Laced the wheels I’m using at the moment, en521s on hope pro II, 3 cross with dt spokes. I used the wheelpro spoke length calculator and like Ben Cooper used an old wheel to copy the pattern, then trued in the frame and fork using biros ziptied to the chainstays/lowers, slowly slowly catchy monkey, although I did cheat by getting my bike mechanic mate to check em for trueness/tension after….

I was told when I did it that it’d either drive me mad, or I’d find it really therapeutic. Luckily it was the latter. Which is unusual as I’ve normally no patience at all.

I used the Wheelpro Book and a Spokey. Take yourself off to your man-cave, stick the radio on six music, make a brew and then take it at your own pace. Oh… and start with a front wheel, not a back. Good luck, and enjoy

Can only echo what said above, wheelpro book and spokey. Really easy and relaxing

Tensioning can be done by ‘feel’ , get them spokes singing !

I learnt using http://sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html

If you are not completely tone deaf, you can tension using pitch – like this:

http://www.bikexprt.com/bicycle/tension.htm

I don’t have perfect pitch, so I either build them inside near to the piano, or take a ukulele* outside to plink to get the right pitch. You can get mobile phone apps that do pitches also.

Joe

*yes, I know, but it is small, portable, and happened to be to hand.

Having built about a dozen wheels over the years, I thought the WheelPro book was worth buying to see if I could improve my technique any. Loads and loads of info in there, but not much I didn’t already know about the basics.

However, the single most useful piece of information I gleaned from the book was the following, and it’s always worth bearing in mind when things aren’t going your way: if the rim starts out round and straight (which it bloody well should if it’s new) then if it’s no longer straight and round then there must be an imbalance in the spoke tension somewhere.

It sounds really obvious put like that, but it changed the way I think about building a wheel.

I’m building 10 identical wheels today and getting bored with them – anyone want a job?

I can’t pay you, but you can have all the used inner tubes you can eat.

It’s not hard to do it badly, but (and this doesn’t refer to anyone on this thread, as far as I know) quite often when someone says “I built this wheel myself, it was easy” I take a closer look and they’ve built a wheel I wouldn’t ride on. Lots of folks get good results of course but others have low expectations, and some I think just don’t know a good job from bad.

Personally I assemble myself then get someone better than me to tension. Costs me a fiver a wheel this way and gets perfect results.

The wheels I built were straight and true after a year of abuse. Nobody was more shocked by this than me. And believe me, plenty of people were shocked that a ham-fisted gibbon like me had even attempted it in the first place!

This is all great advice, thanks. Spoken to my LBS and they’re quoting in the region of £250 for a truing stand – without having even looked at them before I was a little surprised but on reflection, not so much.

I can see the plans for the truing stand in the Wheelpro book, it looks like I’ll be turning my hand to making that first.

YHM
You could lace the wheel and get the LBS to tension?

That’s waaay too much for a stand unless you are planning on building loads. You’ll get something that will do the job for around £50 and much less 2nd hand.

eg This one

I made a DIY stand from the Wheepro book. It’s simple to do and easy to use once you’ve done it.

forget the trueing stand just use the bike frame/forks in a stand and fix a metal ruler to the frame with elastic bands for checking lateral/radial true. built about 5 wheels this way no problem. Can’t see the point of buying all this kit if you are only going to build a few pairs of wheels. but do get the Wheelpro book breaks everything down into simple steps, fantastic guide.

I really enjoy building wheels. Top tip- use a dry wipe marker pen to mark the high spots rim as you spin it.

I take a closer look and they’ve built a wheel I wouldn’t ride on

Guess my wheels would probably fall into this category. Hold one of my wheels and spin it it looks fine, bung it in a jig and you can see a bit of wobble, my question is does this matter?

If it’s straight-ish and strong enough isn’t that all that matters?

I guess you might be able to tell a badly built road wheel on pristine tramac and 100psi tyres but offroad on knobblies?

Dan,

After getting all spokes positions I realised I hadn’t “woven” them together, you know, over then under the neighbouring spoke.
Frustrating having to undo every spoke, so try to avoid this.

The first one I did was a back wheel, got it round and true and the fitted it to the bike to discover it wouldn’t turn.
I hadn’t built in the offset to accomodate the gear cluster and move the rim into the middle of the chain stays.

Someone above suggested starting with a front wheel, this is possibly why!

I learned of You Tube if you look up wheel building and take the videos from thebiketube you won’t go far wrong. Follow their 3 or 4 videos, do as they say and presto – your first wheel is done.

Very easy and completely free.

D0NK, nah, that sounds fine… I’m talking mistakes in lacing, madly uneven tension, egg-shaped wheels, and the ones that are “Just bedding in” months later, creak ping crunch.

I have built three wheels using the wheelpro book, they have all been fine, but not perfect. They lasted a good while and never went any further out of true than when I built them. I can only assume the tensions were all equal but they were just not quite true. By comparison I have bought hope hoops and crc wheels that were perfectly true to start with, but way out after a few rides.

Following the methodology with a new build, as i said above, I can build a near but not perfectly true wheel, but I just don’t seem to be able to true a wheel that’s already gone out, and I have now decided that I just don’t have the finesse and patience to learn the knack properly. Thankfully my current LBS builds a great wheel and I am happy that I have had a go but will leave it to the experts in future.

Fair enough don’t think mine are that bad

now this will sound weird; there’s a rider round welwyn called rob (ethel to close friends) whose dad worked for whiskers. i met him once and we had great chat about monty of condor cycles who was the god of wheel building, this guy must have been jesus as they argued about the right or wrong way of building wheels. something to do with the spokes lacing so they pulled into the hub under force; mavic’s way of building.

anyhow I want to get hold of this guy and pay him to teach me how to build a wheel.having been taught by some of the best draughtsmen in the art world, you cannot learn something by reading a book or tinkering by yourself!

I can see the plans for the truing stand in the Wheelpro book, it looks like I’ll be turning my hand to making that first.

Easy to do,cheap and effective – I speak from personal experience.

you cannot learn something by reading a book or tinkering by yourself!

Sure you can. As long as basic maths and the process of elimination is not a “black art”. Of course it would help if you know a wheel builder to talk to but its not the essential.

Park tools tension gauge

There is a +/- range of 15-20% of the average tension. To get (even a new) wheel true there will be variations of tension across the spokes within that range due to imperfections in the manufacturing of the rim/hub/spoke. Each side of the wheel will also be different tension to the other to make space for the cassette and disc (asymmetric).

You dont need a stand.

if nobody else has mentioned it you can use and old spoke threaded into the hop of the nipple to feed them in to the wheel – best tip I got however I can’t build wheels for well 😛 also have one on hand to check against

Bencooper,

If you ever need a hand with boring wheel builds drop me an email.

I’d happily have a go for free in exchange for tuition. I’d even bring the cake.

I’m based in Glasgow, have built a couple of wheels in the past and very keen to learn more.

And I’m between jobs, so have time…

Cheers!

Paul

I got them all built in the end, but if you want to come play with a proper truing jig…