Asking for help building wheels

[Ugo51]

Hi guys,

Random request (and a bit of a long shot): I'm going to attempt building a new pair of wheels for my Peugeot.
Is there anyone in the SW London area who would be willing to help me out, in case I get stuck?
Which is quite likely, as I have never done this before.

Many thanks

P.S. suggestions to where else to post this request for help are also welcome

Cheers

 

[foz]

Re:

I'm not in London so can't help there, but it's not that difficult, if you do all other work on your bike yourself, then it shouldn't be a problem. Find a good step by step guide, and follow it carefully. I think Sheldon has a good guide. Maybe try on a basic set of wheels, before you start building with good parts, just in case! The hardest part is the final trueing and tensioning, you can always take them to a shop to finish them off or check them over when you've finished yourself

 

[Ugo51]

Re:

I think I will end up doing just like you suggested.
Front wheel, which looks easier than the rear one, and I won't buy expensive parts.
Trueing does sound very tricky.
I'll give it a shot.
I have an old wheel with a damaged rim. I just need a new rim and maybe new nipples and spokes. Won't cost me much

 

[michael franks]

Re:

This will take you to Sheldon's wheel building page which is really helpful:

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html

You can build a wheel from start to finish using it. Somewhere in it there's also a link to a book by Roger Musson which is also excellent.

Be very patient and enjoy building your wheel(s), it can be very therapeutic and you feel great when you're out riding on wheels you've built yourself.

 

[Ugo51]

Re:

I hear a lot of people saying it's a therapeutic process.
Let's wait and see about that
My main problem is that here in London I have very little tools, and no space to acquire much more, so I will try to do without a trueing stand (I can use the bike fork) and a dishing tool.
I will buy myself a tension meter, but before I do that, I want to see if I can put at least the wheel together. Then I'll worry about tensioning
The stress relieving part is not entirely clear to me. But I think that, like with most things, it will be clearer once I start working on the wheel.

I've ordered the rim. As soon as it's delivered I'll measure it and see if I can use my old spokes or need buying new ones

Thanks for the tips!

 

[keithglos]

Re:

Worth considering that in the 50/60s I could lace up a cheap 40 hole in 3 minutes.
Where the spoke holes in the hub flanges were tight like Campagnolo GS then it could be about 5 minutes. I could take quite often another hour to finish a decent wheel.

So if you take your wheel to a shop then probably you will have wasted your time.

Sheldon makes it seem complicated, and has several things wrong. Simply you stand up to insert the spokes and sit down to tension and true.

As some will recall in the 60s i would order spokes in quantities excess of 100 gross for my one man shop.

I might try to explain the easy way to lace a standard tangent spoke wheel, as I used to, and having seen both Hercules and BSA factory production of wheels in the 1950s I confirmed this.

Keith

 

[Jonny69]

Re: Re:

I might try to explain the easy way to lace a standard tangent spoke wheel, as I used to, and having seen both Hercules and BSA factory production of wheels in the 1950s I confirmed this.

Keith

I’d be interested to hear that Keith!

I don’t build wheels all that often, but when I do, I usually have to consult the Sheldon Brown site and remind myself which bit wasn’t quite correct or that some Weinmann rims are drilled round the other way so you have to lace backwards according to his guide!

 

[Southwestslacker1]

Re:

I’ve found this book really useful, explains a lot with great diagrams. I’m still not great at building/trueing wheels though. I’ve got a stand and a (home made) dish gauge but no tension meter. Can do a pretty good job but not like the LBS!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bicycle-Wheel- ... 0960723668

 

[pigman]

Re:

Richard Wright's book Building Bicycle Wheels got me started and explained things idiot style all those years ago. It's like a paper back booklet so don't feel intimidating

Use an online spoke calculator to determine what length spokes you need

You don't need a truing stand nor a dishing tool to begin with. Hang the bike from it's bars or saddle and use the brakes as guides.

Double butted spokes are better. They are lighter and tend to mesh better where spokes cross. Avoid chrome plate spokes, which were common back then but are brittle

 

[Ugo51]

Re: Re:

I’ve found this book really useful, explains a lot with great diagrams. I’m still not great at building/trueing wheels though. I’ve got a stand and a (home made) dish gauge but no tension meter. Can do a pretty good job but not like the LBS!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bicycle-Wheel- ... 0960723668

Thanks. I will see if I can find a decent second-hand copy!