Wheel rebuilding

[Jeff77]

Has anyone tried to build or rebuild their wheels? I have a pair of nuke proof wheelsets that were built up with titanium spokes (show samples). They were poorly built and I would like to rebuild them with steel butted spokes... I would like to do this myself, just to learn the skill, but I want to do it right also... Any experences?

[Matno]

I built up my current set of road bike wheels (Mavic MA3 rims on Ultegra hubs), and it was a blast. It was my first experience with any sort of wheelbuilding, and it was nice to be able to know that everything was done to my own exacting tolerances. I pretty much relied on Sheldon Brown's website for instructions and he made things easy for me. There's not a lot to it if you have a good eye and some basic tools. Just plan on taking a good 2-3 hours the first time to make sure everything is perfect. It gets faster after you've done it even just once.

I'd recommend that you remove the rim strips when building/rebuilding just so that you have access to the nipples from the rim side of things. That way you can use a screwdriver instead of a spoke wrench - it's much faster and more intuitive.

For the nipples/threads I used regular bearing grease (Phil Wood) rather than dedicated spoke prep stuff. Haven't had any spokes come loose after about 1000 miles on these wheels. They have required very minimal truing (just a couple of quick turns in the first month - perfect since then).

I'm just curious as to why you don't want to rebuild with the ti spokes. I don't think they're inherently bad, just slightly more "forgiving" (if real humans can really tell the difference).

Good luck!  

[Jeff77]

Matno,

Thanks for the info. The reason I was planning to ditch the Ti spokes is that they seem to go out of true very quickly. I have taken them to two bike shops for truing and after two or three rides come back with untrue wheels and brake rubbing. I do have reason to question the truing process though, as I have one rear spoke that has no tension at all after each of the "truing repairs". Possibly I will try to rebuild these with the original Ti spokes and see what I can do. Nothing to lose!

[Dennis]

Jeff,
as Matno says, who says if real humans can tell the difference, but from what everyone says Ti spokes are a bit "softer" riding (forgiving) than steel spokes.
anyway, I am waiting for Ti spokes to get a road wheel set built.
one fact I uncovered about ti spokes during my research phase from talking to marwiusa (ti spoke manufacturer) is that ti spokes require about 40% more tension than steel spokes. could be reason for your wheels not staying true.
hope this helps.
[smiley=groucho.gif]

[Harv]

Basic truing stands and dish gauges are pretty cheap and you don't need the high zoot versions at all.  But - get a really good spoke wrench!

Building wheels isn't really hard to do, but it'll take some practice.  Being able to true your own wheels, and even customize dish if you like, will make the expense of the tools worthwhile.  

I would say to stick with your Ti spokes until they prove themselves useless.  Personally I  think a really good shop mechanic is hard to find, for every one good mechanic there seems to be 20 idiots.  I agree with Matno, Sheldon's book is invaluable.

[Matno]

Harv, you bring up a good point. I highly recommend the Spokey spoke wrench. Cheap, light, AND works beautifully. Like any truly good spoke wrench, it grabs the nipple on all four sides. I bought mine from Nashbar for $4 last year. Park also makes a good one, but it's more expensive. I like the fact that I can toss the Spokey in my tool bag on a long ride and it doesn't make a difference in weight. Really light.

Still, I recommend you remove the rim strip and just use a screwdriver during the actual build process. Much faster and easier.

[Simon]

I've sent jeff77 an 8 page step by step guide from my fave mtb mag on wheel building,its quite indepth,if anyone would like a copy let me know and I'll e-mail it on.Simon [smiley=nod.gif]

[Matno]

Maybe you could post the file to the "Files" section of this site...

[Simon]

Doh! thanks matno never gave it a thought,uploaded in the files section now,still managed to double up one of the pages though,hopefully its of some interest.Simon [smiley=beer.gif] [smiley=beer.gif]