Questions tagged [wheel-building]
Questions referring to the craft of assembling bicycle wheels.
170
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Mavic Helium clincher wheels: Replacement Spokes
I have a Mavic Helium clincher wheels and a broken drive side spoke. I need a new one (and would be happy to buy a couple of them including non-drive side) but everywhere I look it seems I would need ...
- 51
9
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2
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891
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Why would spoke tensions be uneven, despite equal thread engagement?
I'm building a wheel. I've used a nipple driver to equally engage all nipples on the spoke threads and used this as a starting point for tensioning the spokes.
Despite this, after applying a couple of ...
- 3,941
3
votes
1
answer
104
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Spoke washers needed for Sapim Strong spokes?
Based on these pictures, does it look like spoke washers should be used in this wheel build?
From what I read on a couple web pages (https://sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html#washers and https://...
- 31
0
votes
1
answer
97
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Spoke tension of the lower-tension side?
I am building a new wheel set (boost and super boost). The max. spoke tension is defined as 1200nm.
I went ahead and tightened the spokes until the they reached the max tension one side.
The other ...
- 383
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1
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Looking to understand the math behind spoke length calculation. Help?
Does anyone here have insight into what I may be doing wrong or explaining incorrectly with this question on math.stackexchange regarding the math behind spoke length calculation?
https://math....
- 29.8k
7
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4
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2k
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What's special about spoke nipple washers?
The last couple of wheels I've built have been all from reused parts. One was to convert my unicycle from 24" to 20" largely as an experiment, and the one that I'm currently working on is ...
- 55.8k
0
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1
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138
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Shimano Alfine 8-Speed IGH flange dimensions
I'm building my first wheel and have a H Plus & Sons Archetype rim and a Shimano Alfine 8-speed hub gear. Looking at the spoke calculations, I have the Shimano spec which indicates a Flange ...
- 103
3
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3
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650
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Fixing oval rim?
I have single wall rim that is bent inward about 3mm on the areas marked with red. Is there a way to fix it? How I go about it? It's a cheap bike; I don't want to invest more money into new rim, and I ...
- 554
5
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1
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354
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Use 2mm washers for the spoke nipples inside rim?
Changing the spokes in the wheel, bought 265mm spokes instead of 264mm and they are too loose.
Now i have two options:
Have spokes stick out of the spoke nipples 1-2mm into the rim which is withing ...
- 554
4
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5
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2k
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Wheel building question - spoke lubricant
I understand that lubrication for nipples is a good idea when building a wheel.
Grease ** advantages - sticks around for a longer, prevents corrosion, lowers spoke stiction while building wheel
'dry' ...
- 193
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2
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954
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Nipple replacement question
I am a home bike mechanic and i have build a few wheels already.
I have a perfectly good wheel-set I want to replace the nipples on for aesthetic reasons - the wheel is almost brand new.
I have a ...
- 193
4
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1
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277
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Did I lace this rear wheel correctly?
I just laced a new 32 spoke rear wheel following this Park Tool tutorial: https://www.parktool.com/en-int/blog/repair-help/how-to-build-a-wheel
I don’t have any other 32 spoke rear wheel to compare to....
- 25.8k
3
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0
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183
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Building a Rohloff wheel [closed]
I want to equip my my Surly Ogre with a Rohloff hub. I plan to do a lot of touring but also want to ride locally on both pavement and single-track, figuring on changing the tires when going on ...
- 203
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4
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Is a spoke tensiometer useful for determining that a wheel is on its way to becoming out-of-true?
Question
Is a spoke tensiometer useful for estimating the strength of a wheel and whether it needs preventative truing? One does not need a tool to determine that a wheel that is blatantly out-of-true ...
- 8,842
1
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2
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1k
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Wheelbuilding a rim with offset holes - how to lace?
Disclaimer: this has been asked and nearly answered, but I'm still missing some detail.
I have a symmetrical rim with offset spoke holes (Spank Spoon 32, 26", 32 holes, see pic) which I want to ...
- 161
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422
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Is it safe to ride on wheels with rusted spoke eyelets?
I bought an old Bianchi with 26" wheels and I’m finding it hard to find a replacement with max width 23 mm tires and an old 6 speed freewheel
I was trying to true the wheels but the nipples where ...
- 1,489
6
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1
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304
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Deriving formula for spoke lengths
I know that I can use online calculators or tables to determine spoke length. I also know that there are some pre-derived formulas for spoke length that I could use to calculate the spoke lengths or ...
- 3,306
8
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2
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326
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Wheel centred in frame but dished 8mm to non drive side, why is this happening?
This is a 135mm OLD wheel mounted in a 130 mm frame. I removed spacers from the axle to make it 130mm. I then put the wheel in the frame and proceeded to dish. I made sure the distance between the rim ...
- 493
5
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1
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541
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Will this modern road bike hub fit in my 1990's MTB (130mm restoration)
I have a mid 1990's MTB with 130mm OLD between dropouts. In order to fit a 9 speed Hyperglide cassette I switched the wheel for a modern 135mm and removed spacers on the non drive side. Works like a ...
- 493
1
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3
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638
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Help finding diameter for WTB ST i30
I need to replace my rim, and I'm hoping to rebuild the wheel myself. It would be really useful to know the ERD (effective rim diameter) of my current rim, so I can see whether a straight swap will be ...
- 113
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1
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694
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Spokes bow out from the hub flange
Wheel building using a SON Dynamo hub (28 12 disc), Wheelsmith DB14 spokes (stainless; J-bend), and Velocity Atlas rims (700c; 32 hole) with a two-cross lacing pattern. Disc brake, loaded touring.
The ...
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2
votes
2
answers
680
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linseed oil with DT Swiss Pro Lock nipples
I will build a new wheel with DT Swiss Pro Lock nipples. It will be wy first time with these. Iread they feature an adhesive compound that helps the wheel to keep true (DT Swiss marketing).
Will I ...
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4
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4
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2k
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Should I seriously consider radial lacing?
Summary: Radial lacing looks cool, but is it better?
Not expecting bicycles.SE to be the right forum, I asked about the dynamics of spokes on Engineering.SE and didn't get a satisfying answer. I then ...
- 8,842
1
vote
3
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252
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Surly Rabbit Hole Wheel Build (Symmetrical Fat Bike Rim build) - Spoke Calculation help?
I have a set of 26" Surly Rabbit Hole rims, which I need to build into a wheelset for a fat bike.
The Rabbit hole rims are unique in that the spoke holes are not in the center of the rim. The ...
- 29.8k
4
votes
1
answer
146
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Glue in nipple seat in brand new rim?
I've just laced up a new DT Swiss R470 rim and noticed that one of the nipples next to the rim joint isn't protruding as much from the rim as the others.
I looked in from the outside and noticed that ...
- 3,941
9
votes
1
answer
692
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Is it ok to use one odd spoke for a wheel build?
I will be using sapim D-light spokes for my wheel build. But I want to make one spoke on each wheel a different color, next to the valve stem. The sapim spokes are not available in colors. Would it ...
- 91
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1
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315
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Replacing a "simple" hub with a dynamo hub
I asked a question recently about replacing a cracked front hub on a vintage steel wheel (How to replace a broken front hub on a vintage steel wheel from a vintage steel bike?)
Thanks for all the ...
- 95
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How to replace a broken front hub on a vintage steel wheel from a vintage steel bike?
My mother's old bike is being used as a 'spare bike' for various of the kids. It's from the '70s, a steel framed, steel wheeled, dynamo lit, sit up and beg granny bike with a sturmey archer three ...
- 95
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2
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121
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Trying to understand the impact of different tensions between inner and outer spokes
I am seeing variation between inner and outer spoke tensions on straight pull wheels (3x but no interlacing). The guidance given to me is to have even tension of all spokes on each side of the wheel, ...
- 11
2
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2
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2k
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Can I use a 272mm spoke in place of a 275mm?
I'm currently building my first wheel and I've used prowheelbuilder.com to calculate what spokes I need to use, which is Left 275.8, Right 275.7 for the rear wheel, and Left and Right 275 for the ...
- 23
2
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1
answer
422
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What is the "nipple head height" of a DT Swiss Squorx nipple?
What is the nipple head height of a DT Swiss Squorx Nipple?
I am building a wheel and to calculate the ERD, I must first figure out what the "nipple head height" is.
The rim of choice is a ...
- 1,057
8
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3
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2k
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What are the benefits of hand built wheels over automated ones? [duplicate]
I just read this page http://www.jpracingbike1.com/content/6-pourquoi-un-montage-de-roues-artisanales- explaining that 'artisanal' aka hand built wheels are better for many reasons, such as having ...
0
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1
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181
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Wheelbuilding spoke tension vs lateral truing
I am using rim that is not bent, i screw each spoke nipples at equal distance from point when spoke thread is covered by nipple until spokes are tense.
i get perfectly laterally true wheel, however ...
- 554
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2
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703
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Wheel building - how to tighten spokes to have perfectly equal tension
So far I figured it out following recipe for perfectly adjusted front rim:
Assemble the wheel leaving tiny portion of thread visible outside nipple for every spoke.
Tighten each nipple equal number ...
- 554
3
votes
2
answers
519
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Proper spoke tension when dishing to the side of the hub
I am building wheel with 7 speed freewheel so my rim dishing needs to be towards the side of the hub.
Using 281mm spokes on both sides of the hub except for side close to freewheel used 12mm nipples ...
- 554
6
votes
3
answers
466
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Spokes go further inside rim than others
Used all 184mm spokes, nipples screwed in equally just to cover the spoke thread, wheel is almost true, however some spokes go inside rim further than others!
Already tried to tighten them its same ...
- 554
2
votes
2
answers
785
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2 cross pattern not going right on Front wheel build
I need to make 2 cross spoke pattern (because lack of proper length spokes) for front wheel, i am however having some problem - green spokes stick out trough the rim ~4-5mm longer than blue spokes.
...
- 554
3
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3
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1k
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3 cross pattern what's the right way?
I have one wheel that has lacing pattern like #1 and other wheel is lacing pattern #2?
What is the right way to make 3 cross lacing pattern?
Blue spokes cross over green
Green spokes cross over blue
- 554
7
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2
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492
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Are small radially laced motor hub wheels like Swytch trash?
I saw a bike that recently had this kit installed on it, and was surprised at the radial spokes:
From having done rebuilds on 20" motor hub wheels, I can appreciate the temptation to look at ...
- 80k
4
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1
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1k
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How to properly lace spokes in rim with offset holes
When i make 3-cross pattern in regular rim with aligned spoke holes i put first green spoke in first hole to the left of air valve (in order to have no cross around air valve) then moving counter ...
- 554
3
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1
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78
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Can spoke j-bend be too long for hub?
I have antique hub where i put new spokes and spoke j-bend appears to be too long (This picture spokes are only hand tightened)?
Original spokes j-bend was shorter compared to new.
- 554
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1
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139
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Rebuilding wheel using 284mm instead of original 281mm spokes?
I bought a new rear hub, same exact size as old, original spokes were 281mm however spokes i bought by mistake are 284mm, can i still use them to rebuild? I have deep double walled rim with lots of ...
- 554
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2
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278
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What is the durability of a bicycle wheel?
I have built a bicycle wheel from spokes, nipples, hub and rim. How long can I
expect my creation to last?
Naturally I would like the wheel I spent great efforts to build to last as long as it can.
- 17.7k
1
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2
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344
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Slight Difference in Spoke Tension Between Inner and Outer Spokes on Straightpull Hubs?
I recently built up my first set of straightpull wheels, with I9 hubs and traditional DT Swiss Competition spokes. (Hubs were from a I9 Trail S Hydra wheelset and are very much like DTs.)
Something I ...
0
votes
1
answer
567
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Experience with Panasonic Dynamo hubs?
I'm starting to spec out a dynamo hub wheel build for light touring/randonneuring. Was planning on going with a Shutter Precision hub, but just stumbled on these Panasonic hubs on sale at Soma for $21....
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2k
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Why is my wheel going out of true after I mount and inflate the tire?
I’m wrapping up my very first wheel build (rear wheel), and I noticed that the wheel is going out of true after I installed the tire. Before installing the tire, I had the wheel trued pretty well (...
- 15.4k
2
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1
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190
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15g / 1.8mm spokes compatibility
I usually use double butted 2mm spokes that are 1.8mm in the middle.
In the past, though, I have used 1.8mm straight guage spokes when I was able to drill the holes in the hub flanges myself to a ...
- 3,306
4
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3
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2k
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Can I build a wheel with two different spoke types?
Is it possible to build a bicycle wheel using a different spoke type for each side of the wheel? I am having some issues sourcing spokes, but I have found one set of DT Swiss Competition and one set ...
- 4,178
4
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2
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498
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How to avoid damaging spoke nipples when wheel building
I have just successfully built two wheels.
The final step of the process was perfecting the true and the dish.
I used a spoke key for this, and this resulted in unwanted scuffing and nicks on the (...
- 329
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3
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205
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How to select a rim?
I have noticed there are a huge number of rims available for sale. Some are cheap, some are expensive. Some are intended for rim brakes, some are intended for disc brakes. Not all rims are available ...
- 17.7k