# New wheels, again!



## JhnBssll (11 Jul 2020)

My Ti bike has 50mm deep section wheels which makes gusty winds entertaining. Until this morning I had a set of Mavic Aksium Disc's to use in these conditions - I sold them because they weren't anywhere near as nice as the summer wheels, weren't tubeless ready and I never used them  Instead I've decided to build up a new set of wheels with shallower rim profiles for use in inclement weather 

The summer wheels use purple Hope RS4 straight pull hubs - I'm going to stick with these for the new wheels as I really rate them but in black rather than purple. This will allow me to share the wheelset with the Bianchi, which also has fairly deep section rims. Both bikes are 12x100 front and 12x142 rear with 160mm rotors which is handy  I also plan to sell the Mavic Cosmic Pro Carbon SL UST Disc wheels currently on the Bianchi and build another best summer set, again with Hope RS4 straight pull hubs but this time in orange. The rims this time will be 65mm rear and 55mm front, its an aero machine afterall, and I will have the spare wheels to throw on if needed 

I built the 50mm wheels (as well as the wheels on my Bianchi mountain bike) with chinese carbon rims which have held up really well. This time after further research I'm looking to use a different Chinese supplier - Light Bicycle. They seem to have a good reputation and their pricing is fairly reasonable. I should be able to cover a large amount of the total cost with the sale of the Cosmic's, or at least that's the plan 

For the deep section rims I'm going to try and use Sapim CX-Ray aero profile spokes and am considering orange alloy nipples as they'll be fair-weather wheels  For the shallow section rims I'll be using standard spokes, something like DT double butted, and brass nipples as they'll likely see the worst conditions.

So far the only bits I have ordered are the black RS4 hubs, and only the front has actually arrived  It seems to be pretty hard to get hold of Hope bits at the moment, with most places out of stock. Here's the RS4 front hub, straight pull with 6-bolt disc fitment.







Here are the current 50mm rims built on to my purple hubs that I've shown before - hopefully soon I'll have a little family of hope-hubbed carbon-rimmed wheels 






I'll update this as I order bits and things start to arrive


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## Gunk (11 Jul 2020)

Would they not be better on a set of Open Pro rims?


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## JhnBssll (11 Jul 2020)

Gunk said:


> Would they not be better on a set of Open Pro rims?



I've been round the houses a bit on this. I've considered open pro's, as well as various DT Swiss options, but keep coming back to the carbon option. I will likely build a set of 650b's with aluminium rims to use on the Ti bike at some point in the future for a little gravel and bikepacking use


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## JhnBssll (13 Jul 2020)

I've ordered the rims today  I'm expecting them to take around 2 months to arrive from what the supplier has told me. The styles I've ordered aren't available off the shelf so they'll be made specifically for me as soon as there's a slot in their production schedule.

These are the specs of rims I've ordered:






The AR36's will be laced to the black Hope hubs and will be used on both bikes when the weather is a bit grim but probably predominantly on the Ti.

The R55 will go on the front of the Bianchi, with the R65 on the back. I went with the 12k weave on these as I think the wider strips (12k simply means 12,000 filaments per strip of weave, or 'tow') will look better on the larger surface of the deep section rims. I've gone with a 3k weave on the other pair 😊 Both in matte finish, here's an example of the two types:






Technically UD is stronger than both weave patterns, but they use this for the vast majority of the rim anyway with the 3k or 12k only being used for the top layer for aesthetics  My existing 50mm wheelset is matte UD so I will not have a pair of each type 

I now need to keep my eyes peeled for a pair of Orange Hope RS4 hubs, not much available at the moment unless I want to pre-order at full price. There doesnt seem to be much point in doing that right now, as the rims are still 2 months away


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## rogerzilla (13 Jul 2020)

Gunk said:


> Would they not be better on a set of Open Pro rims?


Nothing is better on a set of Open Pro rims. Overpriced mediocrity


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## JhnBssll (13 Jul 2020)

I've now done the spoke length calcs on wheelpro.co.uk and ordered them all up 😊

The Bianchi is getting Sapim CX Ray aero bladed spokes in black and Sapim double square alloy nipples in a rather fetching orange to match the hubs 






The winter set are getting Sapim Leader spokes in black with silver brass nipples - these are more likely to see grim conditions than the others so corrosion is more of a concern.

I've also ordered a park tool SW-16 square spoke driver so I can try and build the orange nipples up without damaging the visible surfaces


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## JhnBssll (14 Jul 2020)

Well that was quick - the spokes I ordered yesterday from "Ryan builds wheels" arrived this morning 






So I now have the front hub for one wheelset and the spokes for another  Another set of spokes should be arriving later in the week, then I'll have a bit of a wait on my hands


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## JhnBssll (16 Jul 2020)

More spokes arrived today, along with the spoke driver for the orange nipples 






These are the Sapim Leader straight pull spokes with silver brass nipples for the all road all weather wheels 

I've just remembered I broke the little retention spring on the end of my other spoke driver last time i used  I'll order another to save faffing around losing nipples inside the rims as is bound to happen if i try to keep using it without the spring


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## JhnBssll (16 Jul 2020)

I just spent a bit of time in the garage measuring and counting the spokes and nipples. Good job I did too, as I've come across a bit of a problem 

Seems the seller has had a bit of a mixup in the stockroom, as I've received a mix of 12mm and 14mm orange nipples 






That might have caused a bit of an issue  I found 23 14mm nipples in total, so I've requested some more 12's are posted out and will return these 

I've also ordered a bag of purple nipples to rebuild the Veturi's summer wheels with  They'll be arriving within a few days hopefully so I'll have something to do while I wait for the other rims 😊

I noticed a big difference in weight between the Leaders and the CX Ray's, thought id take a photo of the difference in cross section 






Its no wonder they're light and aerodynamic, there's nothing to them  theyre also known as one of the most durable steel spokes available, I like clever engineering


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## JhnBssll (17 Jul 2020)

Another new arrival this morning, spotted an orange front hub in stock at tredz and on offer so snapped it up 






The replacement orange nipples are being sent out today along with the purple ones I ordered last night. There's a slim chance they will arrive tomorrow which would mean I can rebuild the Veturi wheels over the weekend which would be a result but no big deal if not 😊


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## JhnBssll (17 Jul 2020)

Minor update, I popped the orange hub on the front of the Bianchi this evening just for a little look see  I think its going to look rather special 😊





















And here are the bits and pieces that have arrived so far alongside my wheel building jig 






Waiting on 2 hubs and 4 rims now 😊


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## JhnBssll (18 Jul 2020)

Replacement orange nipples arrived today, along with the purple ones I ordered for the existing wheelset. They were only dispatched yesterday but I'd left the day open on the off chance they arrived so was straight to the garage 






Quick 'before' shot with the boring silver nipples...






I removed the tyre and cleaned the old sealant out then removed the rim tape. Here is the wheel in the stand with the various bits and pieces laid out ready to start...






First job was to take the tension out of the wheels evenly by slackening each spoke one turn at a time. Once I'd been round the wheel a few times the spokes were relatively slack so I could start swapping the nipples one at a time. After losing the first few silver nipples in to the hollow section of the rim and spending an age trying to shake them back out of the valve hole I concocted a method of removing them with a spare spoke screwed in to the back allowing them to be easily pulled out 











With the old nipple removed, I popped a new purple nipple on to the spoke driver and put a dab of 3in1 oil on the seating surface.






I then popped the end of the free spoke in my trusty tub of copper slip






With the nipple lubed and the thread treated I would the nipple on until all the threads were covered and then tightened a further 6 full turns for each one.

Once all were done I knew that all should have a similar tension and that only small adjustments should be needed to get it true. Fortunately this time this was the case, but isnt always  Since my wheel stand is a bit pants I tend to dish the wheels in the bike, so at this point I popped it back in the bike and centred the rim by tightening each spoke on one side to pull the rim across. Back in to the wheel stand for another quick whizz around to adjust it back in to 'true' before a final time around to get the tension right and it was done, and perfectly straight 😊






I'll do the rear wheel shortly 😊 Quite a lot of effort for a small amount of extra purple but it keeps me busy


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## Gunk (18 Jul 2020)

I do like a fiddlearsing around job like that! Not sure about all that purple though


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## JhnBssll (18 Jul 2020)

Gunk said:


> I do like a fiddlearsing around job like that! Not sure about all that purple though



Whats that? You think I should add more purple? Good idea 

I've done the back wheel now too 
















Joking aside, I love a bit of colour on my bikes as you've no doubt guessed by now  As soon as you back away a few feet you barely notice them, just a nice little detail 😊






I've had a fun day of fettling in the garage if nothing else, and my wheels are perfectly true again - not that they were bad before I started mind 

As a practice run with the new spoke driver and double square nipples it went faultlessly though so I'm pleased with that. Looking forward to receiving the new rims now  According to the tracking page, two of my four rims have now been moulded and one has had the spoke holes CNC machined 😊 The progress tracker is quite a neat little feature from Light Bicycle, although I can see myself checking it multiple times a day for the foreseeable


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## Nigelnightmare (26 Jul 2020)

How about adding some nice Hope lights (in purple of course).

Re: Availability of Hope bits.
Have you thought about/tried ordering 'direct' from Hope?


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## JhnBssll (26 Jul 2020)

I didnt know you could order direct from Hope, I'll remember that for next time 

A few minor updates to the project:

The black rear hub arrived last week and the orange one shouldn't be far behind  They've come from Singletrack bikes who have been great with communication and are sending the hubs out on next day delivery as soon as they come in to stock. Can't ask for much more than that 

I was reading through the light bicycle site and they strongly recommended against building their rims with straight gauge spokes, so the Sapim Leaders I've bought aren't going to be any good  Apparently they're too stiff and increase the risk of cracking the rim at the nipple. Instead I've had to spend a bit more on double butted spokes, this time going for Sapim Race. The leaders were made to order so can't be returned, I'll just have to chalk that one up to experience and throw them in the bottomless spares cupboard along with all the other random 'spare' spokes I seem to have accumulated 

Checking the rim status this morning it seems one of the allroad rims is completely finished and the other 3 rims are all finished and awaiting quality checks - I'm hopeful I'll get a photo of them sent over early in the week before they're shipped out  I've asked for an updated shipping estimate, normally the method I'd paid for would take 7-12 days but they quoted double that at the time of ordering due to COVID related backlogs. I've pre-paid the tax, so at least it shouldn't take long to get through customs once they're in the country 

I've just ordered some tan wall Schwalbe One TLE's for the aero wheels on the Bianchi  I can then sell the Cosmic's with their nearly new GP5000 TL's still fitted which should aid their sale and means I should have less faffing around cleaning up sealant


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## JhnBssll (27 Jul 2020)

I do love a good pre-build layout  

Light Bicycle have told me the rims will ship out before Friday this week and I'll get a few photos sent over before they're packaged up  Exciting 😊


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## JhnBssll (30 Jul 2020)

Tyres are here  Two of the four rims now show as complete and ready to ship, the other two are still in quality control limbo. I'm hoping they are dispatched tomorrow, fingers crossed I'll get some photos of them to keep me entertained until they finally arrive 😊






I'm expecting the orange rear hub to make an appearance in the near future too, early next week perhaps if the leadtime for the last one is anything to go by


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## JhnBssll (1 Aug 2020)

I received an update this morning from Light Bicycle; my rims haven't shipped yet as they found a small problem with the 55mm section one so it has to be rectified. Hopefully it will be sorted and sent next week, but I'd obviously rather it was right so am happy to wait 😊 They did however send me some photos of the finished rims 

Here is one of the low profile rims for the allroad wheelset:
















And here is the 65mm which will be going on the back of the Bianchi:
















Having now seen them I'm rather looking forward to getting my hands on them  I'm quite impressed with the layup, especially on the 12k weave of the 65mm rim, as this is quite difficult to get neat. The join is neat where the two ends of the cloth meet and the weave direction looks well laid out 

The next month or so is going to be a real test of patience


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## JhnBssll (5 Aug 2020)

The rims were dispatched yesterday 

I received an 11-28 dura-ace R9100 cassette this morning which will go on the aero wheelset, and I'll put my existing R9100 11-30 on the all-road wheelset.

I was expecting the rear hub to have arrived by now, but no urgency as the rims are 4 to 5 weeks away as yet


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## Ridgeway (5 Aug 2020)

Super happy with my AR56 from LB that i received this January. They were great to deal with and the wheels have been excellent. I went for the budget DTSwiss hubs and Sapim CX-Ray bladed with a 3k matt finish oh and no spoke holes for the committed TL rider (i'll curse about that the day i break a spoke).

Mine are shod with 28mm Conti GP5000 which went on without any issues, first time inflation with a standard pump (plenty of soapy water though).

This Bianchi build gets better and better


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## JhnBssll (5 Aug 2020)

Ridgeway said:


> Super happy with my AR56 from LB that i received this January. They were great to deal with and the wheels have been excellent. I went for the budget DTSwiss hubs and Sapim CX-Ray bladed with a 3k matt finish oh and no spoke holes for the committed TL rider (i'll curse about that the day i break a spoke).
> 
> Mine are shod with 28mm Conti GP5000 which went on without any issues, first time inflation with a standard pump (plenty of soapy water though).
> 
> This Bianchi build gets better and better



Thats great to hear  Light Bicycle are known as one of the leading carbon rim manufacturers in China but even so it's good to hear first hand experience of their products, thanks! 

I've gone for spoke holes in all four rims, I considered getting them without but decided feeding the nipples around internally sounded like far too much hassle  Besides, I bought a bulk load of tubeless rim tape last time I ran out so have plenty to get through 

Do you have photos of your shiny new wheels?


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## Ridgeway (5 Aug 2020)

Shiny hoops:


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## JhnBssll (5 Aug 2020)

Ridgeway said:


> Shiny hoops:
> 
> View attachment 539989



Yup, they look great 👍 How stiff are they? Presumably mine will ride very similarly as they're also 24 hole with CX Ray spokes 😊


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## Ridgeway (5 Aug 2020)

The combination of the rim stiffness and then 28mm TL (i run 65psi front & 70psi rear) works well for me, great for when i'm pushing hard and yet comfy as well. I swapped back to my Mavic Ksyrium Pro Carbon SL UST to see if i could notice any real difference on some longer climbing routes and to be honest i still preferred the AR56 for the overall ride, it was only above 7% where i could feel any difference and even that was probably in my head but then on the flats, downhills etc the deep rims come into their own. I think in a perfect world i'd go 40-45mm front and 60mm rear though, nose blowing is off the agenda when it's breezy


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## JhnBssll (5 Aug 2020)

My cosmics are fine in the wind with their 42mm section. I suspect the R55 front and R65 rear will prove lively in gusty conditions but ill have the AR36 wheelset to pop on for those conditions  Thanks again for the feedback


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## JhnBssll (9 Aug 2020)

I've ordered a park tool spoke tension meter which should arrive on Tuesday, decided it might be interesting to measure the tensions on some of my previous builds before the new rims get built up to see if I've been getting them in the right ballpark at least 

I keep checking the tracking site which shows my rims had made it to Hong Kong on Thursday. It hasn't been updating over the weekend, presumably they're now in a queue to get a space on a flight to europe  Lets hope it doesnt take too long, I'm already getting impatient  Hopefully there will be minimal hold-ups in customs as I've already pre-paid the duty 😊


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## JhnBssll (12 Aug 2020)

The rims are now "waiting for flight" which i'm told could take anything up to 14 days. They seem to fly them to Czech Republic and hand the parcel over to UPS at that point for its onward journey as ive been given a UPS tracking number too thats not yet active 

The Hope rear hub arrived this morning, so besides the rims I'm only waiting on one tyre to build both sets of wheels 😊 Here are most of the bits I've got now, minus those that are currently in use on one of the bikes (ie orange Hope rotors and 11-30 cassette)...






And here's the spoke tension meter, hoping to have a play with this later when its cooled down a bit in the garage


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## JhnBssll (26 Aug 2020)

I ordered some purple hope rotors a few days ago so I'll be moving the black hope rotors on to the all-road wheels.

The rims are apparently stuck in customs in the Czech Republic, where they've now been for 13 days  Hopefully whatever is causing the hold up is sorted soon and they can complete their journey - technically they're only a few days travel away now once they're moving again  Maybe they'll make an appearance next week  One things for sure, the moment they arrive I'll be wheel building


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## JhnBssll (13 Sep 2020)

The purple rotors arrived today  The rims are still a way off  I received an email from Light Bicycle today explaining that the bulk shipment that my parcel is in was selected for a full customs audit, so they're opening every parcel and reviewing all of the documentation, hence the delay  Tomorrow they will have been in Czech Republic for a month but I'm told they'll be on their way again next week. On the up side, Light Bicycle have offered me a discount on future orders and I will likely take them up on it sooner rather than later as I was considering replacing the rims on the Pilot's summer wheels 

With the replacement commuter wheels I'm also now building that will make four pairs planned in  Hopefully the spokes will arrive for the commuter early next week so I can get them built up and on the road, and update this thread with some actual wheel building


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## JhnBssll (15 Sep 2020)

I did a bit more prep over the last few evenings - I've now fitted the purple rotors to the purple hubs and moved the black rotors over on to the black hubs. This means all three pairs of hubs now have matching rotors so we're all nicely colour-coordinated 

Bianchi, Orange:







Pilot, Purple:






Shared all-road set, black:






I also unlaced the commuter's front wheel to liberate the dynamo hub in the hope that the new spokes would arrive this morning...






... and they did 😄






This evening I spent a rather pleasant few hours lacing wheels up  Here's the front all done...











Pleased with how the front had turned out I set to work lacing the new rear 32 hole Shimano M475 hub up...






This is a mountain bike hub but since the axle length is correct, it's disc brake compatible and takes an 11 speed shimano cassette (albeit a mountain bike one) I figured it would be a more robust solution. It's not uncommon for the panniers to be carrying 10kg+ of kit so the rear wheel takes a bit of abuse - with the high spoke count and deeper, wider rim I'm rather hoping it stays round a bit longer than the Aksium it replaced  Here's the finished rear wheel fitted...











The front wheel is 24 hole 2 cross and the rear is 32 hole 3 cross, should do the trick nicely  Just need to finish the 105 conversion now and the commuter will be back on the road 

My carbon rims are still in the Czech Republic


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## JhnBssll (15 Sep 2020)

Exciting update - after a month and a day the rims have finally cleared customs! Hopefully they're only days away now but I'm not counting any chickens this time


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## JhnBssll (21 Sep 2020)

I was right not to count my chickens  The parcel made it as far as a UPS centre in Germany and then stopped again, it hasn't moved for 3 days now according to the tracking 😭 UPS customer services can't tell me why its delayed, or when it might start moving again. I don't think the Bianchi is going to do many more miles this year 

In better news I rode the commuter to work today for the first time on it's new wheels. It rides really well, very pleased with it 






I couldnt resist weighing her loaded - 22kg  No wonder the Aksium surrendered


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## JhnBssll (25 Sep 2020)

My new rims are finally in the UK 😊 All being well I'll be able to collect them tomorrow from the depot! If so I'll have a fun afternoon and evening of wheel building tomorrow


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## JhnBssll (27 Sep 2020)

UPS "customer service" have been trying my patience over the past few days, suffice to say I havent got my rims yet  Unless there's another unforseen disaster I should have them tomorrow as they've been in my local depot for two days  I've just spent a bit of time cleaning up my wheelbuilding corner in anticipation of it getting some use tomorrow 😋






I'll be off to the depot first thing and intend to sit and wait in the car park until the parcel is ready


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## Spiderweb (27 Sep 2020)

JhnBssll said:


> Whats that? You think I should add more purple? Good idea
> 
> I've done the back wheel now too
> 
> ...


That looks lovely before and after, nothing wrong with a bit of tasteful colour.


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## JhnBssll (28 Sep 2020)

Spiderweb said:


> That looks lovely before and after, nothing wrong with a bit of tasteful colour.



Thanks mate, I'm really pleased with it 

Exciting news! I got the rims this morning 😄 11 weeks from start to finish, but they seem to be worth the wait from what I've seen so far.








I got straight to building, having taken the day off work in anticipation  I decided to start with the rear wheel of the Bianchi, so set about lacing the 65mm deep rim up to the orange hope RS4 rear hub...






I quite quickly got the drive side laced...






and then the other side...






I then started to gradually wind a bit of tension in to the spokes before moving the wheel in to the frame to check clearances - I still don't own a dishing tool so I have to measure it on the frame 






Looking rather lovely  So I whipped it off again, finished tensioning and making sure it was true then popped the disc and cassette on.






Finally on with the rim tape and tyre - of course I was too excited to check the tyre was the right way around, so I then had to take it off and swap it round. I'd already filled it with sealant so that was a fun job  Why do I make this mistake so often?! 

So here's a sneaky bad pic of it with the rear wheel on... I'm now off to the garage to build the front so I can see the final look  Pretty exciting 






PS the bike is balanced in the clamp, I havent clamped the top tube tight and its wrapped in pipe lagging before anyone gets too concerned


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## JhnBssll (28 Sep 2020)

Fresh in from the garage after a productive days fettling 

I completed the front wheel earlier, same process as the rear but you don't have to put a cassette on  The only other difference is the slightly shallower rim profile, 55mm on the front as opposed to 65mm on the rear.
















I managed to check the tyre rotation arrow this time so didnt have to take it off again  I love how it looks, really pleased with the end result...
















So having finished my Summer bike just in time for Winter I decided it was time to start on the all-road/winter set of wheels 
















So far I've laced and partially tensioned the rear wheel - next job will be to pop it in a frame to set the dish, check and adjust the tensions and do a final true before the rim tape, tyre and disc rotor go on  Then I'll start on the front wheel  I think I've had enough of a play today though so will save that for another evening 😄


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## JhnBssll (29 Sep 2020)

I went out to the garage after work to have another play with the wheels. I've now got both winter wheels laced, trued and dished and will shortly go out to tape them and fit the tyres  They're looking really nice 











From what I've seen of the quality of the Light Bicycle rims I shall definitely be ordering another set to replace the ones on the ti bike's summer wheels  If I order them soon I might even have them by spring


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## JhnBssll (29 Sep 2020)

I finished the winter wheels off after dinner 

I just noticed how the weave matches the pump and the bottle cages  Simple things... 











So thats three bicycles with new wheels, next to save up so I can order the new summer rims for the Pilot  I think I might go for a gloss 4k weave and 55mm depth 🤔


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## Gunk (30 Sep 2020)

The cement mixer adds a certain ambience!


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## JhnBssll (30 Sep 2020)

Gunk said:


> The cement mixer adds a certain ambience!



I only bought it to match the orange hubs


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## JhnBssll (1 Oct 2020)

Found a bulge in the front GP5000 so thats gone back and fitted a new one this evening 😊
















Excuse the grubby marks on the front wheel, I clearly hadn't done a very good job of wiping it down after replacing the tyre 

I've chosen the next rims - Light Bicycle AR56 in 3k twill weave and satin finish  I'll get some more CX Ray spokes later to build them on to the purple hubs but no hurry as Spring is a way off yet


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## Ridgeway (1 Oct 2020)

Super nice wheel build
And glad you're happy with the Light Bicycle hoops, the new WR rims are out now if you're looking for something a bit beefier, up to 65mm as well


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## JhnBssll (1 Oct 2020)

Ridgeway said:


> Super nice wheel build
> And glad you're happy with the Light Bicycle hoops, the new WR rims are out now if you're looking for something a bit beefier, up to 65mm as well



Thanks  I noticed the WR range but think they're a bit wider than I want to go for this build. Interesting option though, might consider them if I explore the 650b route at a later date


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## Ridgeway (1 Oct 2020)

What was your view on the rim quality ? i'm no expert at all but thought mine were decent enough and built pretty well (DTSwiss 350/Sapim CX ray) and no spoke hole that i'll regret one day

Coming up to 7k km on mine since adding them in Jan this year and they simply fly along, to the point that i often get asked to ride on the front on flat sections


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## Ridgeway (1 Oct 2020)

Forgot to add that i drove past Bianchi 2wks back, will be there again on the 16th of Oct as my customer is just down the road. It's amazing to see all the Cerise painted bikes in that area, it's every where


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## JhnBssll (1 Oct 2020)

Ridgeway said:


> What was your view on the rim quality ? i'm no expert at all but thought mine were decent enough and built pretty well (DTSwiss 350/Sapim CX ray) and no spoke hole that i'll regret one day
> 
> Coming up to 7k km on mine since adding them in Jan this year and they simply fly along, to the point that i often get asked to ride on the front on flat sections



I'm also no expert, but they're as good as I've seen. I had Mavic Cosmic Carbons before and these certainly seem no worse from a visual quality perspective, and have built up very nicely. If they ride nicely as you describe they will certainly be money well spent 

I would like to visit the Bianchi factory at some point  My only concern would be coming away having spent money on something I couldn't afford  I can see a Specialissima in my life at some point


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## JhnBssll (20 Oct 2020)

Both sets of rims ride really nicely, very pleased with them  I had a mail though today to confirm the pair for the Veturi summer wheels are finished and will be dispatched in the coming days, they look great too. Looking forward to building them up, again with CX Ray spokes and purple nipples on the purple hope hubs. The unbranded rims currently laced to them aren't the best, I'll retire them to the bin I think


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## JhnBssll (27 Nov 2020)

The new rims arrived last week and the spokes arrived this morning  They look great quality again, I'm very pleased with them. The twill weave pattern looks lovely and the satin finish should look great against the titanium frame 






Here are the current wheels, these rims will be retired and the hubs laced in to the new pair.






They clean up well and ride quite nicely but I've never really been entirely happy with them and wheels are something that demand a certain amount of trust  With that in mind I gathered the bits and pieces needed and started stipping the old front wheel.











I'm getting a bit quicker with these builds but it still takes a lot of time. As with the last set I spent quite a while balancing the spoke tensions after I'd laced it up, hopefully this will be rewarded with miles of reliabilityin use  I'm yet to finish dishing (I still don't own a dishing tool so need to pop the bike in the stand to check) but I suspect its pretty close... I'll get the rear to the same stage next and then do the fine tuning to both at the end while they're on the bike 











Right, back to the garage


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## Ridgeway (27 Nov 2020)

Lovely build


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## JhnBssll (27 Nov 2020)

I've got the rear wheel laced up and spokes tensioned as well now 😊
















I'll pop back in to the garage after I've had some dinner so I can fit them to the bike and get them dished correctly, then mount some tyres ready for a test ride  I've hung the old rims on the wall while I decide what to do with them... They seem too good to throw away, maybe I'll ask some of my friends if they want them on the proviso that they're of unknown heritage


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## JhnBssll (28 Nov 2020)

I've just come in from the garage having finished both wheels and fitted the tyres ready for a test ride. I managed to get the tyres on without tyre levers which is quite a feat with the tubeless GP5000's, first time I've ever managed it 











Looking forward to seeing it in the sunlight


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## JhnBssll (28 Nov 2020)

Pleased with how they've built up, hoping to get out on her tomorrow


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## bikingdad90 (28 Nov 2020)

What saddle and saddlebag do you run? Is it an Australian one by any chance?


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## Gunk (28 Nov 2020)

Nice job as always John, your work is superb!


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## JhnBssll (28 Nov 2020)

bikingdad90 said:


> What saddle and saddlebag do you run? Is it an Australian one by any chance?



The saddle is a Fabric Line and the saddle bag is a Cyckit Aeroclam from New Zealand  I've got a couple of extra bottom sections of different sizes on the way, and I've got an Aeroclam on another bike too, good kit


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## JhnBssll (28 Nov 2020)

Gunk said:


> Nice job as always John, your work is superb!



Thanks mate, jolly kind of you 😊 I'm pleased with the result which is always my goal - if I hadn't been pleased I'd have stripped and built them again until they passed muster


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## CXRAndy (9 Dec 2020)

Ive just ordered WR65 rims. Im going for 30/32mm tyres, hoping for near perfect bead alignment.

I did something similar with DT Swiss rims last year where the outside width matched a 25mm tyre once fitted. The tyre widened to 28mm but aligned beautifully onto the bead.


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## Ridgeway (9 Jan 2021)

Just ordered an AR46 wheel set, hopefully will arrive early next month (could be longer i guess...). Last part of the puzzle for my recycled bike refurb project


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## JhnBssll (9 Jan 2021)

Ridgeway said:


> Just ordered an AR46 wheel set, hopefully will arrive early next month (could be longer i guess...). Last part of the puzzle for my recycled bike refurb project



Ooh excellent, which finish did you go for? I really like my AR36 and AR56 so imagine the AR46 rims will be great too  Which hubs and spokes did you choose?


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## Ridgeway (9 Jan 2021)

matte 3k finish same as my AR56, wanted DT Swiss 350's again but apparently they are no more as DT Swiss is in process to update them and there's currently non around, least not at LB anyway... so opted for the Novatec A241 / F482 guess they'll need a bit more maintenance ? but they'll mainly be used in the Summer months, spokes are the regular Sapim CX Ray Once they arrive they'll have 25mm GP5000 TL on them or maybe Hutchi Storms (still looking at that...)


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## JhnBssll (27 Jul 2021)

Thread revival time 😄

So my 2017 Stumpjumper is the model before Specialized got the memo about long, slack geometry on enduro bikes. I really like the bike though, so decided to take some steps to shake things up a bit and try something fun. It's designed to take 650b rims with plus tyres - the ones it came with were 3" across - so the forks are actually 29er geometry. Knowing this I've bought some bits to try a 'mullet' setup, that is a 29er on the front and a 27.5 on the back  This has the effect of raising the front end and slackening the head angle a smidge, bringing it closer to modern geometry with no discernable downsides that I've come across thus far in my (fairly limited) research 

Here's the bike I'm playing with this time, I've had her several years now and have thrown her down a few mountains but all in all she hasn't been used all that much, especially recently 







Currently she's got the standard aluminium rimmed Roval Traverse wheels with 110x15mm boost front hub and 148x12 boost rear hub geometry. I swapped the silly tyres out for more reasonable 2.6" Maxxis ones quite soon after I bought it, and this is how she's stayed.

Given that the last 3 sets of wheels I have built used Hope hubs and LightBicycle carbon rims I decided to do something completely different this time, so have ordered... Hope Pro 4 hubs and LightBicycle Recon Pro rims 😄 If it ain't broke...

I've stuck with Maxxis tyres, going for a Minion DHF 29x2.6 on the front and a Dissector 27.5x2.6 on the rear. I've also ordered some cushcore tyre inserts as I was a bit worried about impacts on the carbon rims - I'm no lightweight afterall 

Anyway, the hubs and tyres arrived pretty quickly...






These are now squirreled away waiting for the rims to finish production and ship. I checked over the weekend and they'd been moulded and were now being machined so I would guess they will be shipped within the next week or so, which means I might see them sometime in August all being well 

The rims I've ordered are UD weave and unpainted but will have stealth LB decals this time, black on black. They're fairly wide and a decent depth so should be pretty solid. This is the cross section detail from the website, same for both rims with the diameter being the only difference:






The cushcore inserts should arrive tomorrow, I'm intrigued to see what they're like. They get excellent reviews but are insanely expensive for foam rings, but cheaper than wrecking rims I guess  They supposedly enhance the ride too at lower tyre pressures, and having had a tire burp on a corner a few times in the past a bit of sidewall support round the twisty bits would be quite welcome  Here's the marketing gumpf from their website:






Spokes haven't been thought about yet, I'll just go with something double butted and durable I suspect with brass nipples. Nothing fancy as they'll get covered in mud almost immediately 😊

Anyway, I'll update when more bits arrive and the wheels get built up  Looking forward to trying out the Mullet, it'll be interesting to see how much difference it makes


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## Ridgeway (27 Jul 2021)

Jeez 2.6 thems is tractor tyres...

Interested to see how these rims turn out and perform, can't see why they'd be anything other than excellent based on the roads rims and wheels they churn out

PS: the AR 46 i installed are super nice wheels, not quite as impressed with the Novatec hubs vs the DTS350 i had on my first pair from LB though, very light and stiff and i guess that's what's it's all about


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## JhnBssll (27 Jul 2021)

Yeah I'm interested to see how the mtb rims hold up - as you say I've got no reason to doubt them 

I love my AR56 rims, cant see me moving away from them any time soon 

The CushCore inserts arrived today 😊


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## Ridgeway (27 Jul 2021)

Curious about the Cushcore, i've seen an Italian version (forget the name) that seems popular.


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## JhnBssll (28 Aug 2021)

The rims arrived today  I paid a little more and had them delivered by Fedex - 4 days to get from Xiamen to sunny Suffolk  Considering I waited about 7 weeks for the first set to do the same journey with the cheaper shipping alternative I'd say that's money well spent  I'm still waiting on the customs bill but it shouldn't be too horrific and of course I'd already factored it in to the build cost 😊

I have ordered 64 black Sapim Race spokes of various lengths, along with 32 black and 32 red Sapim double square nipples - figured I'd stagger them black-red-black just for a bit of fun 

It turns out 29er's are bigger than 650b's, who knew  I hope I build the right hubs in to the right rims or I'm going to look a right lemon...






I'm rather hoping the spokes turn up in the morning but am fairly sure they won't arrive until early next week - as soon as they're here I'll build them up


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## JhnBssll (31 Aug 2021)

I still have no spokes  I was rather hoping to have them by now, but Royal Mail have been a bit hit and miss in the last week or so. I can see where the van parks from my office window and some days they dont seem to have been coming at all, I wonder if they're struggling with staff illness or something. Fingers crossed for the morning 😄

I'm getting cabin fever as soon as it's dark and I cant work outside any more as I've got things to do but cant get them done. At least with these wheels built it'll be another project ticked off the list - there's only so much digging a man can do without a little wheel building respite 😄


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## jowwy (1 Sep 2021)

JhnBssll said:


> I still have no spokes  I was rather hoping to have them by now, but Royal Mail have been a bit hit and miss in the last week or so. I can see where the van parks from my office window and some days they dont seem to have been coming at all, I wonder if they're struggling with staff illness or something. Fingers crossed for the morning 😄
> 
> I'm getting cabin fever as soon as it's dark and I cant work outside any more as I've got things to do but cant get them done. At least with these wheels built it'll be another project ticked off the list - there's only so much digging a man can do without a little wheel building respite 😄


surely its time to finish the shed now then?? lol


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## JhnBssll (7 Sep 2021)

Spokes arrived this morning 😊 The black nipples were out of stock hence the delay getting them dispatched but I decided to wait for them rather than change colour.

I decided to lace them up during work calls and was soon reminded of the dangers of multitasking - I got the final spoke in the front wheel then noticed the direction arrow on the rim and realised I'd laced each spoke to the wrong flange 











I spent the next 20 minutes carefully stripping all the spokes back out, and made sure to pay a bit more attention with the first spoke the second time around 

Finally got both wheels laced up - I'll leave the tensioning until later when they have my full attention


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## fair weather cyclist (7 Sep 2021)

Ho easy/difficult is it to build wheels?

Is it a steep learning curve and how much does the equipment to build wheels cost?


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## JhnBssll (7 Sep 2021)

fair weather cyclist said:


> Ho easy/difficult is it to build wheels?
> 
> Is it a steep learning curve and how much does the equipment to build wheels cost?



If you're patient and methodical it's not difficult to lace them up and get them straight but getting the spoke tensions right to ensure they are durable can be more tricky. A spoke tension meter helps greatly here and can be had for around £30. A good wheel building stand and dishing tool can be expensive, but equally they can be made from bits of wood, or old bicycle forks etc if needed.

Getting a good wheel build is all about practice. I'm not there yet, but can see improvements in each set I build so maybe one day I'll build a pair that don't need tweaking a few hundred miles down the road 😋


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## Gunk (7 Sep 2021)

I taught myself using an old wheel, an old fork in a vice with a cable tie against the rim and a YouTube video, probably one of the most satisfying things you’ll do as an amateur bike mechanic


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## JhnBssll (7 Sep 2021)

Both wheels are tensioned up and true now  I've got a dishing tool arriving tomorrow - I've always fitted them to the bike before centering the rim then taking them off again to do the rim tape etc but it would be nice to do it properly for once so I'll wait for it to arrive before i go any further 

I'm really pleased with the quality of the rims from LightBicycle again - they've built up really nicely and have an excellent raw carbon finish 
















Mrs Bssll walked in to the study earlier and stood staring at them looking slightly confused... After a while she said "you know they're different sizes, right?"


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## JhnBssll (7 Sep 2021)

I've just had a play with the cushcore inserts - I figured I'd stretch them on and get a feel for them before I try and wrestle the tyres on in the coming days 






You have to use a bit of force to stretch them on but overall they weren't bad at all. By test fitting them I have come across a minor issue though... The cushcore sits on the open face of the valve and essentially blocks it. Presumably youd be able to get air in ok, but getting it back out again might be problematic  






I looked in the box and found a pair of cushcore valve stems. On inspection they have holes drilled in to the sides of the valve face to allow air through when the cushcore is fitted...






Unfortunately, being snot green, they don't quite fit with my colourscheme  I've found and ordered some red ones with the same side holes so will swap them out when they arrive, not due until Thursday though. Oh well, theres no hurry and from what I've read once the tyres are on I won't want to be taking them off again anytime soon as the cushcores make it a pig of a job  Something to look forward to 😊


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## JhnBssll (8 Sep 2021)

My new park tools portable dishing tool arrived today so predictably I spent a few hours this evening playing with the wheels. I've got them running about as close to perfectly central and true as I can hope to achieve now so next step will be rim tape and valves when they arrive tomorrow  I've got the afternoon off work to do some building work so hope to get these all built up and on the bike too


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## JhnBssll (9 Sep 2021)

This afternoon's progress:

Rims taped and new red cushcore valves fitted...







Cushcores stretched over the rims...






Tire wrestled over the rim in preparation of seating the beads...






First bead wrestled in to place...






Second bead in place and sealant added... Job's a good'un!






So for a comparison. This is the bike with it's original 650b's fitted...






And this is it now with its new 650b rear and 29er front...






I'm really happy with it so far after scooting around on the lawn, you can feel the difference in steering angle already. Unfortunately I made another error, and didnt realise my original hub had an XD freehub  So I've just had to order a hope XD freehub which has stung me for another 70 quid, an expensive error  Oh well, I'll have the shimano freehub if I ever want to upgrade and I am considering 1x XTR Di2 on this one at some point  I also noticed the rear mech cable is frayed so I've ordered a new stainless inner cable. When that arrives I'll give her a bit of a strip clean as she's looking a bit grubby  Then she'll be all sparkly clean when the XD driver arrives so I can take her out and get her filthy dirty again


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## JhnBssll (23 Sep 2021)

I swapped the freehub over this evening and refitted the cassette 😊 When I get a chance to play in the sunlight I'll give her a wash and replace the frayed cable then take her for a maiden mullet voyage


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