Spoked Wheels
Legendary Member
- Location
- Bournemouth
Shaun suggested I posted this here.
I've been thinking about this for a while so here are my thoughts.
Wheelbuilding is my hobby so I have already built quite a few wheels and my technique is strong by now. Roger Musson is the master!
I have only 5 bikes at home and only two needed new wheels so I'm done with that. Two friends are riding wheels built my me at the moment. One set of MTB wheels and another set of road wheels, both happy so far and I expect them to be happy till they need a new rim. Both sets have been ridden in excess of 650 miles, in fact, the road wheelset was over 1600 miles by last Thursday (my friend is only a part time (fair weather) commuter otherwise it would be near 4000 miles by now). I know that1600 miles is not a lot but I expect them to go trouble free till they need a new rim. The wheels I built for myself are going well too, one set is being stacked on 22 miles since the first ride
but the other set has done over 1040 miles without any problems and I'm 16 and half stones.
I have an old set of wheels that I keep rebuilding and testing time and time again, 47 times so far - getting a bit bored with that - the rims are not perfect and the spokes for one of the wheels are a bit short so all that makes it a bit more interesting I guess
So, my experience so far is 55 wheels under my belt, plus other bit and pieces I've done for friends, not a huge number but what I lack in experience I make up for in time and dedication. I can build a wheel in under 90 minutes, I find that when I try to do it quicker I don't enjoy it as much but I can get close to the 70 minutes mark if I don't drink too much coffee while I work on the wheel. So, I'm not restricted by time constrains as I'm not doing it for money, simply as a hobby.
Wheelbuilding is not rocket science, in fact, it's not difficult but not everybody has the patience to do it, that's all I have to say about that for now. With so much choice, choosing the right components can potentially be the hard part, where the experience really counts in my view. The knowledge some wheelbuilders have on components blows me away.
So, instead of rebuilding those old wheels time and time again I'm quite happy to build your wheels for free. The only condition that I must insist on is that you don't ask me to build you a low spoke count wheel for a heavy rider. Wheel rebuilding / re-rimming is fine but I will not waste time with rusty spokes or spokes with busted nipples. So if you have a wheel that needs rebuilding, if the spokes are not good then invest in a set of spokes and I'll be happy to rebuild it for you.
I know that I can build very good wheels but at the moment this has to be just a hobby. I don't know how long I will be happy to do this for, all will depend on how this affect the rest of my day. I can't spend all day with my hobby, can I? I also like to ride a bike sometimes
If you are interested then contact me by PM or post on this thread with details of what you have in mind. I will send you my details but please do not publish them in a post.
For people in my area, Bournemouth, this would be easy, simply a matter of dropping and picking up the wheels but for those further away...mmmm not so sure, I guess if you don't mind paying for postage then it would be possible.
If I brake any new component while building a wheel, I'll pay for it (I don't expect to brake any so no CB rims just yet).
Finally, a piece of advice from an experienced wheelbuilder with regards rebuilding / fixing wheels, there are some factory built wheels that nobody wants to touch so I reserve the right to politely turn you down - I guess the reason for wheelbuilders avoiding these wheels is the time it takes to fix/rebuild properly. Wheelbuilders have to keep an eye on the time or they go out of business.
I hope to be able to update this thread with information that becomes available to me as I go along.
I have passed this idea by Shaun and he is happy for me to go ahead with it and create the thread.
Like I do with my own wheels, I can make sure that the wheels are built for riding them safely, however, components can potentially fail and I have no control over that, nor does any professional wheelbuilder, hence the disclaimer below.
Disclaimer.
"RRSODL is not responsible for any personal injury occurred while using this wheel or wheel set. These wheel(s) are made or re-built to a requested specification. measures are taken to reduce the likelihood of their failure and advice will be given as to their appropriateness for their intended function. However their integrity is not guaranteed and they are to be used at the owners risk. Regular maintenance is always recommended with any mechanical object particularly if that object's integrity carries a risk to personal safety. In particular, checks for cracks in components, loss of spoke tension, loss of wheel trueness and bearing integrity should be carried out regularly. "
Ricardo
I've been thinking about this for a while so here are my thoughts.
Wheelbuilding is my hobby so I have already built quite a few wheels and my technique is strong by now. Roger Musson is the master!
I have only 5 bikes at home and only two needed new wheels so I'm done with that. Two friends are riding wheels built my me at the moment. One set of MTB wheels and another set of road wheels, both happy so far and I expect them to be happy till they need a new rim. Both sets have been ridden in excess of 650 miles, in fact, the road wheelset was over 1600 miles by last Thursday (my friend is only a part time (fair weather) commuter otherwise it would be near 4000 miles by now). I know that1600 miles is not a lot but I expect them to go trouble free till they need a new rim. The wheels I built for myself are going well too, one set is being stacked on 22 miles since the first ride
but the other set has done over 1040 miles without any problems and I'm 16 and half stones.I have an old set of wheels that I keep rebuilding and testing time and time again, 47 times so far - getting a bit bored with that - the rims are not perfect and the spokes for one of the wheels are a bit short so all that makes it a bit more interesting I guess
So, my experience so far is 55 wheels under my belt, plus other bit and pieces I've done for friends, not a huge number but what I lack in experience I make up for in time and dedication. I can build a wheel in under 90 minutes, I find that when I try to do it quicker I don't enjoy it as much but I can get close to the 70 minutes mark if I don't drink too much coffee
while I work on the wheel. So, I'm not restricted by time constrains as I'm not doing it for money, simply as a hobby.Wheelbuilding is not rocket science, in fact, it's not difficult but not everybody has the patience to do it, that's all I have to say about that for now. With so much choice, choosing the right components can potentially be the hard part, where the experience really counts in my view. The knowledge some wheelbuilders have on components blows me away.
So, instead of rebuilding those old wheels time and time again I'm quite happy to build your wheels for free. The only condition that I must insist on is that you don't ask me to build you a low spoke count wheel for a heavy rider. Wheel rebuilding / re-rimming is fine but I will not waste time with rusty spokes or spokes with busted nipples. So if you have a wheel that needs rebuilding, if the spokes are not good then invest in a set of spokes and I'll be happy to rebuild it for you.
I know that I can build very good wheels but at the moment this has to be just a hobby. I don't know how long I will be happy to do this for, all will depend on how this affect the rest of my day. I can't spend all day with my hobby, can I? I also like to ride a bike sometimes
If you are interested then contact me by PM or post on this thread with details of what you have in mind. I will send you my details but please do not publish them in a post.
For people in my area, Bournemouth, this would be easy, simply a matter of dropping and picking up the wheels but for those further away...mmmm not so sure, I guess if you don't mind paying for postage then it would be possible.
If I brake any new component while building a wheel, I'll pay for it (I don't expect to brake any so no CB rims just yet).
Finally, a piece of advice from an experienced wheelbuilder with regards rebuilding / fixing wheels, there are some factory built wheels that nobody wants to touch so I reserve the right to politely turn you down
- I guess the reason for wheelbuilders avoiding these wheels is the time it takes to fix/rebuild properly. Wheelbuilders have to keep an eye on the time or they go out of business.I hope to be able to update this thread with information that becomes available to me as I go along.
I have passed this idea by Shaun and he is happy for me to go ahead with it and create the thread.
Like I do with my own wheels, I can make sure that the wheels are built for riding them safely, however, components can potentially fail and I have no control over that, nor does any professional wheelbuilder, hence the disclaimer below.
Disclaimer.
"RRSODL is not responsible for any personal injury occurred while using this wheel or wheel set. These wheel(s) are made or re-built to a requested specification. measures are taken to reduce the likelihood of their failure and advice will be given as to their appropriateness for their intended function. However their integrity is not guaranteed and they are to be used at the owners risk. Regular maintenance is always recommended with any mechanical object particularly if that object's integrity carries a risk to personal safety. In particular, checks for cracks in components, loss of spoke tension, loss of wheel trueness and bearing integrity should be carried out regularly. "
Ricardo
which coincidently matches the price tag £1.5k
