Smug or what ...

[alicat]

Yesterday I built my first wheel.

A front wheel for my Brompton. Granted, it is radially spoked but it is dished, since it has a dynohub.

I turned the bike upside down in my workstand and used the forks as a guide. I rigged up a guide using two cable ties in the brake arm to hold a bradawl in place. The slight scraping noise was very handy - much better than relying on dodgy intermediate vision.

I found the process relaxing, much more calming than my usual fettling routine of dropping spanners every five minutes and watching small nuts roll into inaccessible places.

I wasn't sure if the spoke tension was even enough so I popped into London Bike Kitchen on the way home and Lish gave it a clean bill of health.

It's by far the most adventurous project I have taken on. Thanks to Peter there for giving me a demo of how to true a wheel - that gave me the confidence to have a go.

I'm now dreaming up other wheel-related projects....

 

[fossala]

Congratulations.

 

[biggs682]

well done

 

[GilesM]

Well done, and enjoy feeling smug, you deserve it. I haven't built a wheel for about 25 years, but I do get the odd thought every now and then that I really should get back into it, and reading this thread hasn't helped those thoughts go away.

 

[RiflemanSmith]

 

[yello]

Congrats alicat. It is indeed a warm feeling to build your 1st wheel.

 

[fossyant]

Started doing mine on the commuter, so far done four. Last two I treated myself to a wheel jig.

 

[I like Skol]

Started doing mine on the commuter, so far done four. Last two I treated myself to a wheel jig.

Amateur! I do mine with two pieces of twine and a rusty nail

Seriously though, It is a hugely satisfying feeling building your own wheels, especially when you read all the tales of factory built wheels that fall apart within 1000 miles while your self builds last years and many, many 1000's of miles.

 

[fossyant]

It's not difficult either. The tricky bit is the spoke length but building is a case of taking your time, tightening up, de-stresing the spokes, true, de-stress and repeat until the wheel doesn't go out of true. Then just ride.

 

[yello]

building is a case of taking your time,

I took days doing my first! I wasn't at it non-stop obviously, just taking my time and walking away as necessary to refocus and calm down (I tend to get a bit stressed doing new things). It is actually a relatively simple process in truth, and one that you can take your time over. Hugely satisfying too!

I think the hardest bit is calculating the right spoke length but there are several tools on the web that help you with that.

 

[alicat]

Quick follow up question.

I mangled a few of the nipples a little not realising how important it is to get the spoke key properly positioned. Is it better to replace those nipples now or just leave alone on the basis of 'if it ain't broke don't fix it'?

My inclination is to swap them over while there is no chance of the nipples being seized and while it will be easier to count the number of turns used but I would welcome thoughts on this.

I am still cock-a-hoop (bad pun intended) and planning to check all my other wheels are true this weekend.

 

[I like Skol]

Leave it alone! If it ain't broke don't fix it

If you do have to do any alterations at a later date then deal with it then. I had a spoke snap last summer in a pair of MTB wheels I probably built over a decade ago. They have not been touched in all that time and the snap was due to a nick in the spoke, probably from a stone or something similar. I replaced the spoke and simply retensioned it too tightly then backed it off to return the wheel to perfect form.

 

[Therapor]

 

[yello]

Is it better to replace those nipples now or just leave alone on the basis of 'if it ain't broke don't fix it'?

Personally, I'd do it now. Time, wear and weather could make them more difficult to remove later.