wheel building/spoke buying

[jifdave]

with money being tight i've decided to replace all my own spokes. in theory not that hard.....

whats the best way of knowing what to buy? can i litteraly just measure them? would i need to take one out from each side of the wheel and measure it?

 

[black'n'yellow]

with money being tight i've decided to replace all my own spokes. in theory not that hard.....

Simply replacing the spokes is easy - the hard bit is ending up with a wheel that does not look like a pringle when you've finished. Seriously, what you are suggesting is a false economy...

 

[Zakalwe]

Getting someone to build a wheel should only cost about £20.

 

[jifdave]

i keep popping spoke, so i am buying sapim strongs and hoping this sorts it. im gonna get it roughly straigth then take it to the lbs to true it.

 

[jifdave]

lbs is gonna rebuild for £40 including spokes.....

other LBS wanted £30 to build plus £1 a spoke!

i guess the trick is to find a good LBS

 

[fossyant]

£40 rebuild including spokes is a good price.

I build my own for the commuter now, but it's not much cheaper than the LBS doing it. Takes me longer to build it, but it's a skill to learn though. nothing like building your own wheels that stay true !

 

[PpPete]

Thicker spokes are not "stronger".
Well they would resist a great static tensile load, but that is not what breaks spokes on bicycles.

IF your hub is still in good condition and IF your rim is not worn on the brake track then it MIGHT be worth rebuilding with all new spokes.
Buy stainless steel double butted (2.0/1.8/2.0) with brass nipples.
Sapim Race
DT Swiss Competition
or if money is tight ACI Alpina
The thinner middle section is what makes them more resistant to fatigue failure - which is what breaks spokes on bicycles, but ONLY if they are tight enough. Don't rely on your LBS to get them tight enough. Do the truing and tensioning yourself.

This article is good for getting the tensions right if you don't have tensiometer. I used it for the first dozen or so wheels I built (including one pair for a real lard arse friend). No broken spokes on any of them.