Merckx MX Leader Pista (finished)

Absolutely Kobe. It's lovely. Very happy to get my hands on it. Trying to do the build justice at the moment.

I think i've managed the first wheel. I'll be taking it in to the lbs to get my homework marked.

1 Attachment

• 20180807_174907.mp4

The first wheel was a bit under tensioner so I borrowed a tensionmeter from the lbs and tweaked them up a bit.
However, I was brought down to earth with a bump on the second wheel. The spokes seemed ridiculously too long because...they were.
The shop had calculated for two 32h wheels but the rear is 36h. I sat and found a couple of online calculators and got a length of 287.6 so I got a box of 288's. I also borrowed the spoke tensionmeter again so i'll lace it up this weekend...

1 Attachment

Hubs are like buses, none for ages then... a nice arrival in the post today was a pair of Suntour Superbe track hubs I swapped for a pair of road wheels with @adman . They look really cool so they will be the next project. Any good 24h rim options? I'm thinking something a bit deeper to add a bit of stiffness...

1 Attachment

I used Archetypes for my 24h track wheels for exactly that reason. I think Hydras come in 24h as well.

Cheers Winty. I see there add black versions of the 24h Archetypes, are you aware of them being available anywhere in silver?

I think they're only available in black/grey in 24h sadly. The grey is lovely though.

As you can see it's been a couple of months since an update. Maggy Merckx still isn't finished but i have been busy on stuff for it. First off i finished the Dura Ace/Open Pro wheel set. I really enjoyed the build and am happy with the results...

1 Attachment

Secondly i thought about fitting chain tensioners and picked up a couple of sets of these... I went gold for outrageous bling but got cold feet and ordered a sensible set as well. Any thoughts?

1 Attachment

Thirdly i thought i'd crack on with the Suntour Superbe hub builds. I know i wanted silver but i got an unbelieveable deal on these DT Swiss 511 rims. The are well made and incredibly stiff. My LBS volunteering saw them come in at a sub £40 per rim

1 Attachment

The front is finished with DT Swiss silver spokes....

1 Attachment

One thing i have noticed on these hubs which I absolutely adore is the misspelling of the word CUSTOM as CUSTUM. Was this a common error or are they fake Suntours? The hub quality looks really good but i haven't found any references to it or any other examples on t'internet. Anyone got any ideas?

1 Attachment

Another odd point about SSP hubs...they 'custom made' spelling seems to have been through 2 generations....
CUSTUM MADE later changed to CUSTOM MADE.

https://www.bikeforums.net/singlespeed-fixed-gear/503853-24h-suntour-araya-wheel-build-opinions.html

Thanks Tijs that's a great find. I really love the look of these hubs and I think they'll spend a lot of time on the bike.

Rear is laced and ready for tensioning. Further nice touch from @adman was the provision of a dura ace L ockring with the hubs that is njs stamped. So i'll havea bit of Keirin bling as well...

1 Attachment

Looking good.

Thanks Adam. Really pleased with the hubs (so classy) and the decision to build them myself. It's only my second pair but i'm finding the whole wheel building thing quite satisfying.

I'm off this week do i'm going to finish this bike off and get out on it.

Common example of "Japlish". Aftermarket car parts are the same with some spellings/wording. It's cool imo!

Absolutely! I've made a start on tensioning up the rear so hopefully this week I can post some finished pictures

Ok so back wheel is done...

1 Attachment

Help please.
I don't think these wheels will be used indoors do I fancy some Michelin service course tyres. I have a set on "Big Ted" (my Corsa Extra) which roll and feel lovely. The only thing is which colour? I'm undecided betweem the darkish blue or the silver.
The EM decals on the pearlescent white are dark blue and the bike currently has blue bar tape. Should i go with fresh dark blue bar tape and tyres or black bar tape and silver wall tyres to highlight the rims, spokes and pearlesence?

1 Attachment

I'm undecided betweem the darkish blue or the silver.

Black.

For tyres there's tanwall, black and that rad Michelin tyre greenblue.
No alternatives. NO!

Why don't go tubeless btw? The rims are made for them and I haven't looked back since I made the switch.

Green is permitted for Vittoria Paves only.