Wheelbuilding / Wheel Building / Wheel build help

Does anyone have either a splined (90's style not Mavic) spoke nipple wrench they'd sell or a lead on a new one that isn't these ones from the states:
https://www.wheelfanatyk.com/store/splined-spoke-wrench/

Postage is a complete rip for those ones ⬆️

Just put these together & pretty pleased with the result - Prime rims from wiggle / novatec 791/2 centrelock hubs / ACI spokes & black brass nipples - came out just over 1600g for £115 all in - with some badly needed new tyres it'll shave over half a kilo off the commuting wheelset. Have stuck the wheels into the lbs for some final tweaks & the thumbs up from an actual mechanic then we're good to go, really need to buy a truing stand...

2 Attachments

How so cheap?

Rims are £17 on sale from wiggle / hubs were £60 from some Chinese seller on eBay / spokes & nipples were about £20 from cyclebasket - 24 hole f&r but should be fine for general road use by an 11(ahem) stone weakling like me.

Done this a few times - build them to a stage where they're as round / tight as I can do by eye in the frame then drop them into someone who actually knows what they're doing & has proper tools for the final tweaks to get them perfect - most of the time they're very nearly there

Figured one of you lot might be worth an ask... does anyone make 'brass' coloured brass nipples? Not hideous gold, but nice soft brass. TiA

Park tool do one.

i have only ever seen nickel plated or black.

That sounds like a good starting point for a novice (is there a level even before novice?) wheelbuilder like myself.

spokes fail through a process of fatigue. Low tension may be a contributing. Factor. Most spokes these days fit hub flanges well so movement is not the issue.

Loading the wheel causes spoke tension to vary that results in length changes and that the process of cyclic fatigue caused by loading. This is prime reason for fatigue failures as its cumalitive. Low tension matters if the spokes can load when ridden, if they dont unload because the wheel is stiff enough to prevent that then low tension is not a problem unless it leads the wheel to be instable.

One big reason for spoke failure is lack of stressing by the builder. The spokes need repeated grasping or stretching to fully bed them into the hub flange and stretch them. I can pull the wheel out of dish doing this. Then i turn it round and repeat and pull it back again. Tension drops of 300N are possible but normally this is done not just at the end but throughout the building process. That way when doing the final true before sideloading the rim you not having to do massive correction in dish, truness and getting the tensions back up to where they should.

Prolly not a wheel building question as such, but can i replace a 3 pawl freehub with a 6 pawl freehub on some bitex hubs. Moving from 11 speed to 12 speed xdr

Is a 36mm internal rim on the wide side for 2.2” / 55mm tyres? Should I err on the side of caution and go for 30mm internal instead?

I’ve run a 2.2” tyre on a rim that’s 38mm external (so must be 34-36mm internal) and has no issues.

I did worry that the sidewalk might be more vulnerable being that it doesn’t pull in to a narrow rim but it never actually seemed to be an issue and that was with a Conti RaceKing so quite a lightweight tyre.

Yes too wide. Even 30mm internal is a bit wide. Proper tyre shape with 21 to 26mm internal width rims.

Its not about issues. You wont get tyres blowing off. Its about tyre shape. Observe manufacturers recommendations as that what leads to the best handling.

Too wide and the top of the tyre is too flat. The tyre and tread pattern is made with a certain range of curvature in mind.

Wider is not better, there are limits.

a rim that’s 38mm external (so must be 34-36mm internal)

If you haven't actually measured, assume internal is external minus at least 5mm for a hooked aluminium rim, so that 38mm rim is no more than 33mm internal.

Also what cycle clinic said, especially with MTB tyres. Not only do you want the tread to engage in the right way as you lean, but you actually want the high curvature in the sidewall to allow the big flexure which lets the tread comply with the rough ground surface.

Thanks for the advice, I guess although 2.2” tyres are within the acceptable range (set by rim manufacturer for the 36mm internal rims) it is almost at the minimum permissible so it’d be better to be somewhere in the middle. It’s for slick tyres on road.

set by rim manufacturer

You want to listen to the tyre manufacturer for ride and handling, the rim manufacturer is only concerned with destructive failure modes.

no thats not true. 36mm internal is way too wide for 2.2" tyre. Even schwalbe say so. I have a 2.1" tyre on a 30mm internal width rim and whiles it o.k it not optimal and i would never suggest anyone uses that combo. Handling is affected at the limit, i.w the limit comes sooner.

https://www.schwalbetires.com/tech_info/tire_dimensions

And a cross post from the cargo bikes thread (unrelated)

Anyone paired bicycle hubs with moped rims and tyres for things like trailers? More about tyre choice than rim.

Would be for a three wheel trailer, rear wheels are fixed in one direction and are the candidates for the franken wheels.. the front uses a standard bmx fork so unsure if there is room.

wondering whats theoretically possible or if it’s been tried before. Also if anyone can think of any pros / cons of setting them up like that..

Re rim / tyre width Thanks @gbj_tester and @thecycleclinic

Aha, thanks, I'll have a look

I don't have any of the nipples with me to confirm measurements.
Is it the SW-12?

can anyone recommend a good cheap 26" rim?
i was thinking dt swiss 533d but seems to not be in stock

Ryde Big Bull.

cheers!

this is for disc though, would be nice not to have a brake track.

does anyone know if this is the only source for bitex hubs? i want something in purple but don't want spendy hope ones
https://bitexhubs.co.uk/product/bx106r/

Think @broken_777 mentioned some Kinlin 26s to me a while back... might be discy