Wheelbuilding / Wheel Building / Wheel build help

Looking for options for disc brake rimes ideally below 70€/rim, reasonably cheap and if possible as strong as possible, weight doesn't matter. Specs: 650B, 19mm internal width and 32h.

I quite like the velocity Atlas that I have on my rim brake bikes, but at 130€ per rim it does quite sting.

Stumbled across the Mavic XM 119, which is ultra cheap but seem to fall within specifications. any review on it, or any recommendation on alternatives?

Depending on where you are, I would have two DT Swiss GR 531 db 650B rims with 24h, once I made a wheelset, but then unlaced w/o riding and changed to other rims. Would sell like €70 shipped both. I think I'll never use them again, since my target is a 28" wheelset next to my 650B wheelset. OK read the needed holes afterwards.

1 Attachment

Kinlin XRdepth preference, but 31 will be overkill in 32h.

How does everyone measure erd?

I've been using two spokes with nipples screwed down hard on the threads and cut at 200mm from the nipple shoulder. (Insert the spokes in opposing holes and measure the gap or overlap and add that to or subtract it from 400mm to get the erd)

This seems to work, I'm usually pretty happy with where the spoke ends end up once the wheel is built up.

I saw another method recently where you take a full spoke of known length, put two of them in opposing holes on the rim and screw nipples down to where you'd want them to end up and then use a caliper to measure between the bends as per this image and add that to 2 x the spoke length,

I tried my usual way tonight and got 600mm then this other way and got 606mm, 6mm difference on a 700c rim. Would equate to a 2-3mm difference in spoke length!

I kind of like my way because I'm measuring the actual spoke bed where the shoulder of the nipple is going to sit.

I've seen lots of people saying round down on spoke lengths in this thread which isn't what I do. I've kinda thought I rounded up because I was paranoid about having spokes too short and nipples snapping and figured that since I pretty much never built single wall rims then if it was a choice between too short or too long then too long was the better way to go but I guess it works better with my method of measurement too.

@arup you mentioned that you've written your own calculator, does it apply any sort of correction to account for you not wanting the spoke to actually end at the nipple seat or do you just account for it with your measurement method? Does that even make sense?

take a full spoke of known length, put two of them in opposing holes on the rim and screw nipples down to where you'd want them to end up and then use a caliper to measure between the bends as per this image and add that to 2 x the spoke length

I do this.

The "screw the nipples down to where you want them" bit, spoke end flush with the top of the nipple?

I do this too

Same here

Yeah.

I've got some wheels built with WTB ST Lite rims, which are shite and the spoke tension's all over the place. Some spokes have actually come fully loose. I think partly the problem is that it's a shallow rim with a low flange separation (it's 6 bolt/dynamo on the front) and partly I shouldn't have used grease on the spoke threads. I'm going to rebuild them with a decent rim either myself or at a shop.

For a "general" 32h wheelset for gravel, road, touring with 35mm-50mm tyre would you go Kinlin TL-23 at £40 or Kinlin RD-3FT at £75? Feel like 31mm depth/550g+ weight of the RD-3FT and 32 spokes might be extreme overkill, but on the other hand it might help with the spoke tension/flange problem

If both rim ERD measurements are the same (or within ~2mm) then you'll be OK. If the new rim has a slightly lower ERD then you can effectively increase it by using nipple washers (not spoke washers).

Obviously the spoke hole count must match!

Thanks - there's the rub - impossible to find reliable info. For the Ryde Sputnik I find values between 600-607, the Chinra between 603-608. Guess i need to take some stuff and measure.

Worst case scenario is you drop another £20 on spokes.

£2.90 per 10 at Cyclebasket , singles 29p.

I've just cracked the rear rim on my 7 year old Hunt 4 seasons wheels. What's an affordable alternative rim I could get it rebuilt with? Hunt want £80 for the same one but they're just Kinlins right?

Yeah, which 4 seasons? There's standard, aero and gravel, measure the width and depth and match to a Kinlin.

I’ve got the gravel ones. Any recommendations for where to find the kinlins to buy that aren’t wholesale?

I think that's a TL-21 then. I could order you one but Cycle clinic is on here too and looks to already have stock.

I do that too

Thanks. Let me speak to my LBS today and get back to you

I have built stupid shallow and flexy Stans crest for myself and never had to worry about tension. I used anti seize in the threads too.
Unless the rims are too bad out of true/roundness it shouldn't be a problem, just rebuild and make sure you get your tension right and even.

LBS have recommended a DT Swiss R500 rim for the job, given I ride with my 3 year old on the back which gives a system weight of around 110kg. Same price as the Kinlin so think I’m going to go with that

The guy in the shop said that the rims were bent. I barely rode them at all, and then had a tubeless tyre blowout (in the flat) which put them miles out of true. Think the rims must just be a bit shit.

They're £20 on Wiggle BTW, might be part of the decision-making process

Saw that, but I need the 28h rim which I don’t think they have. Hunt have just offered a replacement wheel for £122 which might be the easiest and quickest option for me

Is it harder to lace (and truing) a radial wheel, namely a 20h one, than like 'classic' 28 or 32 pattern style wheels? I don't know yet if DIY or not, I have lots of time though, since I broke one of my back bones and can't do lots of things. I used Roger Mussons' guide so far which helped me a lot, this is all about radial patterns in the PDF:

1 Attachment