Wheelbuilding / Wheel Building / Wheel build help

I'm after a pair of cheap hubs for a road, rim brake wheelset and Novatec A171/F172 seem like a good option. I have 20/24h rims already so need hubs in that drilling and ideally I want them in silver.

I can readily find the above hubs in black and red in 20/24h drilling on AliX, eBay etc. but I'm really struggling to track down a pair in silver and that spoke count, I'm only finding them in 32h.

Any suggestions of other places to hunt for them? Or any links to a 20/24h pair in silver? I'm aware they're rebranded under other names such as Ambrosio, but again I'm not seeing them in 20/24h. Thanks

These are not the hubs you're looking for, but https://thecycleclinic.co.uk/collections/hubs has silver 20/24 hubs, either Bitex RAR/RAF12 or his own brand

That's handy thank you, I had looked at Bitex as a slightly more expensive option and he does have the A171/F172 available (albeit sold out at the moment) in silver but only down to 24/28h.
It may be that I just deal with the hubs being black for ease/cheapness.

Am I likely to have any difficulty getting Sapim Strongs into a Hope hub flange?

I have to admit that the spoke hole diameter is something I've never paid great attention to but have a tandem wheel to build for someone so was thinking I'd go for the Sapim Strong spokes.

Edit, the eldow on the Strongs is 2.3mm.

I built some Hopes (Pro 2) with DT Alpine III (also 2.3mm at the fat end) with no problems.

Nice.

Good good, cheers.

I rebuilt a pair of WH-540s (16h f&r) with CX-Rays, duplicating stock tension by doing it one spoke at a time, no problem. Only thing was a surprising amount of stretch, around 3mm. They had like half the cross-section of the stock spokes...

Also, 16h @ 650C is gonna be way stronger than 16h @ 700C.

I rebuilt a pair of WH-540

They have much better bracing angle than normal rims of similar depth, I've seen tandemists using the WH-7700, which is essentially a #tartmode WH-540.
The WH-RS20 is much more conventional and works fine at 16F/20R with spokes of the same cross section as CX-Sprints, so there's that. Shimano don't specify a rider weight limit, but we can be sure they don't want a lot of complaints from people up to 120kg, so there's a good bit of wiggle room for people a lot lighter than that.

16h @ 650C is gonna be way stronger than 16h @ 700C

Well, stiffer anyway.

WH-540 could sure use a tartmode. Those rims are 560g!

They looked pretty bangin' with the silver CXs tho

rims are 560g!

I doubt whether the 7700 rims are any lighter, all the money went on the Ti freehub and better bearings, and 560g is just the price you pay for a reliable 16 spoke metal rim

More depth would've helped, at least with carbon - as it is, they run slightly octagonal.

I’m planning on getting some wheels built by spa cycles, who I’ve had good experience with in the past. For my gravel/light touring bike

Choosing bitex 106 on either kinlin XR 26RTS or XR 31RTS… what if any will the noticeable differences be between the two rim depths (26mm/31mm)? Or any experience with these rims?

Edit: spokes 32/36 I think. I’m 88kg

spokes 32/36

Overkill for the 31s for sure, mine are 28/28 and happy with me and a fully loaded, heavy bike bouncing down unsuitable paths. The 26s are fine with 28 spokes too.

Helpful, thanks. Have you ridden both 26s and 31s? Found them durable?
What's the downside of overbuilding them at 32/26, just the extra weight? I might be Ok for the peace of mind I suppose

Ride 31s, built both. I've got a big dent in the front from a range rover that must've happened at least 5 years ago, still going strong.

I’ve got RR31rts 36h with Bitex 106 hubs and an extra wheel with a Shimano hub.
I’ve done parts of the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix with a touring load on them with no issues, the wheels carried on to Slovenia. They have done The Badger Divide as well.

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What's the best price for a kinlin 31 rim tubeless 20h pls?

36 might get hard to find if you ever need a replacement. Do 32 front and back with the same rim depth, with a bit of luck you'll be able to use same-ish length all over. Handy to have only one size of spare spokes for touring.

Hi, I've a Feedback trueing stand (bought here years ago) that I'm thinking of replacing by one that has two arms (the Feedback is mono arm... nothing too wrong with it but I'd rather have something conventional)

What's the opinion here on the cheap-ish eBay stands like these?
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/404184697330?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=4twnh0izrjc&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=ZNHi00uiSaG&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Or this:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/404455789455?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=4qzieulkquu&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=ZNHi00uiSaG&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

The latter is somehow tempting me more, but I fear the two axle "buckles" as they call them is plastic, which I feel is a shame.

Any thoughts?

Anyone upgraded to through axle and getting ride of a set of Hope RS4 quick release adapters? both front and rear needed.

I just came on to see if anyone had experience with these too! I know what you mean about the plastic ends on the second one - the cheaper one might actually be more solid in use as it seems you need to adjust & clamp into place for different widths.

The other one I've been looking at is this from AliExpress - good reviews but £100-120

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In doubt I bought a VAR truing stand, similar to the Park Tool TS2.2, second hand... My point being that as I'm a beginner in wheel building (only 3 over the years) so I need good tools, right?

IMO you don't need the dial guages.

I have one of these. It's fine, seems to work well enough, but it isn't that rigid and the studs which the dial gauges ride on don't have any way of locking, so they sometimes unscrew themselves.

Finding it hard to see past these for £35 - seems decent enough & I don't need guages to tell me how bad they are! i'd love a big spangly one but it would be wasted on me

Edit Although if that one ^ maxes out at 130mm then it's a bit less of an option... the spangly aliexpress ones can be had without all the guages but it only saves £10 or so...

I could resurrect the one I built out of old clamp stands & assorted bits salvaged from an old teaching lab but it's a bit of an "installation" & I think I had to borrow a few bits off it...