Building wheels for first time.... help

Skully: Formula Hubs do take the same spokes front and back.

Arantrek: Commuting, is hardcore. There are craters in the roads, curbs, and taxis. Stronger rims over light rims for commuting or urban riding IMHO. Light rims for long distance or racing. But lets not go B43 heavy. Thats just crazy shit. 500ish grams is perfectly acceptable weight on the mean streets of london.

True, maybe I'm trying to justify the 390g rims I just bought...

Hmmm, I was set on deep Vs but now you got me thinking again!! I might be doing a ride from London to Berlin in April so a light rim may be a good idea, on the other hand the bike is mainly used for work and for knocking about town so I could take the little extra weight to have those nice deep rims!

Stradam, I think you'll be fine with deep-v's, I was just a little confused on their weight.

Mavic's do build up into very nice wheels as well and if you went for open pros, you'd be safe in the knowledge that they're very sturdy, but also build up into a slightly 'softer' wheel for any long distance that you might be doing.

If it were my choice, I'd go with the Open Pros in a 32 hole f+r with double butted on the front and plain gauge/single butted on the rear.

so says sk8r boi skully

eh?

Who woke you up?

And finally, it not all that hard to build wheels is it? And if I can't get them true enough, I can always take them to a shop to get them put right....right?

Cheers

The way I learnt was taking an old pair of wheels apart then putting them back together from scratch, took a while before I could rebuild them without any hop, working on an undished wheel is easier than dished.

http://www.yogarup.com/wheels/method.php

And weight doesn't always mean stronger. An Open Pro is light but due to design may well end up stronger than a cheaper rim than is 100g more.

I have some Ambrossio hubs laced 3x with 32 spokes to Mavic cxp33 rims. I weigh just under 80 Kgs, and consider them to be overbuilt if anything. They have proved themselves to be a great alround budget wheelset. I think this is more down to the stiffness/comfort balance more than weight. I've put a few metric tons on them and have ridden them up mountains. I dont really see the point in 32 spoke deep-V's. But then I dont hop up and down curbs ;)

The were pretty easy to build, and did'nt need an awful lots of truing. Its easy to make a simple lacing mistake on your first wheels, so have a step by step guide to hand, and be prepared to take some time on them. The best bit of advice I've ever read regarding wheel building, is to not worry about completing them in one sitting.

I have OCD issues, so this may not appeal to all.

I lace my wheels with 10 turns of each nipple first.
Check the lacing is correct.
Go round the wheel giving each nipple 2 turns, untill I feel the tension is almost there.
Go around the wheel flexing the spokes to make sure theres no wind-up etc.
Complete tensioning while truing.
Go around the wheel flexing the spokes to destress.
retrue if needed.
After a couple of days use its a good idea to give them a final truing.

Thats probably a long winded way of doing things, but I find it satisfying work so it doesnt bother me.

Bollocks. Just looked up the weight:

Cxp33 = 470g
Deep V = 500g

Thats 30g, which is shit all.

PLUS!
Mavic CXP 33 RRP: 49.99
Deep V RRP: £41-45 (depending on finish and machining).

So actually, there is no reason to pick the CXP 33 other than if you prefer the look or are that affected by the slightly smoother drillings then on Velocity Products.

The 700C Deep V is 520g (the 650 is 500g). Still, 50g is not so much considering the 3mm extra depth. IMHO there is no aero benefit to speak of if both are laced with 32 spokes though, and if you are concerned with pot holes and poor road surfaces, then a lower profile rim will flex better and give a smoother ride (for both rider and bike components).

Although if you compare a 32R 28F cxp33 wheelset, with a 28R 24F deepV. Then I'd go for the DeepV*

(*being a bit of a roadie here admittedly)

Although if you compare a 32R 28F cxp33 wheelset, with a 28R 24F deepV. Then I'd go for the DeepV*

(*being a bit of a roadie here admittedly)

I wouldn't go 28r 24f for a commuting wheelset though, that's just asking for trouble. Especially for someone who was a relative beginner at wheel building/truing.

Roadie factor taken into account though... I'm running 20 spokes on my front wheel of the roadie!

PLUS!
Mavic CXP 33 RRP: 49.99
Deep V RRP: £41-45 (depending on finish and machining).

So actually, there is no reason to pick the CXP 33 other than if you prefer the look or are that affected by the slightly smoother drillings then on Velocity Products.

who sells stuff for the rrp? cxp33 are got for £40-45

For an even more of a budget build has anyone built using rigida dp18s (around £20-22 per rim) and what are their experiences?

anyone know much about the Dodici Rims? - http://fixedgearbikes.blogspot.com/2009/03/new-dodici-40mm-deep-aero-rims.html - 700g they reckon! Too heavy?

Dodici I think are aimed at track racers - hence stiffness and high weight. I suppose that would also make them suitable for freestyle/polo

Depends what you're using it for...

generally used for riding around the massive pothole city that is london town.

i guess the main reason is i find them aesthetically pleasing. Same as everyone who gets any type of deep V's and rides on roads i guess......

Building wheels is great fun.. but I could never do it unless it was all I did. Don't try to multitask, focus...

The key to it is in the initial lacing up - it has been 25 or so years since I did it - I do remember tho that the first spoke to put through the rim and add a nipple to was the one next to the valve hole as this gives you a point of reference.

Once the initial "side" of the wheel is threaded for every other spoke, turn it over and twist the hub so the spokes angle away from the valve hole. Then thread the crossover spokes for the same side of the wheel...

..if the rims you are using have spoke holes that alternate left side right side left side right side that naturally you want spokes on the left flange to go to the left biased spoke hole and rights to right....

Dunno if that makes sense, I suspect not. So easy to demo, so difficult to describe.

Use a wheel jig and wheel dishing tool and a quality nipple key.

Check for roundness, trueness and dishing.

Make sure the threaded end of the spoke doesn't extend into the rim where it can puncture innertubes - tricky with deep V's I know. Finish the job off with rim tape (unless you're using tubs natch).

It's very satisfying.

Building wheels is for dudes with OCD. Fuck that shit. I'd rather rip out my own fingernails.

I wouldn't go 28r 24f for a commuting wheelset though, that's just asking for trouble. Especially for someone who was a relative beginner at wheel building/truing.

Roadie factor taken into account though... I'm running 20 spokes on my front wheel of the roadie!

Yeah, totally agree, that was'nt really directed at the OP.

For a commuting wheelset I'd recommend something like a Mavc open pro. They should build to a lighter, more forgiving wheel than deeper examples. The double eyeleting, makes them pretty solid too.

The 700C Deep V is 520g (the 650 is 500g). Still, 50g is not so much considering the 3mm extra depth.[...]

Yep, just wanted to add that rotational weight will count double: 50g difference will effectively be 100g difference in rotational weight. That said, I'd go for a heavier/stronger rim, let someone build my wheels who I'd trust and get a lighter tire.

You can always learn by watching the wheel builder and pick up a really cheap and beaten up wheel to practice. The first wheels I've done were 48 spokes 4x crossed... Fun times.

Roadie factor taken into account though... I'm running 20 spokes on my front wheel of the roadie!

20 on rear wheel for me. Yeah bwoi

Yep, just wanted to add that rotational weight will count double: 50g difference will effectively be 100g difference in rotational weight. That said, I'd go for a heavier/stronger rim, let someone build my wheels who I'd trust and get a lighter tire.

I think the OP wants to have a bash at it him/herself. Obviously a pro wheel builder would do a better job, but I think its worth giving it a try.

My fixie wheelset is pretty as you mentioned. Tough and stiff though probably not as light as they could be, with lightweight inners and tyres. Works well, but then I ride these mainly on out-of-town roads, with little sharp crap on them. My current commuting wheels are 36 spoked with tyres weighing over 900g each :(

If you want your cake and eat it. There are some Niobidium rims on the market under various brands. Which have 30mm profiles, yet weight only 455g.

http://www.halorims.com/Halo/products-details.php?id=RMHAM716

They also come in 390g low profile, and ~420g 27mm profile versions.

regarding the not so often mentioned, but asked for (somewhere in there ^) rigida dp18.

i build them up on my set of commuter/streetrace/play 32h wheel set. i could feel an immediate increase in stiffness and acceleration response over my former wheellset with dam' similar (unkown make though) dimentioned rims but 24h.

i would recommend them for a first build wheelset as they are reasonably light, yet stiff and robust but best of all affordable. as a first build anytime! they are in some web shops from 22quid or so in black and silver with braking surface - without it and in colors from 30 up to 45 me thinks, from shop 14.

my vote, rigidas and you'll get some good wheels at a really competitive price. as for the spokes, it never hurts to go sapim double butted for some extra tension and stiffnes as a result. dt's are just to pricy these days for the same quality, anyway.

regarding the not so often mentioned, but asked for (somewhere in there ^) rigida dp18.

i build them up on my set of commuter/streetrace/play 32h wheel set. i could feel an immediate increase in stiffness and acceleration response over my former wheellset with dam' similar (unkown make though) dimentioned rims but 24h.

i would recommend them for a first build wheelset as they are reasonably light, yet stiff and robust but best of all affordable. as a first build anytime! they are in some web shops from 22quid or so in black and silver with braking surface - without it and in colors from 30 up to 45 me thinks, from shop 14.

my vote, rigidas and you'll get some good wheels at a really competitive price. as for the spokes, it never hurts to go sapim double butted for some extra tension and stiffnes as a result. dt's are just to pricy these days for the same quality, anyway.

cheers for this