Wheelbuilding / Wheel Building / Wheel build help

He seems to think the above novatec hub can only be radially laced. But maybe he is just avoiding doing it x2 for whatever reason. Eg maybe they sell predominantly radial front wheels and he/they can't be arsed to change up

Building Wheels for: Winter training/ Audax / light-mid Touring (I'm 70kg)

Planning on:
32/36 Shimano 5800 hubs, Sapim race spokes 3x, Exal LX17 rims

Comes to approx £125, am I doing it right? Is 36h rear overkill? Anything better than LX17 for not much more money?

36h is indeed overkill, especially when you weigh a mere 70kg.

That wheelset will last you quite some time for sure.

It bugs me slightly that there'll be no strength bias to the the rear DS (with 32/32) but keeping it simple and balanced has its attraction, thanks for the advice.

I am about to build 2 wheels. 36holes. R + F. I am using Ambrosio Nemesis Tubular rims, Campagnolo Record 8 speed 1995 rear hub and C record front hub(low flange). Spoke pattern will be 3 cross.

I have used a calculator and I got for the Rear Hub spoke lengths:
Spoke Length Left: 299 mm
Spoke Length Right: 297.3 mm
Spoke hole: 2.4mm

Front Hub:
Spoke Length: 300mm
Spoke hole:2.3mm

I haven't bought the Spokes yet and I'm wondering what would be the optimum spoke length to buy?

I am also wondering what would be the ideal spokes to get, I am 75kgs and will be about 65-70 when peaking so I don't think I'm gonna be breaking too many spokes but I don't want to make a bulletproof wheelset made of paper.

I was looking at spokes and there is different types, thicknesses and nipple widths & metals and I am clueless on theses small things. I was reading about a famous mechanic who only used brass nipples.

advice on nipples, best spoke length, spoke type would be V helpful. I will be using these wheels an all year road training/racing. thanks.

Brass nips and Sapim Race or ACI double butted spokes are the obvious choice.

You could go for the lighter Laser spokes for the front although this is tester non-approved and arguably pointless – you'd be going for fewer spokes If you were weight-watching.

Thanks @mdcc_tester and @ugosantalucia. Wise decision to measure my own. Pre-measured resulted in all sorts of mishaps. All corrected now. Could get used to this wheel building shindig.

@Patfatenough
Not sure what you are thinking about when you refer to a spoke hole size. In my limited experience, it's not a key measurement for selecting spoke size.

General rule of thumb is to round down calculated spoke length to nearest size available.
Think you could probably use 299mm spokes for the front wheel and NDS rear. 297mm for the rear DS.

Spoke wise, get double butted spokes; ACI, sapim race or DT Swiss competition are all respected. At your weight you probably don't need a stronger spoke such as DT alpines or sapim strong. Hell, I don't at 100kg.

Nipples, get brass ones.
Rose bikes generally have good prices for DT swiss spokes

thanks lads, ye I was wondering what spoke hole length was myself, that's why I mentioned it TBH.

Right that's good information lads, sound. @fidbod So I don't need to get a couple more mm's in order to catch the nipple. That's what I was worrying about when it said 299 mm.

another question. Could I use 300mm for all the spokes F & R.

As in order a box of 300mm spokes and use them to build both wheels?

Could I use 300mm for all the spokes F & R.

No, bad idea. 300mm for the front, 298mm and 296mm for the rear. Always round down. I'd go for Sapim Race too. You could get away with Sapim Laser at the front, but they're a bit of a bugger to use, so unless you've built plenty of wheels I wouldn't bother.

Does anyone know how well hplus son's grey ano holds up against rim brakes? Do I take it that it does that ugly wearing off silver thing, with streaks and thick bits near the spokes?

Anodising isn't a deep coating, it's only about as deep as the microscopic surface texture of machined aluminium.

OK, thanks Emyr. Was hoping they might be like open pro ceramics, which I'm told didn't wear off quickly.

Anodising isn't a deep coating, it's only about as deep as the microscopic surface texture of machined aluminium.

Typical values:
Soft anodising 5-20µm
Hard anodising 25-50µm
'As machined' roughness (R_a) for milling or turning 1-10µm

There is an option for durable ceramic coated rims in these @Skülly

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/rigida-grizzly-700c-(622)-touring-rim-with-css-side-wall-black-prod18886/

I've not owned them but know a few people who have been super happy with them.

and another question. Is there a common known favorite in terms of Wheel truing stands?

there is no articles whatsoever on the matter, every one I think looks decent turns out to be as expensive as sin.

Is there a common known favorite in terms of Wheel truing stands?

I use the old version of this Minoura which I bought in a kit with their dishing tool. It's adequate for building your own wheels but you'd want something nicer if you were building all the time. You can build your own for less if you're moderately handy, plenty of examples, plans and instructions online.

The hard grey is a lot better than their regular black (one wet ride took care of that), but even though I keep my pads clean a couple of pieces of grit have, at different times, made nice silver circles in it.

"The ONLY recommended brake blocks are Swisstop C.S.S. Blue V-brake blocks."

Any of them using road brake pads?

You can cross a 291 2X, however, the spokes seem to last a bit less and fatigue quicker, possibly due to the awkward angle, as they are forced to bend to overlap very close to the J bend...

This is my experience, hope it helps

stainless steel will suffer from stress corrosion cracking, brought on by elytroyltic corrosion oddly enough. SS nipples are therefore a bad idea.

Grizzly 26W rims? The distributor is out of stock but they have many sputniks in 26"

That is very helpful mate. Much appreciated

stainless steel will suffer from stress corrosion cracking, brought on by elytroyltic corrosion oddly enough. SS nipples are therefore a bad idea.

Wouldn't the same be true of the spokes?

Actually most of them are on cantis or mini vs but Koolstop make some inserts for road.

It does not seem to affect the spokes though. Really this was a silly comment as if thos the nipple and spokes are the same grade of steel 18/8 inox then there would be no electroyic corroison so I take it back. I have no idea why stainless nipples are not used. I'll have to find out.