Current Projects chat and miscellany

haha... i'm building it in the nude :D

be careful not to mistake the adhesive for lubricant

^ lol

oh wait!... ouch!!!

haha... i'm building it in the nude :D

Is that what the tweezers are for?

Finito

so you were knocking that out until 3Am, gotta say thats some dedication, and what a result ! Looks great man. clear coat gave it a very clean look.

love that bike nuknow,good work

the mailman just delivered my ratty tommasini!!

If you realize how little postmen earn, you wonder that the frame was actually delivered...
Beautiful frame, pls don't repaint it.

Will be embarking on my first ever wheel build in the next few months. Got the first components - Planet-X track hubs. Half price in their sale at the min:

Oh, and some cheap bar tape. Thinking of DIY'ing some bull horns, but haven't decided yet :)

Much more reading to be done on wheel building. Is it difficult to do without a wheel building/truing stand?

So, spokes arrived and I started lacing last night. I was following a few different tutorials and laced one side first (leading and trailing), and started on the other. Now I'm having problems getting spokes attached to nipples, due to tension from the rest of the spokes.

I'm wondering if I should of stuck with sheldon, and laced the leading spokes on both sides first. Thinking I'll dismantle and start again tonight/tomorrow with a clearer head... Just hoping I haven't got the wrong length spokes!

i look forward to seeing you on the next bridges ride on this #

Take some time off when you are doing your wheels, It helps to get the spokes right.
One side, 15 min brake and the back again. Night time is not good. You are tired and just want to finnish the build.

I'm on a week off at the moment thankfully :)

^^ theres a YouTube video I like in three parts. It's a guy with big safety googles. I'll try and dig it out

I tend to do the leading spokes on each side first. Also remember to keep everything as loose as possible, so NO tension. Until everything is in place you literally only want the spokes and nips just screwed in - ie one or two turns.

Also +1 to taking your time.

EDIT: this set here -
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ku9ZsoaAqFM&feature=youtube_gdata_player"]YouTube
- How to build a bike wheel Part 2.2, 36 spoke[/ame]

I found the way he explains counting the holes etc really helpful.

If you realize how little postmen earn, you wonder that the frame was actually delivered...
Beautiful frame, pls don't repaint it.

hell no, one of the reasons i bought it was how the paint looks, i have enough pretty bikes :)
almost done building it, just need to source a 650c rim (preferably a mavic dark grey one if they exist)

I tend to do the leading spokes on each side first. Also remember to keep everything as loose as possible. Until everything is in place you literally only want the spokes and nips just screwed in.

Also +1 to taking your time.

I usually give every nipple 10 1/2 turns of the screw driver, and start by completing the leading spokes on both sides. I have no trouble threading the nipples using this method, and with all the nipples equally theaded. I can set about tensioning, without the need for too much truing. My last wheelset barely needed final truing at all. But the rims should take a lot of credit for that.

I'd unlace and start again. Its all a learning experiance.

Speaking of wheel builds.

I recieved my OEM carbon clinchers last night. Having gone over them with some digital calipers, and checking the ERD in several places, I'm very satisfied.

Looking to get some DT Swiss Aerolites, to lace them to the Tune hubs I have waiting. Just need to be sure of my rear driveside lengths before ordering. As I'm lacing 16 driveside spokes to 2/3's of the holes of my 24 holed rear rim. Which makes calculating spoke length tricky to say the least.

I'm lacing 16 driveside spokes to 2/3's of the holes of my 24 holed rear rim, which makes the whole lacing process tricky to say the least.

ftfy - good luck with it. i suppose you've laced wheels like that before?..

hell no, one of the reasons i bought it was how the paint looks, i have enough pretty bikes :)
almost done building it, just need to source a 650c rim (preferably a mavic dark grey one if they exist)

I have a 26" Mavic dark grey clincher rim for you for free (Open 4 CD or so). Used a couple of times on my lo pro. It's laced up with a Croce d'Aune front hub, but since I've removed the dust caps, grease and some balls, rode in rain and didn't maintain it, the bearings are bad.
Must check in the garage.

ftfy - good luck with it. i suppose you've laced wheels like that before?..

Campagnolo does that on daily basis (G3)

a little project from this morning. Diy front rack/box.

and the ribble minus its rear rack, fresh from lejog duty

^^ theres a YouTube video I like in three parts. It's a guy with big safety googles. I'll try and dig it out

I tend to do the leading spokes on each side first. Also remember to keep everything as loose as possible, so NO tension. Until everything is in place you literally only want the spokes and nips just screwed in - ie one or two turns.

Also +1 to taking your time.

EDIT: this set here -

Yeah, I've been watching that series of videos. They were very helpful :) I've been keeping the nipples as loose as I can. To be fair, I'm not really sure why I re-started. The other video I was watching seemed a bit clearer and had some handy (obvious) tips, like using a spare spoke to poke the nipple through without losing it (as it's a deep B43 rim). Obvious stuff, but not when you're trying to figure out what the hell you're doing!

Definitely starting again tonight. I've got the hang of the lacing pattern I think, so should be easy enough... (famous last words...) Will stick on some background music and crack on with it.

If you've got a wheel to copy it makes things easier and don't stop until you've got each side laced - running off for a cup of tea or a piddle in the middle of things can fuck things up royally ime.

Let an evening of counting and cursing commence....

the mailman just delivered my ratty tommasini!!

Ha ha Im so happy to see it, welcome to the Club. Does your have a "T" cut ot in the BB, mine does not but I have seen one!

you two lucky cnuts! :))

If you've got a wheel to copy it makes things easier and don't stop until you've got each side laced - running off for a cup of tea or a piddle in the middle of things can fuck things up royally ime.

Let an evening of counting and cursing commence....

I thought about that, half way through. Couldn't be bothered to go out to the garage though :)

So, I spent maybe 45 minutes dismantling yesterday's efforts and a few minutes skimming through Sheldon's guide again. Then I was off to the livingroom with some Cinematic Orchestra on the hi-fi to keep the mood calm.

I laced the trailing spokes and started on the leading spokes. Half way through I managed to lose a nipple. After a little shaking the rim to get it out, one of my spokes fell off. Then another... then another. It almost went belly up at that point, but I kept my calm, stopped shaking the rim (stupid idea) and went around screwing all the nipples on a bit more and re-attaching the spokes/nipples that had fallen out. With them fastened a little more securely I managed to get the remaining nipples out and continued on.

So, anyway... 3 hours and 2 CDs later here's what I have!

I've tightened all the nipples more or less equally. Considering it hasn't been trued, it runs pretty true! And, I'm still in a good mood :) Apologies for the essay, but just needed to share my first minor victory!

That doesn't look right in the very least, especially on the 2 o'clock position (and the 4 o'clock etc.).

I thought about that, half way through. Couldn't be bothered to go out to the garage though :)

So, I spent maybe 45 minutes dismantling yesterday's efforts and a few minutes skimming through Sheldon's guide again. Then I was off to the livingroom with some Cinematic Orchestra on the hi-fi to keep the mood calm.

I laced the trailing spokes and started on the leading spokes. Half way through I managed to lose a nipple. After a little shaking the rim to get it out, one of my spokes fell off. Then another... then another. It almost went belly up at that point, but I kept my calm, stopped shaking the rim (stupid idea) and went around screwing all the nipples on a bit more and re-attaching the spokes/nipples that had fallen out. With them fastened a little more securely I managed to get the remaining nipples out and continued on.

So, anyway... 3 hours and 2 CDs later here's what I have!

I've tightened all the nipples more or less equally. Considering it hasn't been trued, it runs pretty true! And, I'm still in a good mood :) Apologies for the essay, but just needed to share my first minor victory!

Nice one!
You'll find truing much much easier starting from a near tru wheel.

That doesn't look right in the very least, especially on the 2 o'clock position (and the 4 o'clock etc.).

I think two of the front spoke heads are overlaping with the rear ones, due to the angle of the pic. Making it look wrong. It would take a large difference in spoke length to make the mistake you think you can see (if I'm looking at the same thing).

ftfy - good luck with it. i suppose you've laced wheels like that before?..

Cheers,
and nope, first time doing a triplet pattern. I have given myself extra room to feck it up by going for internal nipples as well.

I going to take my time with this build. Since I've spent a really stupid amount of time planning it (uber bike nerdism).

I'm going for maximum lateral stiffness (good hub dimensions, deep section rims, and 36 of the 44 spokes laced heads in), maximum drive stiffness (16 tangental DS spokes), and minimum weight (1.3Kg the pair). The wheels might end up being aero too. Being 48mm deep and laced with bladed spokes, and hidden nipples. But I havent spent much thought on that part.

At the very least the UD carbon looks very bling bling ;)