I just laced up my first wheel

[stinkwheel]

Couldn't get a pre-built one with the hub I want and a half decent rim, I HATE asking bike shops to do anything because they always fucking argue then take ages to do it, if they do it at all*.

So. It's for the mother in Law who can't use the gears on her bike properly and bumps up and down kerbs. A Sturmey archer 3-speed hub with a super-tough, hybrid "700C" rim. 36 spokes. I ordered the stainless spokes off ebay having used this handy Online spoke length calculator to see how long they needed to be.

I followed the instructions on the Sheldon Brown website which handily shows how to make a standard, 3-cross, 36 spoke wheel.

Took me an hour to lace it up and get the initial tension on the wheel. My conclusion is, it's not all that hard. I did make a couple of mistakes where the spokes cross (I'd got distracted and was kind of doing it on autopilot) but they are obvious once you come to the initial tensioning because they are either much looser or tighter than the others.

If you've never done it before, my advice is to give yourself about an hour and a half where you won't be interrupted for your first attempt. I reckon I could lace up my next one from memory in half that time now i know what's supposed to be going on.

I still need to true, dish and tension-relieve it but I've done that before. By eyeball, it's straighter than some of the wheels I've ridden on as it stands. This will all change when I tension it fully but I'm chuffed with the result so far.

I don't have a trueing stand but you can do the same job with the frame upside down and the wheel in the dropouts using a steel ruler and a bit of fencing wire cable tied to the wheelstays to give you a datum.

https://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f216/stinkwheel/Image012-2.jpg
https://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f216/stinkwheel/Image013-1.jpg

*I've ordered a bespoke wheel three times now. The first time I waited three months and it still hadn't been done, the second time it took two weeks despite them having all the parts in stock, the third time I got argued with so much I just walked out of the shop in the end. So one wheel out of three attempts.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[el_oso]

looks twisted
I haven't built a wheel for ages. It's extremely satisfying when you get a properly dished and true wheel with the initial tension.
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Duke 390
Previous: '05 XR125L | '96 XJ600S Diversion |'05 Suzuki GSXR1000 | '05 Honda CBR125-R | '97 YZF 600R Thundercat | '11 Honda CBR250
Car: Jeep Wrangler 4.0L

[UnknownStuntm...]

It's cool when you get the bugger to spin the first time!

I must say, I'm surprised at you for not having done this before.

I'd have thought you'd have had to lace one in the pissing rain one night at the side of the road using the guts of a sheep you'd just accidentally hit and killed while tonking flat out on a deserted country road being chased by the police after smashing up a bar because they put the water IN your scotch.

[furry-ninja]

Nice!

I think my first one took me a fair bit longer than an hour, with a fair amount of profanity.

Much quicker when I swapped a hub recently but only at the end did I realise I'd put the valve in the small spoke gap. Still can't be arsed undoing 32 spokes just to move the rim around one step.

[JonB]

Well done. Although factory wheels tend to be more robust than handbuilts these days you still can't beat a well built wheel. I'm tempted at some Mavic Open Pros laced to some Ultegra hubs. Really not very expensive either.
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Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it?s worth.

[el_oso]

[AndyB1989]

not all bike shops are bad we charge 35p a spoke for silver 60p a spoke for black £15 labour and will build almost any wheel you like

from bmw wheels with multi coloured spokes to chris king hubbed 29er wheels with a stop off at road wheels on the way.

upon occasion we have even offered a wheel build while you wait service if we had the required parts in stock.

3 months is a horrendously long time to wait for a bike to be fixed.