Submitted by permit on November 28, 2006 - 7:57am
I'm looking to build up a rear wheel to convert my SS which I recently converted from a 10S. I'm thinking about buying the less expensive Park truing stand and maybe a book or something. Have to admit to feeling slightly overwhelmed, as whenever I ask about it in bike shops I get these strange looks. Anybody remember how they got started building wheels?
A good friend taught me years back, at the time he owned a bike shop. I if you are in Vancouver, I would consider taking a morning out to show you how if you would do me the return favour of writing up a how to article.
I have always wanted to make a comprenesive how to section on this site (for ppl such as yourself) but I don't have the time to write.
Would you consider this?
I know the some of the tricks, such as how to do the spoke counts so that the valve stem lines up with the hub. As for the correct spoke lenghts for a specific wheel/hub combo I usually rely on Ed at Mighty to do the calculations.
I can be contacted by email
It is to my perpetual torment that I don't live in a place as kickass as B.C., or even Canada, or the Rockies, but instead in the flatlands of Illinois. Chicago, exactly. So, subtract your kind offer of tutelage from my existing geographical deficit, and be left with pity.
Actually, though bike shops around here talk shit about the guy, I'm a huge fan of Sheldon Brown, and he has written some excellent articles on wheel building at the Harris Cyclery site, so I feel quasi comfortable with the concepts you've mentioned. Please don't hold it against him that he says a good quality QR is fine for fixies and it can be torqued on more than most would think to. Nobody knows everything. I for one, don't know who is right, but I am going to play it safe with a nut.
But what would you consider to be the bare minimum in terms of equipment needed to begin building reliable wheels with a modicum of ease? I won't promise to write an article on my experience, but I think it is a great idea, and I pledge to do my best to attempt it if I get harrassed occasionally.