Author Topic: Stidds Wheel Building Guide - New Guide, New Pictures (Read 2683 times)

stidds · « **on:** May 27, 2019, 07:50 PM »

I noticed that my previous wheel build guide lost its pictures due to then being on the horrid photobucket and me being absent from the site.

So I have put together a new guide and will host the pictures on rad so they should stay put.

Here goes.

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Before building a set of wheels you need the following:

Rims
Hubs
Spokes
Nipples
Screwdriver or nipple driver
Spoke key
Refreshments

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Now the most important thing to have is a comfortable, quiet location to build your wheels.

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I am going to build these wheels in the usual old school way of 36 hole with 3x (3 cross) lacing pattern.

Once you learn 36 hole 3x then it is very easy to lace 48 hole 4x etc, it is just the spoke lengths that you will have to calculate.

When you look at a rim you will see that the spoke holes are offset (not in a straight line), this is important to make sure that when you are lacing the rim you make sure that you keep the spokes on the correct side.

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First spoke is put in any hole from the outside.

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I put this spoke to right of the valve hole and keeping to the correct side of the rim holes.

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stidds · « **Reply #1 on:** May 27, 2019, 07:53 PM »

Now all you do is skip one hole on the hub and skip 3 clear holes on the rim (you use the 4th hole).

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Now just repeat that pattern for the rest of this side of the rim.

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When I screw the nipple on the spoke at this stage I don’t have any tension on the spoke at all, note how far the nipple is sticking out on the right side, I do the tension and truing later. If you follow this guide you will have very little truing to do anyway.

So that is the first part done, what I do now is twist the hub clockwise, so the spoke by the valve hole is pulling away from the valve hole not across it, if you twist the hub the other way (anti-clockwise) there will be hardly any room to access the inner tube valve when fitting the tyre.

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Now whilst still twisting the hub, flip the wheel over to the other side.

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stidds · « **Reply #2 on:** May 27, 2019, 08:18 PM »

Now what you need to do is find the hole in the hub that is 1 to the left of the spoke, the easiest way to do this is simply to look directly down toward the hub and you should be able to see the correct hole to use.

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Now insert the spokes in exactly the same manner as the previous steps (skip 2 holes on hub etc), you should have the spoke in the rim to the left of the spoke on the other side of the hub.

Again I have no tension on the spokes, they are all screwed on a couple of turns simply to hold everything in situ.

That is all the outer spokes done. Next onto the inner spokes

Now once again I flip the wheel and twist the hub clockwise so that the spokes are angling away from the valve hole not across it.

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Grab a spoke and this time you need to insert it from the underneath the hub so the head is on the inside of the hub and the threaded part is coming toward you.

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This spoke now goes the other way to the outer spokes and this is where we do our lacing pattern (3 cross). 3 x basically means it crosses three other spokes before getting to the rim, it goes over the first two spokes and under the third spoke (4x is over three spokes and under the 4th).

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Look at the above picture, the red circles are over the spokes and the blue circle is under the spoke.

stidds · « **Reply #3 on:** May 27, 2019, 08:30 PM »

Now just complete the rest of this side in the same way (over 2 and under 1), keep checking that the spokes stay on the correct side of the rim.

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That is it for this side of the wheel

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Now flip the wheel over and do exactly the same thing on the other side, keeping to the 3x lacing pattern.

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Once you have installed all the spokes in the rim that is it you have built the wheel, not too hard was it?

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So now onto getting the tension into the spokes, you can use a flat blade screwdriver or you can purchase a nipple driving tool, or do as I have done and make your own out of an old flat screwdriver, all you have to do is get an old screwdriver and grind off all but a small section in the middle which is wide enough to go into the hole in the nipple and it has about 1mm or 2mm (up to you how much) that protruding.

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The reason this is better than a flat blade screwdriver is that even though it is used the same way, the protrusion ensures that the same amount of tension is put on every spoke exactly the same for every spoke. This way you may find that once you have tightened all 36 spokes you may not have to true the wheel at all (or very little), if you find the spokes are not tight enough after using this tool, just go around with a spoke key on each spoke 1 turn to start, then ½ turn etc etc etc.

When it comes to a spoke key, you can buy the multi-size ones that do the job well, however I recommend purchasing a Spokey as the work so much better and hold the nipple all the way round which mean less chewing of the nipple, they are also much better if you are using alloy/anodised.

That is it, all there is to build a wheel.

My first wheel took me about 60 minutes to build, but now (after building hundreds, I can build a complete wheel in about 10 minutes).

It is a great skill to have and can save you lots of money, once you are proficient at building bmx wheels you can go onto road wheels, mountain bike wheels (you just need a dishing tool) and even to motorcycle wheels as the skill is transferrable.

I hope this has helped and given you confidence that you can build a wheel, when you do it gives you a massive buzz.

dancetothedrummersbeat · « **Reply #4 on:** May 28, 2019, 05:56 AM »

Thanks Sean. What a fantastic guide. Thanks for sharing your skills!

griff · « **Reply #5 on:** May 28, 2019, 09:28 AM »

Ace

gary4130 · « **Reply #6 on:** May 28, 2019, 10:20 PM »

Good to see you back Sean,nice tip for the screwdriver,will be modding one of mine now

Chilli Rinse · « **Reply #7 on:** July 01, 2019, 08:51 PM »

Thanks for taking the time put this guide together, your step by step and pics make it look a lot less scary than I thought. After being quoted £70 per wheel from a local wheel builder, I'm giving a x4 a go on my skinnies after a light rub down and polish. Asahi spokes on order from Alan's, wish me luck

Mikku · « **Reply #8 on:** July 01, 2019, 10:14 PM »

I must admit to being half curious, half wary of the black art of wheelbuilding but one day I'm going to pluck up the courage and have a go, so this kind of thread is invaluable. Thanks Stidds!!