How to get into wheelbuilding

[danielG169]

Hey, all

I'd like to get into wheel building. I was wondering if anyone here has any experience with it and what tools I would possibly need

I already have a nipple tool and nipple wrench (I think they cover all types of spoke nipples together)
I also have a spoke tension checker, but it's one of those really simple ones, not very precise

I was thinking that I'd at least need a truing stand, but would it be better to also get a good tensiometer or dish checking tool?

[Tijoe]

Back in the early 70s, I built my first wheel.  For my first few builds, lacing went OK, but tensioning, and getting the wheel round didn't go to well.   
Then I purchased a book written by Jobst Brandt on Wheel building.   It gave me my foundation on wheel building: lacing, spoke tension, truing, and getting the wheel round.

For my wheel builds these days, I have the following:

- Numerous and different spoke wrenches for various nipples.
- Park Tool Nd-1 Nipple Driver,  another brand offset nipple driver and a straight blade nipple screw driver.
- A couple of dish checking tools.  (My Park stand has this capability, so I seldom use these anymore.)
- Different types of spoke prep
- Wheelsmith Tensiometer.
- Park truing stand with dial indicators.
-  I use online spoke length calculators.

* the equivalent of all of tools needed to build wheels can be purchased on Aliexpress.

[danielG169]

I also heard a lot about this book, it's like the Bible of wheel building hahaha.

I am thinking for now I might wait a bit and then get a really cheap truing stand, if I see that I like it or would like to start a business selling handmade wheels, I'll invest some more.

[gribs]

If you just want to give it a go then a bike frame with cable ties works perfectly well. Swapping a hub or rim and keeping the rest of the components on a first go also helps.

[bremerradkurier]

If you can count to four, you can build wheels.

[ZacItaly15]

start with a worn wheel and disassembly.
then, try to relace and true

I always use other wheels to copy the lacing but I did a lot of mistakes in my experience, thanks to them now I can rely on my build

A nipple wrench is everything you need to start. Forget the truing stand (I don't have one...) or other fancy tools.

[jannmayer]

I'm a big fan of Roger Musson's wheel building book:
https://www.wheelpro.co.uk/wheelbuilding/book.php


It's a bit less theoretical and more practical than the Jobst Brandt book. He also shows how to build a basic truing stand and dish gauge. I've built a couple wheels following his guide and it worked out well.

[carbonazza]

I'm a big fan of Roger Musson's wheel building book:
https://www.wheelpro.co.uk/wheelbuilding/book.php

I don't build as many wheels as before, but last week I've rebuilt a wheelset from my first and 10y old lightbicycle MTB rims to an e-gravel set.
I used Roger Musson's spoke calculator, and got a quick refresh from the pages about lacing and building. I'm a fan too!

[kwantani]

truing stand, dishing tool. Even better get a spoke cutter.
Use the online spoke calculator for the spoke length.
Start with something simple: lace a front wheel, 32 spokes, 3x or 2x as first project. Also lot's of patience and don't rush.

[frenzen]

Is wheelbuilding worth it in terms of trying to save money or building something custom when buying parts from China?

[Tijoe]

Is wheelbuilding worth it in terms of trying to save money or building something custom when buying parts from China?

Short answer, NO.  Long answer, YES

Short answer:  If you purchase the minimum tools required to build "one pair" of wheels, and count all of the time (time  = $) you spend properly building the wheels, you will find that it costs you more overall than purchasing prebuilt.

Long answer:
1.  If you enjoy projects and learning how to assembly/build things and overall enjoy things mechanical, then YES.
2.  I usually save between $50 and $150 per wheel I build, and the wheels are to the specifications I decide I want.  (This takes a fair amount of time to research the hubs you want to use - components weights, component durability, # spoke holes, lace pattern, types of spokes, nipples you require, rims...
3.  You have to build enough wheels to pay off your investment in the tools required to build wheels.
4.  Don't fool yourself into believing that you can start building a lot of "custom" wheels and make extra money.  There is a lot of global competition out there, and the economics really don't work that well.  But when you become proficient, you can build wheels for friends/family and help them save money.
4.  Don't think you can sell some of you wheels right away.  be 100% sure you wheel builds hold up before considering letting others use your wheels.  (Liability  concerns.  If a friend's wheel you build fails, it could come back to haunt you.)

[kazuviking]

I laced my first wheel with a cheap spoke wrench and one youtube video. Trued the wheel while it was in the fork with zipties that was cut for a set distance. Used DTs spoke calculator. My LBS only charges 15€ for building wheels BUT they don't lace internal nipples and straight pull hubs.

I jumped into wheel building with the bare minimum and worked out. Currently have a pair of cheap plastic truing things and spoke tension meter on route.