Wheel building. The Dark Art. Those who dare to broach it risk subjecting themselves to a madness from which there is no return.
Of course, I jest.
Barely.
I have shied away from this type of work for a very long time; Mostly on account of hearing horror stories of jobs gone wrong. Some things however, you just can't escape from.
If we go way back to February 2016, I had purchased a big pile of Matchless parts in the hopes of building 'Something'. In that lot, there were two wheels, a pre '55 single sided front and a full width post '55 rear. Knowing that this combination would look strange on a finished bike, I secured a full width front hub, a single side rear wheel (without ancillaries) and complete rear hub (sans rim and spokes).
I cleaned up my early style hub (for my early-style bike) purchased the spokes and a fresh rim.
I watched a number of videos online, read articles to understand how to do the job.
My first attempt looked good, however I was still out by a country mile. Spoke ends were sticking out much farther than they should have been; I took it apart again and again (and again). I couldn't honestly say how many times.
It should be noted that I had kept the assembled wheel for reference and had it sitting right next to me on the bench. Here are some helpful tips I can pass on.
-Never cut the spokes off if they can be disassembled. Extra spokes may come in handy at a later date for reference or even replacement should one break. This takes time and patience but is worth the effort. I was quite surprised by how well some of them cleaned up on the scotch brite wheel.
-Take pictures, videos, draw a diagram. Make sure to measure the offset.
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| These are the straight spokes from the full width hub |
My frustration was wearing on me and I decided to farm the work out to a professional. I found a local firm, gave them the old wheel, the newly cleaned up hub, new spokes and rim. The shop owner was friendly and the rates fair so I gave it the go ahead.
About a week later he called me with bad news. He was unable to build the wheel with the items provided. To his credit, he emailed various sources and did research beyond the normal scope; I don't think many customer walk in to have 60 plus year old wheels built.
The biggest issue was that the rear hub I provided for rebuild and the hub on the assembled wheel (so he could see the pattern) were two different sizes! While they looked identical, one was 3.1" wide and the other 4" inches wide. He thought that perhaps the hub from the assembled wheel could be used with the new spokes and rim but wasn't 100% sure. I paid the fee, took everything home and told him I would be in touch.
I took my pictures, took everything apart, cleaned up the hub and hand brushed it with POR15. That last step worked out exceptionally well. I was impressed by the thick, durable coat once the piece cured.
I decided to ditch the self-defeatist attitude and take this job on myself, before wasting any more money. It bothered me deeply that I couldn't build this wheel now that the mystery had been solved. I set myself up, used pictures for reference and started again.
I did this five more times, to the point where I actually developed a decent pace and rhythm. I started to see where all the spokes belonged, the pattern became obvious. When I did make an error, I caught it quickly and recovered.
Finally it happened. A completed rear wheel! A frustrating road with an exceptionally proud moment at the end of it. Tenacity and faith yielding just reward.
I mounted on the truing stand and it looked very good! There are a couple spots that need attention, for that the shop services will be engaged again.
Now on to the review of my newly acquired stand. I picked this up for $99.99 CDN plus tax (shipping was free) from Gnarly Parts in BC. Website
It wasn't the cheapest or the most expensive, however the reviews were very good (4 out of 5 stars) and seemed a bit more solid than the other options. (Amazon and Harbor Freight)
Assembly was extremely simple and quick, despite the lack of instructions in the box. As a matter of fact there wasn't any paperwork at all provided. My biggest complaint about this item is the manner in which it is packaged. The little level (an item lacking in the cheaper models) is plastic and was not wrapped separately. Mine was broken, as it had been bounced around with metal pieces with no protection.
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| Bugger! |
All in all I would certainly recommend the product. I honestly don't have much to measure against but for price and features, it seems to have the competition beaten.
Until next time.....
