The Wheel Building Book
The most detailed reference on wheelbuilding you'll ever get, all the information you'll ever need, and all in one place. First released in 1996 and has been continually updated ever since.
130 pages, size US Letter / A4
Illustrated with over 90 color photos and pin sharp CAD drawings.
Take a look at the contents (pdf)
Delivered as an instant download in PDF format.
30 day refund if not completely satisfied, simply contact me and I'll refund your money in full.
New for 2023
One of the most respected wheelbuilding books available has had a total refresh and now works in conjunction with a brand new spoke length calculator.
Current version of the book : June 2023
Current version of the calculator : See the latest changes.
Important : if you buy the book, keep checking this page again to make sure you are using the latest version. If a new version is released, logon and download a free copy.
Are you a first time builder?
Don't take the trial and error route by attempting to learn from information found in discussion groups and videos, you may eventually end up with a wheel but you will have learnt very little, and quite likely you will have been taught and shown things that are plain wrong. This is not a wise choice.
Or buy the book, and when you've finished reading you'll know as much as I do, and gained that knowledge in a fraction of the time it took me (you've got years of experience condensed into one book).
Don't buy any wheelbuilding tools just yet. You need to see exactly what I use.
The book will show you EVERYTHING.
- Detailed instructions for building great wheels!
- The tools you need with descriptions on how to make many of them yourself, including the now famous truing stand exactly like the one I use.
- Understand wheel geometry, design and theory
- Work out spoke lengths using the brand new spoke length calculator
Do you already build wheels?
If you've followed some simple step by step instructions, then it's time for you to move forward and really understand the details of wheelbuilding. You'll find plenty of information to make you think about your current methods and explore other ideas and techniques. And there's plenty of theory to back it all up. It's a book that you will keep reading.
Here's the deal
- Get a comprehensive guide to wheels and wheelbuilding - buy the book.
- If it doesn't meet your expectations get a refund!
Plus - get free updates whenever a new edition of this book is released.
I can't be any fairer than that.
The new spoke length calculator
The new calculator works together with the wheelbuilding book, both cross referencing each other. Get the book and you will have the most detailed wheelbuilding reference available AND the greatest spoke length calculator.
It calculates spoke lengths for:
- Normal wheels
- Straightpull hubs
- Paired hole hubs
- Triplet lacing (J bend and straightpull)
- Campagnolo G3 lacing (J bend and straightpull)
- Eccentric (clown wheels), including multiple cross lacing - per side!
- Paired spoke lacing
- Mismatched hubs and rims (for example 36 hole hub and a 32 hole rim, 32 hole hub and a 24 hole rim)
It also produces a detailed scale drawing of the wheel to assist you in lacing the more complex lacing patterns and understanding wheel geometry, and the calculator is packed full of useful features to assist wheelbuilders.
No other calculator comes close to the power of this calculator, and it's in continual development. If there are any features you'd like adding then please let me know.
The main issue with online calculators is that they are online, their presence is fragile and many situations can knock them offline temporarily or even forever. I want to eventually make this calculator available as a download so that you will always be able to work out spoke lengths.
Hi, I'm Roger Musson
If you ever see me build a wheel it looks simple and effortless but I'm following the exact procedure described in this book, it's just that the individual elements merge together into a flowing operation from start to finish, and it won't take long for you to achieve this standard. There's no art or artistic interpretation because your wheels will turn out the same as mine.
What I have done is show you everything I do regarding wheelbuilding and answered the questions I was asking when I started building wheels. I haven't kept back any secrets and after reading this book you'll know as much about wheels as I do.
There's no guesswork in anything I do, I deal only with the facts. I also listen to the feedback I get from purchasers of the book over the last 20+ years, so I know your areas of difficulty and answered them.
The information provided in this book is based on my wheelbuilding experiences gained over many years which started out building wheels for my own use, followed by owning a business that specialised in custom wheelbuilding. As well as customer wheels I've built wheels for professional race teams, I've run wheelbuilding courses and provided wheelbuilding demonstrations at numerous cycle shows. I also went to cycle race events to provide technical support (fixing wheels) for team riders and anyone else who needed it, so I've fixed plenty of broken and out of true wheels and I think I've seen most things that can happen to a wheel. I've accumulated a lot of information and I'd like to share it with you.
I have a theoretical and practical engineering background and I like to form my own opinion on what is good and what is bad. I evaluate all aspects of the building process and find the techniques that enable me to build wheels efficiently and to ensure those wheels perform reliably when used.
You'll also find plenty of discussions on theory and the technical aspects of wheels. Did you look at the contents of the book?
Thanks for reading
I hope you are soon calculating spoke lengths and riding on your own hand built wheels.
Building wheels might become your new hobby!
Roger
This book is only available from this website, it is not sold anywhere else.
