Professional Guide to Wheelbuilding
Edition 7
Illustrated with over 90 photographs and CAD drawings.
| Chapter 1 : Introduction | 1 |
| Chapter 2 : Quick start guide | 3 |
| The quick start guide describes the essentials for building and provides an index into the book with links to the sections that require reading. | |
| 1. Select your wheel components | 3 |
| A previously used hub | 3 |
| A previously used rim | 3 |
| Previously used spokes | 4 |
| 2. Work out your spoke lengths | 4 |
| 3. Obtain some wheelbuilding tools | 4 |
| 4. Lace your wheel | 5 |
| 5. Complete your wheel | 5 |
| 6. Review what you've done | 5 |
| 7. Your next wheel | 5 |
| A note for new wheelbuilders | 5 |
| Chapter 3 : Components and features | 7 |
| Hubs | 8 |
| Hub countersunk holes | 8 |
| Hub flange thickness | 8 |
| Spoke hole diameter | 8 |
| Non standard spoke holes | 9 |
| Straight pull hubs | 9 |
| Previously used hubs | 10 |
| Rims | 10 |
| Rim sizing | 10 |
| Rim ERD | 11 |
| Rim spoke hole stagger | 12 |
| Angled spoke holes | 13 |
| How to check the rim stagger | 14 |
| Eyelet design | 14 |
| Nipple washers | 15 |
| Pinned rim joints | 15 |
| Welded rim joints | 15 |
| Rim compressive force | 16 |
| Rim centering and wheel dish | 16 |
| Tension differences in a dished wheel | 18 |
| Offset rims | 19 |
| Offset frames | 19 |
| Conventional offset frame | 19 |
| Fatbike offset frames | 20 |
| Building a wheel for an offset frame | 20 |
| Spokes | 21 |
| Plain gauge spokes | 22 |
| Double butted spokes | 22 |
| Triple butted spokes | 22 |
| Oversized spokes | 22 |
| Bladed spokes | 23 |
| Straight pull spokes | 23 |
| Spoke threads | 24 |
| 1.8mm spoke threads | 25 |
| Black spokes | 25 |
| Spoke nipples | 25 |
| Self locking nipples | 26 |
| Internal nipples | 26 |
| Interlacing of cross laced wheels | 27 |
| Inside and outside spokes | 27 |
| Pulling and pushing spokes | 28 |
| Where to place the pulling spokes | 29 |
| Disc brake road wheels | 34 |
| Chapter 4 : Wheel design | 35 |
| Strong and durable | 35 |
| Want to go faster? | 35 |
| Comfortable wheels | 36 |
| How many spokes | 36 |
| Using different gauge spokes either side | 37 |
| Modifying the spoke tension | 38 |
| How many crosses in a cross laced wheel? | 38 |
| How to check the cross pattern | 40 |
| Radial lacing | 40 |
| Alternative lacing patterns | 40 |
| Missing out hub and rim holes | 41 |
| Type of spokes to use | 41 |
| Chapter 5 : Tools | 43 |
| Spoke wrench | 43 |
| Wheel truing stand | 44 |
| Wheel dishing gauge | 45 |
| The nipple driver | 47 |
| Nipple holder | 48 |
| Leather gloves | 49 |
| Bladed spoke holder | 50 |
| Tensiometers | 50 |
| Chapter 6 : Spoke lengths | 51 |
| Measuring rims | 51 |
| Measuring the rim ERD | 52 |
| Measuring the erd in a built wheel | 53 |
| Rims with a large hole stagger | 53 |
| Measuring hubs | 53 |
| Hub measuring method | 54 |
| Spoke length calculators | 55 |
| Rounding the spoke lengths | 55 |
| Record your data | 56 |
| Spoke lengths for offset rims and offset frames | 57 |
| Offset rims | 57 |
| Offset frames | 58 |
| Fatbike wheels and offset frames | 58 |
| How nipple length affects spoke length | 59 |
| DT-Swiss nipples | 59 |
| Spoke lengths for DT 14 and 16mm nipples | 59 |
| Spoke lengths for other makes of long nipples | 59 |
| Spoke lengths for non standard nipples | 60 |
| Spoke lengths for a different rim | 61 |
| The spoke length formula | 61 |
| Test calculation | 62 |
| Straight pull spoke lengths | 63 |
| Flange diameter | 63 |
| Flange distance | 63 |
| Spoke offset | 63 |
| Chapter 7 : Lacing the wheel | 65 |
| Record your data | 65 |
| Hub and rim checks | 65 |
| Label your spokes | 65 |
| Oil your spokes and rim | 66 |
| Lace the wheel | 66 |
| How to lace 2 and 4 cross wheels | 77 |
| Lacing a radial wheel | 77 |
| Cross combinations on the same wheel | 78 |
| Option A, B and C lacing | 79 |
| How to lace option B | 79 |
| How to lace option C | 79 |
| Other lacing patterns | 79 |
| Spoke prep and adhesive | 79 |
| Loctite 222 | 80 |
| Chapter 8 : Completing the wheel | 81 |
| 1.Take up the slack | 81 |
| 2.Align the spokes | 83 |
| 3.Take up all of the slack | 83 |
| 4.Improve the lateral trueness | 84 |
| 5.Adjust the radial trueness | 85 |
| 6.Equalise the spoke tensions | 85 |
| 7.Check the wheel dish | 86 |
| 8.Final tensioning | 88 |
| i) Spoke twist | 88 |
| ii) Stressing the wheel (stress relieving the spokes) | 88 |
| Complete the final tensioning | 90 |
| Tensiometers | 91 |
| The wheel is finished | 91 |
| Wheelbuilding accuracy | 92 |
| How long should it take | 93 |
| Testing your wheel | 93 |
| Retensioning your wheel | 94 |
| Chapter 9 : Repairing wheels | 95 |
| Checking a wheel | 95 |
| Flat spots | 95 |
| Damaged spokes | 95 |
| Rim wear and damage | 96 |
| Truing a wheel | 97 |
| Nipples that will not turn freely | 99 |
| Spoke breakages | 100 |
| Replacing a broken spoke | 100 |
| Replacing all the spokes | 101 |
| Reusing spokes | 102 |
| Replacing the rim | 102 |
| Identical rim | 102 |
| Different rim | 103 |
| Replacing the hub | 104 |
| Truing a wheel built by someone else | 104 |
| Appendices | 107 |
| Wheelbuilding Checklist | 109 |
| Making your own truing stand | 111 |
| Spoke length formula proof | 119 |
| The straight pull spoke length formula | 121 |
| The geometry of a wheel | 123 |
| Geometry of a straight pull hub | 126 |
| Straight pull hub wheelbuild example | 129 |