How To Build A Bicycle Wheel | Maintenance Monday
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- Äas pĆidĂĄn 25. 07. 2024
- Thanks to DT Swiss for inviting us to their factory. Ex pro cyclist Simon Richardson is tutored by Marcel Waldmann to learn exactly how to build a wheel.
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Simon is joined by Master Wheel Builder Marcel Waldmann - AKA Masters Downhill World Champion - at DT Swiss to learn how to build his first wheel.
Lace it, pretension it, dish it, destress it, true it and then tension it fully...
Step 1 - What you'll need
Spokes, nipples, hub and rim make a wheel, with Marcel explaining what you'll need for your build and the handy DT Swiss tool online to help you.
Step 2 - Lacing
Using the Schraner method, now Simon starts to lace the spokes from hub to rim. Drive side first!
Step 3 - Tensioning
Now laced, we move to the truing stand to tension the spokes. Firstly we pre-tension the wheel to make sure each spoke is threaded into the nipple by the same amount. Thankfully now with a drill, not by hand!
With spokes adjusted to true the wheel, next the spoke tension is checked.
Voila! A downhill wheel, shame Si doesn't have a DH bike...
Have you ever built a wheel? Let us know in the comments đ
If you'd like to contribute captions and video info in your language, here's the link đ gcn.eu/nI
Watch more on GCN...
How to true a wheel đč gcn.eu/1gbcKLi
Retro vs. modern wheels đč gcn.eu/1I1w4HF
Photos: © Bettiniphoto / www.bettiniphoto.net/ & ©Tim De Waele / www.tdwsport.com
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Leave us a comment below! - Sport
Do you build your own wheels or leave it to the master wheelbuilders like Marcel? Let us know here! đČ
I have build my own front wheel with dynamo hub for ultra endurance rides. Local bike shop said it was difficult, but I did it completely myself.
I build my own. Nothing else is as satisfying as riding your own wheels. And if something goes wrong with the wheel while riding, you know how to fix it!
Front wheels are usually easier, since most of the time they are laced radially. But it's mostly about keeping a level head and having some patience.
The way I used to build wheels was to find one that was already built, and copy it.
/ashamed
I had to do it. I have a vintage pinarello bike with a special hub. So I had to reuse it and only change the rim to fix my wheel...
After witnessing this level of precision I am beginning to question the quality of every wheel in my garage.
@10:23 Literally right when he said "you can hear the sound from the spokes" the music came on and you couldn't hear anything! thanks...
Gawd that was annoying! Wanted to hear the spokes and out of blue comes this annoying music.
I was lost on the second spoke, hahaha
building my own wheel is time consuming, uneconomical, mentally challenging, unnecessary, and difficult which is exactly why I want to do it.
Is it not really uneconimcal, most parts and rims are much cheaper and the tools required do not cost much. Mostly when the rim is burned out you can just reuse the hub.
:)
Bike shop wanted ÂŁ30 a wheel to do it, so I thought, "how hard can it be ?"
Wasn't that difficult.
I used the back wheel as a guide for the front, then the front as a guide for the back.
Must have done about 8 now as I swap out the dull spokes on my old roadies for stainless steel ones.
@@bincvanlaere6861 At least in DT Swiss's middle range (alloy) wheels, 350 hubs, bladed spokes the price difference is 10⏠at most.
I'm lacing my own wheel only because my rim and hub had to be ordered from two different shops, otherwise most online places build the wheel for "free" if you order all the wheel parts there.
old-school tradesmen type guys like Marcel are amazing to watch at what they do, I bet if they took away all that fancy tech he could still build up a brilliant set of wheels by feel and with the most simple tools. cool video.
All I got from this is to let someone who knows what they're doing build your wheels.
Agreed đ€Łđ€Łđ€Łđ€Ł
Definitely...I thought it shouldn't be that hard then I seen this video đ€đ€Ż
If I build a wheel for someone but they're going to buy the parts on their own and all, how much do you think is a humane compensation for building the wheel itself?
Right
@@julz19 i got charged 15 usd but varies from place to place
Now we all know why high end wheels cost so much. This guy is a true craftsman.
I was listening to you Simon but also the other wheel builder on his cordless drill his motor timing was spot on every time . Thanks for showing .
Haven't had a migraine in quite a while! This'll do it!
Wow I can really hear his Swiss accent!
I bet I'll now hear this guys voice in my head everytime I ride my DT Swiss XC wheels through rock gardens. "Maybe in the evening you can feel also... your arms."
AtDiT "We have a rule . . ." Of course you do. This is why I love the Swiss.
sorry guys but I think he's german
Swiss guy here, judging by his accent he is probably from the eastern part of switzerland *flies away*
Great video, I have been meaning to get 'round' to building a wheel and after many years I may give it a try! Awesome instructions by Marcel :)
Anyone attempting this should have this book. I build all my wheels and this book has been of untold value. Professional Guide to Wheel Building
By Roger Musson
@John because books are usually where the accumulated wisdom is recorded and stored.
Video may be instant but the written word has usually been properly considered in getting it onto paper. And if it's wrong it gets corrected. Books rock!
Literally everything you need to know, very little you don't need to know, very accessible and very easy to follow. Anyone who is vaguely technical can build a good wheel with his book.
I always thought how to videos were meant to inspire you to do it !
Still confusing
LOL I learned this in middle school
Look up Sheldon Brown's wheelbuilding page, this video is clearly not meant to teach you how to build a wheel, just to show the basic procedure.
well I just went to the page that you suggest and the written instruction in there are just bad as they mix info and the drawings are not good at all, perhaps a good video will be needed
This is over kill on building a wheel!
I think the pictures are wrong.
Thank you for this video. I too have wanted to build a wheel. Really appreciate this.
Mann So much time and labor goes just to this .
Wish this guy was working in the south burbs of Chicago. I'd be bringing over bmx wheels and hubs and asking him to build these for me, PLEASE. Awesome education.
That was a fascinating episode. Really enjoyed it, and learnt new stuff...always good đ
*IF* you have a DT Swiss Wheel give away, please don't let it be Si's wheels!
Hey! I just made a cup of tea, sat down and turned this on!
Building wheels is just so much fun, really adds another dimension to building up your own bike. Quite nice to just work on a wheel after a long day of work as well, just take time and go through the steps. It's highly addictive though, I now build all my own wheels + a lot for friends/family as well!
I have to agree. there is something meditative about doing your own bicycle maintenance
Kryghyzho dude I tried to build my wheel and got a oval shape
I have ebike that I built myself and it came with an assembled wheel and hub motor.. Due to a horrible sidewalk now im forced to build a wheel.. I'm an accomplished auto mechanic with over 30yrs xp points, and during this little venture I've realized no matter how smart you are there's ALWAYS more to learn... đ€Ż
Just built my first one yesterday - a tough job that requires a lot of time and thinking (=patience). To me it is not really an exact science: I was working with much less sophisticated tools, those in the video are pretty high tech and price range... This way I will have to get into an extensive testing period on the bike. But I know the logic now and what is required to do this. It is a great feeling to have built the wheel by myself against all odds and service staff advice (="buy a new wheel/bike"). I think every rider should try it on a cheaper construction bike to understand and get a feeling of it.
The rims I wanted were only available on their own. I sourced and put it all together myself, then had them trued at my LBS.
This vid just saved me about $100 on having my LBS replace my hub. You guys are da best.
I've taught myself how to build wheels, and I've built 3 pair now in my living room. I was greatly inspired by Jobst Brandt's book 'The Bicycle Wheel'
Yep, good book. One of the few that's on point with the science.
sometimes a classic how to book does the trick! :) I had a bicycle maintenance book that I was 'raised' on as a mechanic. I still have it in my workspace.
I literally built my front and rear wheels for the first time yesterday to replace worn out hubs. They are holding together well so far. Wish me luck on the trails tomorrow =S
One year later, how are they holding up!?
Two years later, how are they holding up?
Well... I feel we may start thinking to ask how it went on year 3... to his nearest kind... đ
If we havent heard from the guy this long then i reckon it didnt go too well đđ
Did you die?
Thanks, I have been saying it for years, building and truing wheels is both an art and a science. Talk about tying and soldering spokes.
1st tym i build my own WS almost perfect..i watch on CZcams 10xđđ
This is something we never think about and take for granted. I would've thought the job would be done by a machine, not a human.
Absolutely fascinating as I was thinking about building my own wheel. After watching this video, looks through off the peg options đ and starts another jam donut
I think it s a real job to built a wheel.
Next week, I'm going to start my first wheels on a vintage bike.
Good job to repair and built bikes.
I mastered the science of wheel building years ago. Considering the cost of a good bicycle, it's a valuable skill to have. Overhauling an engine by myself was more complicated and time consuming. The more complicated things get, the simpler they turn out to be. Lol.
wheely good video this
Well spoken
deldridg wheel spoken
Ouch!đ
So lucky, wish I had access to a pro like that!
A TRUE art form this.... ;)
Wow that was good, detailed, looks complicated but very impressive!
Enjoyed the process .
works like a charm, build my wheel in first try.... usually i need few tries. thx
I build my first pair of wheels about 3 years ago and they are still rideable. Now I have so many now I have some pairs of wheels I don't what to do with them, lol It is very addictive.
I recently built my own rear wheel with DT Swiss hub and asymmetric rim, but I just laced it, then took it to a bike shop to be trued.
Sheldon Brown has a great tutorial for this with color coded spoke diagrams for newbies.
I can't find it. Is it on CZcams or on Google?
@@chriswarr3676 Search for Sheldon Brown Wheel Building in Google. I tried to attach the link but it keeps getting removed.
@@kayg2125 thank you
Haven't heard AASHTA in ages, was very sad when the old man passed but it seems his legacy is still there.
I've built some real franken-freak wheels (to carry my clydesdale-plus carcass) using his guide, the craziest was a cross-4 equal length crow's foot cross wheelset in 36 hole.
It's all easy when you have all the tools and follow the instructions properly. I built a rear wheel for the 1st time and have done over 1000 miles and had no issues, but I think it's more to the fact that I invested in a park tool spoke tension tool at the cost of ÂŁ50 which I personally think it's a must have tool for wheel building.
Has been riding a bike for 27 years. You look like you're 21 years old mate!
Exactly my thoughts.
Really cool video I liked it so much thanks for taking the time to do this video
this is exactly the sort of thinking i am very very poor at. i learn by rote, then upon successfully doing something, i dissect the process and can understand it from the inside out, but this way of learning is super slow for me. common sense stuff takes me a long time to absorb. good on ya for a good build!
A marvelous video. Tremendous. Very helpful.
Great video, thanks a lot!!!
Yup that's all the instruction I need...heads to ebay to buy hub, rims and spokes.
It really is too. This video is great for giving someone with no experience a taste of the process, and those with lots, something to dissect and discuss.
But there's no real need to take a course. Choose your components, find a decent tutorial and sit down on a rainy day and start. My first set I had to relace a couple times before I got the spokes oriented right, but accept it takes some patience and a quiet, focused mindset. But that might be the hardest part.
Build them myselft using UBI method & Yes, I'm Swiss and use a DT Tensio
Thanks for the video. I didnât get what the compression bit was for though?
I've been wanting to learn wheel building for the longest time. I've built bikes from scratch from the bare frame up, including pressing in headset bearings. Wheel building is just about the only thing I haven't tried myself.
Give it a go on a cheap wheel. The first time I did it was because I was too broke to buy a new wheel, but I had two busted wheels from two different bikes, one with cracked rim, and one with busted axle. They had the same number of spokes, so I just zip tied the rims together and swapped over the spokes one by one. That doesn't even require learning the lacing pattern, so it's an easy start to wheel building.
Wow, that seems complex. I used Sheldon Brown's guide to wheel building, it seems much easier to follow; had i not, i might not have even attempted to build the wheel in the first place!
Turned out alright, too! did end up having to re-do my work a couple times but i'm an idiot.
Also i remember Raoul Luescher had some wisdom to spare re: spoke tension/wheel stiffness. Highly recommend looking that up.
I learned only in my late forties after a lifetime on bicycles and goofing around with them. I now make wheels for my adult children and occasionally for friends... although the saving is not what it was.
It is a bizarrely calming and meditative process, although frustrating at times.
And you get to make some silly wheels.....
Great Video. Thanks
Your voice over sounds like one who would explain how to rally race. A good tutoral voice orcer. I will say your laking the small details needed to understand. How you bringe that up to you. but I like it!
I build my own wheels. I'm planning to do a video on how I do it soon. I just need to edit together all the footage.
I tried this lacing method and it drove me nuts.
"Put the spoke in four holes over"
*shows picture with like three holes total in it*
4 holes was for the next set of spokes, thats what the guy says at that point in time.
I build my own but take 2-4 hours as I aim for .1mm but if got from any shop most be a good 3mm out and you can custom make them with parts you want
You can adjust spoke tensions by sound also.
Marcel looks grieved at 10:50đđ€žđ
I do everything with regards to mechanics on my bike........ except building wheels!! đ Man this is a full time job.
Meyrin/Switzerland? Yeah!
Thank you so much.
i would pay so much money for a wheel building course, thats something i really want to learn !
Depending on where you live...there's a great shop with an amazing wheel building in Northern VA that teaches wheel building and you can also go to NC to the Appalachian Bicycle Institute for a class. Both are amazing from what I hear. I'm sure there's plenty of other places to learn as well. Those are just two I know of in my region.
Just buy Roger Musson's "Professional Guide to Wheel Building" book and you can do it. Spend the rest on hubs and rims... :)
Sheldon brown's website has some reasonably decent wheelbuilding instructions. I would look for the stuff on spoke tension by ear as well, since he says some kind of dated things about spoke nipples rounding, and also recommends doing the non-drive side dry (which I disagree with), but as far as the lacing, and general process goes, it's quite good.
Another good book is "the bicycle wheel" by Jobst Brandt.
I've just watched a long haired teenager build a wheel in 15 minutes and you just made it look like you're building the space shuttle!! Not everyone is racing the Tour de France!
fascinating!
How to make wheel building easier:
1. use less parts
2. Fabricate most of the parts via homebrewn manufacturing, ie 3D printing and CNC?
3. Less spokes, stronger shock absorbers, but with mounts (connected to where the spokes would normally go) that allow them to absorb impacts across a larger part of the rimâs circumference, ie. 3 pneumatic/spring shock absorbers with 120° mounts.
Just learning how to lace a wheel saves me much when buying new set, I just have to get it to the bike shop for truing.
VAustin89 just buy truing stand and save more
Or make one, plenty of ideas of DIY stands online. I made the simplest one possible just last week: imgur.com/a/e4teG
Or just use an upside-down bike. I did my first half dozen wheels that way.
I couldn't afford to have have Mr. Waldmann build a wheel for me.
I learned to build wheels when I was 15. It was harder then. 36 spokes and softer less precision rims made truing a bigger challenge. The better rims have made thing so much easier. Now a days wheels come prebuilt more commonly and wheel building is not a very practiced skill as it was.
I just Laced my first wheel. And Yes I agree its very Therapautic, and a I imagine a lot like "Knitting ". Lol
Important question!!! How should I set the spoke path? When a spoke crosses another, should I make it cross from the inside or the outside? Or, should I just cross all the subsequent spokes ON the spokes that are already set?
You don't HAVE to interlace but the conventional approach is to interlace at the 3rd crossing for 3x.
Astral'o Pithecus You can build working wheels either way. I prefer to start by inserting the trailing spokes on both sides: these are the ones that run on the inside of the hub flange and âpullâ when you put the power down on the pedals. This way, the leading spokes will cross on the inside, and will bend inward with some heavy pedaling as the trailing spokes are pulled tight. If done the opposite way, thereâs a (minute) chance that looser spokes will catch on your mech cage when you pedal hard, as they bend outwards.
Wheely interesting!
Interesting video, nowadays I've seen robots building and truing bike wheels. That's remarkable...
Easy, thanks
Garmin Vector 3 Unboxing, First Ride and Review Please, GCN. ASAP!
When truing the rear wheel how do you accommodate the hub which the cassette sits on ?
I'm a do it yourself type guy and I built my wheels and they came out like they were done by a professional
Build all my wheels (exept my LW and Campy) since '83.
Wow! The most complicated way to lace spokes. Check out Jobst Brandt's book on the easy way to build a wheel. Seriously!
I got lost at step 1 but kept watching to try to learn something
I need to build up a trainer wheel and dt swiss hubs come at quite a premium for that haha
Hi GCN, love your videos. Have to say that this once is a bit too detailed to be interesting the the casual observer and not detailed enough to show the home mechanic how to build a wheel with ordinary tools and missing out important info on thread prep, selecting our components, truing without a stand, stress relieving without a flippin' hydraulic press... Just my opinion, as I said, big fan of your other stuff!
Wow he was building the whole wheel in the background in 2 mins
Is there a reference how much tension do u put for the left and the right ? For each brand ?
Yesterday, the nipple spoke on my wheel unscrewed and dislodged. So, I fixed it myself by removing the inner tube and screwing the nipple spoke back to its position. Many questions came to my mind. How can I know it is tightened enough? Is it evenly distributed the force? Can I do it myself without any additional equipments? Or Must I bring the wheel to the professional to fix it?
Thank you for your answers in advance.
Hey Si... really quite cool to see the process.. One quick question.. did the master allude to using tapping the spokes to determine the Art of the tune? ref from a animated movie of a Mom tuning her sons wheels.. IM sure you know this cinematic masterpiece..
After I spoke to a few wheel building masters, I tend to leaver it up to the pros. One day I may build my own wheel set but for now I enjoy rim doing it for me!
It seens they reinvent the wheel there.
1:48
Master Wheel builder: â"???Âż?? ????, ?¿¿¿??? 9'er ?????.""
Si: ""okay""
Guy: "Now it's for DT Swiss... we have a rule. Every time it's the DT Swiss [logo], it's on the valve hole."
Si: "Ah, OK! So your tire logo is lined up with your hub logo."
Seems like he understood exactly what he said.
Can you convert a 12/142mm thru-axle wheel into 135mm Quick release fairly simple? I want to get a couple of entry level DT Swiss wheels but they're all thru-axle and my bike has quick release.
I have seen conversion kits. But then there's the width difference.
This video makes wheel building look like a scary wizardy unachievable thing and itâs really not this complicated ...
Their aluminium DiCut wheels are incredible
Looks like sponsorship assembly room for team wheels.
Building wheels this way except with a dynamo hub, where the hub itself has a larger diameter, you would use the 2-skip method instead of 4 right?
Marcel was so soft spoken.
Doe this apply. to all different. many holes or just one