When Rebbie and I began to put together our plans for total bicycle domination, one element of that plan was service self-sufficiency. Over the past year, I’ve accumulated tools, built a solid workstand, spent a lot of time at the Park Tools website becoming familiar with procedures I haven’t done yet (and then doing them), and generally becoming a more proficient mechanic. Whatever we’ve spent on tools has easily paid for itself in tune-ups and repairs, and honestly I just really enjoy workin’ on bikes.
Until very recently, though, I hadn’t built or trued a wheel. It’s always something I’ve wanted to learn, but felt was beyond my skills. A couple months ago, I decided the time had come to enter the world of wheel building. I was doing some research and getting ready to drop some cash on tools, when a post on a forum steered me across the internet towards Roger Musson’s book, aptly titled Wheelbuilding. Roger is a professional wheelbuilder, and owns a shop called Wheelpro in the UK. Reviews and feedback seemed positive and enthusiastic, so I purchased it (as a PDF, which is both immediately gratifying and environmentally beneficial) and dove into Mr. Musson’s book.
It paid off immediately. The book has plans for the stand he uses (here’s a fine example that someone else built), instructions for how to make a nipple driver from a cheap flat-head screwdriver, and his “plans” for a wheel dishing gauge (made from cardboard, duct tape, and a pencil). The one thing I haven’t gotten to yet are the truing gauges. His are made from wood and small pieces of plastic. Mine thus far are made from my daughter’s Legos, they work splendidly. The total cost of all these tools ended up being less than $40 in cash, and maybe an extra weekend in time to construct them, but time’s worth investing and I believe that tools one builds are more valuable than tools one buys.
A few weeks ago, a friend of ours, who had been complaining that her old heavy mountain bike made it impossible to keep up with her husband on rides, brought her bike over to get tuned. I swapped out her wheels and knobbies for an extra pair I had laying around, lighter and sporting road slicks and told her to hold on to them and see if they improved things. Her wheels were lower end than mine, single-walled rims with Shimano Alivio hubs and galvanized steel spokes, but I figured they’d be perfect for practice. I disassembled them completely, cleaned everything up, Naval-Jellied the corrosion off the spokes, and repacked her hubs. Then life got busy and it had to be set aside.
Yesterday I got a chance to return to it. I’d trued a couple wheels by then to get a feel for how the tools were working, and to get some hands-on experience before taking on a total rebuild. With my wife and the kids downstairs watching the Princess Bride, I set about re-lacing the back wheel, tensioning the spokes, and bringing it back to a state of lateral and radial truth.
True Enough, My Friends!
The lacing and initial tensioning took a little over an hour and a half, and would’ve taken less time if I’d noticed that I’d alternated the pulling spokes in the wrong order. The truing took much longer, and I had to loosen all the spokes and start over a couple times. But even as a first-timer I could still pull it off, so long as I was willing to put the time into starting again. Screwing up and starting over with something like carpentry, by comparison, often involves sacrificing time and material to gain experience, with even surviving pieces carrying the irreparable mistakes. Being able to undo mistakes is sweet.
I found building the wheel intense in that it required fine focus, but also relaxing by virtue of its methodical, iterative nature. Bringing the wheel to the correct spoke tension, and seeing it become straighter and rounder, little by little, reminded me somewhat of seeing a black and white print come up in a tray of softly rocking developer.
And in the end, it came out beautifully. The wheel is strong, round and straight. I’m looking forward to taking on the front wheel, which should be easier since it has no dish. And then with that first pair built, I can turn my attention to building the wheels for our next longtail. DT Swiss straight gauge black spokes laced to XT disc hubs and Velocity Cliffhanger rims. Yummy. I don’t expect that I’ll be particularly fast or efficient, but I bet the time I spend building them will be enjoyable.
I agree with those who believe that life shouldn’t be about attaining goals or certificates or badges. Indeed, I’ve stated more than once that I don’t need no stinking badges. But at the same time, it is nice to hit a milestone from time to time, and this one’s a good one to reach. I’m sure over time, with patience and practice and repetition, I’ll gain skill and wisdom. I’ll look back and laugh at the fumbles, errors and ineptness of my early efforts. But this will always be the first wheel I built myself, and that makes it special.
