Wheelbuilding Part. 1: Lacing

Building wheels is probably the most technically difficult part of building this bike. Did I really have to build my own wheels? Definitely not. You can purchase excellent pre-built wheel sets. Many people will say that hand-built wheels are stronger and more durable, which is probably true. But mostly, I’m stubborn and I like knowing how things are put together.

Building bike wheels is in art. There are entire books written on the subject. I checked out this one from my local library, which is known to be a classic:

It’s extremely physics-heavy. It goes into excruciating detail about what makes a bicycle wheel strong, and how to prevent wheel failure. I skimmed the nitty-gritty details and skipped to the practical bit about how to actually build the wheel.

What’s fascinating to me about the bicycle wheel is that the basic design hasn’t really changed in decades. Most wheels are constructed using a “3-cross” spoke pattern. In the last 30 years or so, people have tried to innovate on different spoke lacing patterns. Pretty much all of them compromise some amount of strength in favor of aerodynamics or aesthetics. The standard “3-cross” pattern has maintained standing as the best, most reliable way to build a wheel. The number of spokes varies based on the size of the wheel and the weight of the rider/cargo, but the pattern stays the same.

I am (obviously) a big fan of good ol' reliable technology. So, I’ll be using the classic “3-cross” pattern. Since I’m building a touring bike, the wheels will be a bit “overbuilt” for my weight, which allows me to carry extra cargo when needed. My bike frame is set up for 26-inch diameter wheels. Most wheels of that size have 28 spokes, but I’m bumping that up to 36 for some extra strength and durability.

To build a wheel you need four basic components: a rim, a hub, spokes, and spoke nipples. My local bike shop recommended the Alex Adventurer 2 rims. They ordered me a set of 26-inch rims with 36 spoke holes on each, and helped me select a good quality hub for the rear wheel. For the front wheel, they convinced me to buy a dynamo hub, which is a super cool hub with magnets that generate electricity as you ride. Their most common use is to power lights that are mounted to the bike, but you can also use it to charge any electronic device. I figured this will guarantee that my lights are always on, and the ability to charge other electronic devices will probably come in handy on a long tour.

Selecting spokes is more complicated than you would think. They have to be the correct length (within a millimeter) in order for the wheel to tension correctly. The math behind this is incredibly complicated, but there are online tools that will do the calculation for you. My local bike shop took care of this for me. They also selected a set of brass spoke nipples that will anchor the spokes to the rim.

I’ll spare you the in-depth explanation of how the wheels get laced. If you’d like more detail, check out Sheldon Brown’s website, or the book I mentioned above. Please don’t build a wheel based on my rudimentary instructions. The basic concept works like this:

The first set of spokes runs along the inside of the hub, and attaches to every 4th hole in the rim.

Next, you flip the wheel over and do the same on the other side of the hub, using a spoke nipple to attach each spoke right next to one from the other side.

Once the first 2 sets of spokes are in, you give the hub a little twist. This will create the angle that defines the “3-cross” spoke pattern. (Yes, the direction that you twist it matters. See sources above.)

The third set of spokes runs along the outside of the hub. They angle in the opposite direction from the first 2 sets. They cross over top of 2 spokes, and “lace” underneath a third before connecting to the rim.

The fourth set gets laced up the same way as the third.

I tightened up all of the spoke nipples a bit, and now I have something that looks kinda like a wheel! Believe it or not, this was the easy part. Currently, the spokes are all loose and provide little to no strength.The next bit is bringing the spokes up to the correct tension, and then “truing” the wheel (making it round).

As you can see, my wheel is extremely un-round at this point. But that’s okay, it’s not supposed to be round yet.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/d62b79_119ad79ddd5142b89402060fb2500608/1080p/mp4/file.mp4