Harris Cyclery wheelbuilding

Jay Beattie

On May 7, 10:07*am, Camilo <campasc...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> On May 6, 10:46 am, landotter <landot...@gmail.com> wrote:...
>
> > *if you need a very normal
> > combination of rim/spoke/hub--it's more economical and fun to just get
> > a wheelinabox and tune them using Sheldon Brown's instructions--takes
> > all of fifteen minutes, and they'll be as durable as something hand
> > built.
>
> Can you give a pointer to SB's instructions for tuning a new generic
> wheel? (aka wheelinabox). *I looked on his site and only saw very
> lengthy and detailed wheelbuilding instructions. *I have no idea which
> portion to concentrate on. *I'm curious because I recently purchased
> that type of wheel and am interested in giving it a once-over before
> riding. *I need "idiot's guide" type stuff that assumes no knowledge
> (although I understand hubs, rims, spokes, spoke wrenches, etc - I've
> never actually tuned a wheel)

Ditto what everyone else said. The usual problem with box wheels is
that the tension is too low and the wheels are not "stress relieved"
-- although some wheel building machines do that. The machine
manufacturers call it "stabilization."

http://www.hollandmechanics.com/200...stabilizer.html

You should find out what tension is recommended for the rim (from the
rim maker's web site) and then borrow a tensiometer from a neighbor to
check the tension. If you don't have a neighbor with a tensiometer
(time to move to a better 'hood), then you could try squeezing a good
set of tried-and-true wheels to get an idea of proper tension. You
could also just add a half turn of tension (that is usually safe with
box wheels) and see if that keeps things true. If not, consider
another half-turn. I don't like the Bicycle Wheel soft-taco approach
to determining tension because rims these days are too whimpy, and you
could get cracking at the spoke holes using that approach. -- Jay
Beattie.