Wheel rebuilding

[europa]

I've begun the process of converting the Europa to a fixed gear bike. One of the options is to lace a new rear hub into the rear wheel.

Now, I've replaced spokes before ... but never rebuilt one from scratch. It's one of those skills I'd like to learn one day and I'm sure there's a lot of satisfaction to offset the frustration but in the immediate future, this is a one off job.

Is it worth the hassle of learning to build a wheel for one job? Thoughts please.

And, of course, the worst part of getting 'good ideas' on a sunday is that you can't price them. Anyone know what a wheel builder would charge to build a wheel? (just labour).

And for a final lunacy, anythoughts on this wheel set on felbay?
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250056484583&ssPageName=ADME:B:WNARL:AU:12
I'm afraid I don't know the various wheels so don't know if these are good rims or what they are worth. The fact that they come with tyres and all I have to do is bung them on the old girl is a plus ... at a price.

Richard

[LuckyPierre]

If they're new, and straight, then I think that $250 a pair, including tyres is a good price.

[heavymetal]

I could probably build you a set like this quite cheap. Genuine steel rim with a triple lacing spoke pattern. Spokes can be grouped 3, 4 or 5. In this case we use 4 spokes in the triple pattern that you can see here.



These wheels are incredibly strong (built by tourers for racers) and aerodynamic. I'm actually using them on my latest bike. Let me know, we could probably build you a set for around $50 each plus freight. Fully guaranteed until first use.

[heavymetal]

If you are going to do it yourself, you may need a wheel truing stand. They are $175 on Dean Woods. http://www.deanwoods.com.au/store/prod383.htm

That one even comes with a complete manual. It does require extreme patience. It may be worth learning though as you can then true your own wheels.

Kev.

[wongaga]

It is actually not that hard. You need a good set of instructions, some quiet uninterrupted time and the right bits. I'm a bit of a mug and I've built a few sets that I have ridden many many km's on. I have a good set of instructions from an oldish bike book that I could scan and email if you are still interested.

You can happily do without a truing stand by using the brakes. With the wheel in the frame, you gradually narrow the brake pads (we're not talking disks here) onto the rim using the adjusters, and you can get a pretty accurate result. OK it might be a fraction of a mm off-centre compared with a fancy truing stand, but I have built and trued wheels this way for years with good results - better than the couple of LBS' I naively entrusted early in my riding years. Once you have built a wheel (even rebuilt a junky one just for the experience) you will be well able to easily maintain your wheels nice and true. Worth a go!

Cheers, Graeme