Building a custom wheelset

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greaser_monkey_87

New Member
Mar 30, 2014
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USA
I've been wanting better wheels for a long time now. Finally I got an opportunity to piece one together. A couple months ago, my wife's brother-in-law acquired an old dirt bike for scrap, and told me I could have whatever parts I wanted off of it. It turned out to be a Yamaha MX125. I took the front wheel and some other random parts. When I got the wheel home and tried to take it apart, a few of the spokes were rusted so bad they snapped. No biggie, as I was more interested in the hub anyway, a nice large drum which turned out to be 130mm. I decided that I wanted to put the hub in a 24" rim. So this past Friday, I finally ordered one. I went online and found a spoke length calculator, and determined that the spokes from a 26" coaster brake hub were the correct length to lace the hub into a 24" rim in a 4x pattern. The rim will be here tomorrow, and I happened to have a spare set of spokes from a 26" coaster rim. I won't be able to use it right away, because I have to wait until I can get a tire and tube for it. But that shouldn't take too long.

I also wanted to build a good, solid rear wheel. I'm currently running a 26" alloy coaster rim that I converted to freewheel. I really wanted a stronger wheel though, and since I still have this motorcycle wheel, I thought maybe I could use that. So I started looking at tires, and found out that an 18" motorcycle tire (that's the size wheel I have) is around 24" when inflated. I also found that there is a website that sells disc brake adapter brackets for bikes without disc mounts. So I decided that what I want to do is lace a disc hub into my motorcycle rim and use a Top Hat sprocket adapter. So I will be running a 130mm front drum and 140mm rear disc on a dual-pull lever. This should give me excellent stopping power. I've already prepped the drum by sanding the shoes and the drum and swabbing with alcohol, as the shoes were a bit glazed. I lightly sanded with 100 grit. The rear wheel may take a bit longer, as its going to be a bit pricey, the tire costing $20 and the disc hub, whatever that costs, then the top hat adapter, disc rotor and freewheel, also if I need custom spokes that will add to it. I will update with pictures as I get them done.
 

greaser_monkey_87

New Member
Mar 30, 2014
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I have to drill out the spoke holes on the 24" rim. It didn't say what size spokes would fit in the description, so I have to wait till my brother wakes up to borrow his drill. The rim was only $10 plus shipping, so I'm not complaining.
 

greaser_monkey_87

New Member
Mar 30, 2014
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USA
The spokes from the 26" coaster rim ended up being way too long, unfortunately. I am going to order the correct length from Holmes hobbies, and lace in a 3 cross pattern instead of 4. I will run the spoke length calculator again and determine the correct length.
 

greaser_monkey_87

New Member
Mar 30, 2014
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USA
Found a source for 11g spokes, 230mm (the correct length to lace this hub in a 3x pattern) for $40 shipped for the set. Can't order them till next Friday, though.
 

greaser_monkey_87

New Member
Mar 30, 2014
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USA
Lynn at custom motored bicycles, but I actually measured my rim (was going by the standard iso measurement, this rim is smaller than that) and I need 224mm, not 230mm, so I emailed her to see if she can get them that length, otherwise the only other option I know of is Holmes Hobbies, and the thickest they carry are 12ga, I'd rather have 11ga. So we'll see what happens.
 

greaser_monkey_87

New Member
Mar 30, 2014
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USA
Husky has 11ga x 225mm spokes for $14.95 for a pack of 50, so I'm gonna order those with my next paycheck. This check is going to other parts I need.
 

greaser_monkey_87

New Member
Mar 30, 2014
397
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USA
The rear disc setup was too cost prohibitive, so I decided to go for a moped hub instead. I worked out a deal with a friend to trade my 26" wheels for a leleu hub, and he is going to order it tomorrow and have it shipped to me. When I get both my new wheels built and installed, i'll ship him my 26" wheels or we'll work out an arrangement for pickup or drop-off. The hub is $63 shipped, so the way I see it, trading these wheels saved me that money and cut the cost of building the rear wheel in half. Now I just need spokes, a drive sprocket and a freewheel.
 

greaser_monkey_87

New Member
Mar 30, 2014
397
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USA
I just figured out the approximate total cost (to me) of all the parts I need to or have already purchased for this wheelset, and the total including tires, shipping, and the rest of the parts I'll need, comes to less than $150. I'd be stupid not to build these wheels for such a great price. These wheels are gonna be bulletproof.
 

greaser_monkey_87

New Member
Mar 30, 2014
397
0
0
USA
Due to cost and availability issues, I've decided to use a 24" bicycle rim for the rear wheel. I calculated the spoke length for the motorcycle rim and moped hub, and the length is 212mm. The only spokes I can find in that length are either too expensive, not the gauge I want (11), or come from china. Having recalculated spoke length for a 24" bicycle rim, the length is 230mm, and husky sells that length in the gauge I want. They also sell a 24x2.125 rim for $11.95. So I can get two sets of spokes and a rim for around $55 shipped, and that's what I'm going to do.
 

wret

Active Member
Feb 24, 2014
355
65
28
Maryland
I used the Husky 9-5/8" 11g spokes with moped hubs and 26" rims. They are just barely long enough and a _itch to thread the final ones.
 
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