Wheel lacing tutorial

Lacing your own wheel can save you a lot of money over having it done in a bike shop and is a satisfying thing to be able to say, "I built my wheels". It also gives you a lot of latitude in components. At the moment I'm in the middle of lacing up a pair of 1950's Schwinn rims to Atom drum brake hubs using 11 gauge spokes. When I'm done I'll have heavy duty wheels that look good and cost me less than $50.00 for the pair. The spokes are for a Whizzer and were purchased on ebay for $45.00 for a pair of wheels including shipping. I had the rims from a donor and the Atom drums came from a rusty old moped, now cleaned up and looking almost like new.

Learning to lace a wheel was a daunting undertaking for me. I'm not at all good at visualizing how to do something from instructions, don't like puzzles and get lost in math. I also have a traumatic brain injury from being struck by lightning about twenty years ago. (Lightning entered my left ear and came out between my eyes, forehead and crown... ouch!) I have dyslexia now and am a lot slower learning new things. I tell you this not because I'm looking for sympathy, but to convince you that if someone like me can learn to lace a wheel, then so can you. No genius required, but patience and perseverance will win the day.

Even now after having laced a number of wheels I like to review in my mind or through a tutorial how to go about it. There are tutorials on U tube which is where I learned how to do my first wheel, but this morning I was looking at the newsletter from Atomic Zombie and noticed they had a link to a tutorial they've done on lacing a 36 hole wheel in a 3 cross pattern. I looked at it and it is a good one. You can either look at the pictures and read the text or click on a link for video and spoken dialogue with no extra chatter, attempts at humor or such. Right to the how to point of what to do. As a former teacher, I like that. Give it a look and see what you think.

http://www.atomiczombie.com/Tutorial - 3 Cross Wheel Lacing - Page 1.aspx

If you are using extra thick spokes in 11 or 10 gauge you may wish to skip tucking the spoke under the last cross as they do not want to bend. I notice on my Worksman wheel that there is no tucking under. So that's what I do on mine. If I'm using 12 gauge spokes then I do the tuck under as in this tutorial. Good information here on truing your wheel as well. Good luck! If you have a favorite tutorial, then share it! Same with building tips... pass them along.
SB

Hey Norm,
That's a good point about slowly relieving the pressure of the spokes when dismantling a wheel. There's a whole lot of tension in a tuned wheel. If all I'm saving is the hub then I use a cut off wheel on the rotary tool and cut them loose quickly. Also feels good to salvage what would otherwise end up in a landfill while saving money at the same time.
SB

I thought I'd post a picture or two of my primitive "truing stand" which works well enough for me. I don't have a shop or garage to work in, but I do have an old picnic table with a vice bolted to it. The bike is a 1950's girls Schwinn clamped into the vice. To check for wobble (side to side movement) I hold a screwdriver or my finger on the chain stay to see where I need to adjust the spokes to true the wheel. I use the same screwdriver I'm using to tighten the nipples.

Even if you have a commercial truing stand your most essential tools are taking your time and making small adjustments as you go. Be patient. I'm satisfied with less than perfect as I have no desire to set speed records, just want to have a comfortable, safe ride. Close is good.

The wheel pictured is a heavy duty roadmaster laced into a Honda 55 trail bike hub salvaged and cleaned up. Spokes are 9 5/8" 11 gauge from Husky Bicycle. About $25.00 with shipping for 50 spokes and nipples. This wheel is to replace a Worksman on my 1951 Panther build "American Flyer" which is very heavy with a canoe sidecar, bear riding it and dog as passenger... a lot to bring to a stop. I'm counting on this wheel to do the trick.

I do want to encourage you to consider building your own wheels if you have the desire to do so. You don't need great equipment or much money and you can still get great results. Having sound wheels with good brakes along with a strong frame makes for a good foundation for your build. Stay safe and have fun.
SB

Oops, I see that I said the spokes were from Huffy Bicycle... not likely! They are from Husky Bicycle. I just edited the correction.