built my first wheel

Good for you! Building a wheel is on my to-do list. I can true a wheel, usually, fairly accurately. And years ago I started to build a wheel just to see if I could do it. I got it laced, but not tightened. And then I don't know what became of it. But I didn't finish it.

Still, I want to do it so that I can start having 'bombproof' wheels with whatever hub, brakes, etc., I happen to want.
 
Congratulations! Yes, it s a great feeling of accomplishment to build a wheel. It can save you some money and end up with just the wheel you want.
SB
 
I agree with SB... it's truely a great feeling of accomplishment when you build your own wheels! (^)

I taught myself how to do it a few years ago & it's saved me tons of money over the years. :)
 
Very nice work. Thanks for sharing.
Just curious, how long did that project take to complete? Start to finish?

Tom
 
welcome to the club. :)

i've been building wheels since i was a little kid. i remember my first one took me all day. now i can build one in about 45 minutes. gets easier the more you do it.
 




I ended up having a few issues trying to use my forks, and being careless burned a hole in it welding a mounting plate for the reaction arm to it. oops.
So, I'm using an extra set I had. they are narrower than my original forks, but fit the hub way better. They were blue so I painted them to match too. they are a different design as well, they do not bend at the bottom, instead the offset is added by the fork mount bracket welded in the front instead of under the fork. Hopefully they are strong enough. the brake feels great standing there. Too cold and snowy for any test.
 
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Wheel building is a great skill for any bicycle enthusiast, especially us motor guys!
It has saved me untold money over the years not having to pay a bike shop every time I spanged a BMX rim. Oddly enough, I have not needed to rebuild any motorbike wheels as yet, even with many tens of thousands of miles of motorized fun!
Guess I am easier on the motorbike since it really does not lend itself well to thrashing.
 
Well, here's the deal. I dont like this fork. It seems to flex a lot compared to my other one, and it makes me slightly uncomfortable trusting it. So, I'm going to need a new fork. I was thinking about a suspension fork anyways, so I guess its ok. Any recommendations on a suspension fork? I like the looks of a springer, but I don't really like the design of the affordable ones for use with a drum, so maybe a tube one is better. I know squat about suspension forks. I'll be reading... any advice is appreciated, and I'd like to keep it under $100 which should be very realistic. I use a 1-1/8 threaded steer tube.
 
All of my bikes are old and use a 1" diameter fork. There are adapters available so you can use an older type in your bike, but I know nothing about them. It would be easy to find a nice moped fork for well under a hundred. There is some variety in the length of the steering tube it will fit, so that is something to check. If the fork is a little long you can use a few shims to make up the difference. I've had real good luck with moped forks.
SB
 
So it's finally warmer out and I've spent some time getting everything set for riding season. What I have learned was an important lesson. First of all, both of my forks are a 1" threaded not 1-1/8. That was a silly assumption from looking up online specs rather than measure myself. Not having researched 1" headtubes, I missed an important lesson. The fork I swapped was a threaded 1" ISO. My bike was 1" threaded JIS. Whoops, there are tiny differences that amplify when put together. The wobble I felt was the bearings not seating properly due to the tiny differences. If I had ridden around like this I imagine some damage to me or the bike would have happened. I had no idea there were two types of 1" threaded headsets. Lesson Learned. I swapped the headset cups and bearings/races from the iso set and made them fit. My (steel) headtube had no trouble accepting the cups without deformation. My fork is solid as a rock. Time to finish the exhaust!
 
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