Where is the best place to buy spokes??? And feel free to throw in any other words of wisdom I might need as I get ready to build up my first wheelset.
I am using the tutorial and spoke size guide from Sheldon…
get some dt’s from the lbs.
-j
DT’s are really nice,
your local bike shop can probably hook you up, I know the one here keeps plenty of just about every necessary size in stock.
If all else fails go to http://www.excelsports.com
They"re good when you need an odd size but don’t want to buy whole box.
Peter White has a good article on DT vs Wheelsmith spokes. Apparently DT increased the length of the elbow which makes it harder to lace and some other kwakkery. Anyways, Peter White switched to Wheelsmith over this.
http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/DTspokes.htm http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/spokes.aspI used Wheelsmith double-butted which I got at jensonusa. That site also has anodized brass spoke nipples. Keep in mind you will NOT save money by building the wheels yourself, but you will learn a lot.
This became obvious once i realized that i was going to need 64 spokes/nipples at $1 each… I might not come out ahead of having someone else build them, but I am building rims and Hubs I already have, so It wont cost me a ton. I did have to buy a truing stand and Dish tool, but I should be able to get them built for just over $100
Thanks for all the input!
Any other Spoke Calculator suggestions?
cambriabike is the cheapest I’ve found. I’m all for supporting your local shop but if you can get things at a significantly lower price, do so. My shop charges $1.50 for black double butted spokes (not sure with or without nipples though) but I found it at Cam for $.85 each (and $.10 per nipple) so it’s $1.50 vs $.95. It adds up big time when you have 72 spokes to order. Just make sure you calculate your spoke length properly (use multiple online spoke calcs to ensure your getting it right)
This became obvious once i realized that i was going to need 64 spokes/nipples at $1 each… I might not come out ahead of having someone else build them, but I am building rims and Hubs I already have, so It wont cost me a ton. I did have to buy a truing stand and Dish tool, but I should be able to get them built for just over $100
Thanks for all the input!
Any other Spoke Calculator suggestions?[/quote]
Even double butted should be a bit cheaper, simple straight 2mm should be a LOT cheaper.
LINKS???
[quote=“Quinn8it”]
Any other Spoke Calculator suggestions?[/quote]
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html#length[quote=“carail”]
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html#length[/quote]OTHERS???
The wheelpro one is mostly for Hope tech. Hubs… And Halems does not have the Velocity Escape rims on the list…
http://www.bikeschool.com/spokes/
http://www.wheelpro.co.uk/spokecalc/
http://www.geocities.com/d_halem/wheel/wheel.html
You only need five spokes, and those should be made of plastic…
[quote=“Quinn8it”][quote=“carail”]
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html#length[/quote]OTHERS???
The wheelpro one is mostly for Hope tech. Hubs… And Halems does not have the Velocity Escape rims on the list…[/quote]
I like Damon Rinard’s Spocalc program: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/rinard/spocalc.htm
Though it doesn’t have Velocity Escapes in it (my version anyhow), from the Velocity site, the ERD of Escpaes (700c) is 602.
And I know that you probably don’t want to spend any more money but I’ve found the Park Tensionmeter (TM-1) to be an invaluable tool for me building wheels (I’ve only built a couple of sets). Thoroughly recommend it!!!
So this is what I have so far…
Velocity Escape Tubulars 32H (they are on the current spoke chart from Sheldon)
Ultegra Front Hub #HB6500 http://www.performancebike.com/shop/Pro … earch=true
Ultegra Rear Hub "600"Circa 1998 (I believe it came with an 8 speed cassette)
Looks like I need:
Front Wheel =(271.4) so [color=#FF0000]32x272mm[/color]
Rear Wheel = left(294.4) right(292.8) so[color=#FF0000] 16x295mm & 16x293mm[/color]
Am I screwing this up somewhere? Thanks for all the help guys!
[quote=“DDYTDY”]If all else fails go to http://www.excelsports.com
They"re good when you need an odd size but don’t want to buy whole box.[/quote]
Thank you sir for saving me a bunch of cash!
don’t get straight gauge spokes.