I've always been interested in technical things. All of my bikes, forks, cars, etc. I disassemble them into their component parts to understand how they work. So I wanted to know how my carbon wheels are produced. While on my US road trip this spring, I visited Reynolds Cycling to get to know the secrets behind their carbon wheels. When I arrived at the headquarters, I was immediately and warmly welcomed by the whole team and fed locally baked Popcorn, mmm. Along each step of production, I had one person teaching me (with a lot of patience) the details on how to built my own wheelset. But when it came time to test the wheels, I did it my way. Moab Baby! Follow me as I get to go from carbon layers to a rim, to a complete wheelset and then on to riding them. - Julia Hofmann |
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Glad my expectations were low as this is not a composite engineering forum.
There is also no way those wheels are ready in a couple of hours. Resin takes time to cure, even in an autoclave.
I like watching forum posts where some dude buys wheel parts for 1000$ Or more and then uses his 3k frame with 1,5k fork as truing stands. I pride myself with building all my wheels myself. No... The question is whether there is any qualified wherl builder who would be proud of you.
It's the tension gauge that makes or breaks a build. equal tension makes a huge difference in every respect of how a wheelset feels & performs. & while I'm sure someone will chime in that their "pluck & listen" technique is calibrated, nothing beats repeatable, accurate measurements.
It is still true that a home mechanic will be satisfied with his efforts if he has created a round servicable wheel. He will gauge overall tension by feel. Its a fact.
This is false.
If the spoke angle relative to the hub axle (and therefore, the effective spoke length) is different from one side of the wheel to the other, as is most often the case, the average spoke tension on each side must be different. It is basic statics.
My first wheelset came out perfect and bullet proof. It doesn't care what I do to it. It holds tension and stays true.
More important is the lowest absolute value and the homogeneity (avoid having a low tension spoke between high ones).
And highest importance: stress relieved wheels will last longer than high tension ones. If you hear ping noises on the first pedal turns, it means you have a shitty wheel, no matter how high tension is.
iPhone auto spell
Keep keeping it real.
I like to lace mine at the kitchen table.
It is very hard job to live up to average Pinkbike users standards You have to be able to true wheels, repair a Reverb, service fork, fill the shock with nitrogen, do a wheelie, scrub like Brendog, send each jump on Crabapple bits, visit Whistler, Chilcotins, NZ, f*cking Nepal, spend at least 2 weeks in Morzine (BTW your bike must survive that and you are allowed only to fix punctures and oil your chain) pack the bike for a flight, build trails, weld a frame, and on top of that be an expert in bear attacks. List is long my friend...
Inside my heart is braking, my make up may be fading but my smile, still stays oooon!
In not expecting anyone to be marvellous immediately but there was the insinuation that a home mechanic can't build a safe wheel without tensiometers, truing jigs, dishing tools and so on.
While it is a more complex task than many, it is still one well within the capabilities of a home mechanic with a good eye and a bit of savy.
Not bellitling your efforts, if anything I'm encouraging more home mechanics to have a go and not be put off by the pseudo science.
... hey, Reynolds, I make a pretty good pizza... hire me?