Assembling wheels

[D'z Nutz]

Have any of you guys assembled your own wheels?

I've been watching videos and reading online and it seems easy enough to do, but my only concern is getting them trued. Not to mention I don't think I have the patience (and a truing stand) to get them dialed in perfectly. Is this something I could get "close enough" and then take to a shop where they can fine tune it with the proper tools or am I better off just letting them build it from scratch after I get all the parts?

Any suggested shops to do this?

[Penguin_Racecar]

I've never built a wheel, but own a truing stand for adjusting my wheels. I think you also need a way to measure spoke tension to be able to build a wheel to a high standard? I would imagine if you're trying to build something for a commuter bike that doesn't need to be perfect it makes sense to do ti yourself, but if you're building up $1500 wheels I would leave it to the pros.

I believe Bow charges $75 per wheel for a build. I'm not sure how much money you would save assembling the wheel and having them true it assuming all your spoke lacing was correct.
That said, you're welcome to borrow my truing stand if you want to give it a go.

As a sidenote - I think Cafe Roubaix in Cochrane might have wheel building classes?

[D'z Nutz]

Thanks for the offer PR. I may consider that.

It started off as looking for a cheap wheelset for the winter beater/commuter but I just couldn't find the right combo for a reasonable price. Then it occurred to me for a little more, I could just upgrade the wheels on my CX and use the stock ones as the spares. I enjoy riding that way more so I don't mind throwing a bit of money that way.

The wheel building class actually sounds like an interesting idea too.