Spokes Bending While Lacing

Hey guys,

I have read many many articles, watched many YouTube videos, studied rim patterns, and took many pictures of my wheel before I took it apart, but putting it back together has risen some questions.

Side Info: I checked the spoke lengths and angles and they are exactly the same as the spokes I removed and am replacing. Per the info I found online, I was told to lace the inner spokes on both sides first. I did that. When I was lacing the outer it seemed as though the spokes were pulling on the wheel a lot more than I expected. The second side of outer spokes pulled the wheel even more and now both sides of outer spokes are flexing pretty good. The wheel is from a 1973 Honda 350F. The spokes were purchased from eBay.

My thought process: If I tighten the spokes up when truing, the spokes will pull straight and relieve the flex. Is that safe to assume?

This is my first time lacing wheels.

I took some pictures of the spokes at the best angle I could to show the spokes flexing. I have read that sometimes spokes do this when they are laced into wheels. It is not excessive, but, as mentioned, I am new to this and want to be sure before I continue to truing. Thanks!

looks good carion
ideely they are straight it is pretty common what you have there

better remove the tape while you can

and make sure you are maintaining the same location of the rim in relation to the hub, as it has originally
in other words offset or centered whatevr

Agree. It is quite common that either there would seem to be not enough angle to the spokes' bend or hubs flange to allow the spoke to "aim" at its corresponding hole without "forcing" it a little. Commonly this makes re-lacing the wheel easier due to readily visible marks on the hub where the previous spokes pressed against it - thenew spokes should align with the same marks. There will still be a slight arc to the spokes after you finish truing the wheel. Looks like you have lubed the nipples - very important!

True the concentricity first, then the lateral run-out. And mind XB's advice on the offset - and the tape!

If this is a stock rim and hub, then something is wrong (I think). There are 2 spokes, ones that go from inside out and then outside in on the hub. There are 2 different spokes. They have different angles. The 90 degree spoke is the outside spoke.
Look up 'Oakys Garage Motorcycle wheel lacing' to learn more.

Thanks for all the replies. Yes interceptor, you are correct. The 90 degree spokes are laced on the outside and less than 90 are on the inside. I have actually watched that video a habsfull of times before and followed some of the advice. Unfortunately there were no indentations to use as reference.

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Is it laced to the right rim? I'm just throwing things at you now, because I am thinking of stuff that I have done before? I've done some stupid stuff

Yes. As mentioned. I used the exact same rim as I removed old spokes from. I measure and compared old spokes to new as well. There is flex in the spokes but they pull from both sides aligning the rim in the center.

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Caf'd Out said:

Yes. As mentioned. I used the exact same rim as I removed old spokes from. I measure and compared old spokes to new as well. There is flex in the spokes but they pull from both sides aligning the rim in the center.

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no not at all
it is easy to offset a rim even a 3/8+ " off set , only takes a few threads , so just lacing it up does not "keep it centered"
you need to actua;lly make sure it is correct by some method of measurement

FWIW, and I'm no expert (I've paid for all my wheels to be laced/trued), my XS650 wheels ended up with slight bends in the spokes like you have, and it was done by the recognized expert here in Toronto who did all the vintage racers' wheels (sadly he's moved to the East coast).

My spokes were custom made by Buchanan for my specific application, and they were done 6+ years ago. I've run it hard and fast since then with nary a 'ping' from either wheel.

Not ideal, but as mentioned, not the least common thing in the world either.

I read some stuff about offset AFTER I pulled my wheel apart. Rookie mistake. Luckily my brother has a bone stock 350f that I can use for a reference. Also, I found this link to a 400f build that used a method to align the rear wheel for the offset. http://www.dotheton.com/forum/index.php?topic=39976.0

Does anyone have any other ideas for setting the offset of the rear wheel, know if there is an offset, and how much it is?