Sandblasting question.
- Thread starter SouthPaw
- Start date
dont be a pussy. relacing is a breeze once youve done it once. take pictures of the wheel (about a million is good) as reference, then get some coffee and have at it.
ive done around 12 or 13 relaces on bicycle wheels (which are way more difficult; have to cross spokes at certain places) over the past year.
about 20 spoke replacements (1-4 spokes broken) and id say 50 wheel trues, including my own.
once you get it down, you really enjoy it. truing takes time to learn well; have someone do it for you, or practice on a bicycle wheel (which is way more delicate to tension; a 1/4 turn can throw it out of whack sometimes). you need a good truing stand to do it right though.
ive done around 12 or 13 relaces on bicycle wheels (which are way more difficult; have to cross spokes at certain places) over the past year.
about 20 spoke replacements (1-4 spokes broken) and id say 50 wheel trues, including my own.
once you get it down, you really enjoy it. truing takes time to learn well; have someone do it for you, or practice on a bicycle wheel (which is way more delicate to tension; a 1/4 turn can throw it out of whack sometimes). you need a good truing stand to do it right though.
DesmoDog
Been Around the Block
Bicycle wheels are more difficult because you have to cross the spokes at certain places? Hmm... that was never my experience. I always thought that if anything bicycle wheels are easier because of how easy it is to move the thinner/longer spokes around while lacing the rim but to each his own I guess.
There are different ways of lacing a rim and everyone has their own favorite. Some guys do it spoke by spoke, others load the hub completely and then drop the rim over it all and start feeding the spokes in. That's how I learned to do it decades ago in my days as a bicycle mechanic. I think the record in our shop was something like 3-4 minutes from bare parts to laced up. Not me but if it took longer than ten minutes I'd be surprised. Motorcycle wheels take longer. Well they take me longer anyway.
The bonus of lacing a used hub is you can look at the wear patterns on the hub to figure out where the spokes go. The things to look out for on a motorcycle wheel are the spokes will have two different ends on them, one with a more extreme bend than the other. Those get fed from the inner side of the hub.
So anyway... seperate the spokes into inners and outers. Load the entire hub and set it on the bench. Now pull all the spokes in the right directions at more of an angle than they will end up at so you can set the rim down over it all.
Now you have to figure out how to position the rim. The holes in the rim will be at an angle which will give you the clue on where it needs to sit. Another thing to look for is the valve stem will sit where the spokes are open, not in an place where they are crossed over each other.
So once you have the spokes in the right orientation and the rim laid down over the whole mess you just move the spokes into the holes and add the nipples one by one. Don't tighten them very far and as you go you can shove them through the rim farther than they will end up to give yourself more room to feed the others in.
Once all the spokes are in place just tighten them all evenly/gradually. I usually leave something like three threads showing on each one to start with and then no threads and then one turn each etc to keep them even as you go. Then once they're snug put it in a truing stand (or the swingarm and forks) and finish the job.
Obviously buy a proper spoke wrench before doing this. Don't even try using an adjustable wrench for the nipples, you will destroy them. If a spoke wrench is too expensive then borrow one. Seriously, don't use an adjustable wrench for this.
Some hubs use straight spokes (roundcase Ducati front wheels for instance). They're as simple as they come to lace up!
There are different ways of lacing a rim and everyone has their own favorite. Some guys do it spoke by spoke, others load the hub completely and then drop the rim over it all and start feeding the spokes in. That's how I learned to do it decades ago in my days as a bicycle mechanic. I think the record in our shop was something like 3-4 minutes from bare parts to laced up. Not me but if it took longer than ten minutes I'd be surprised. Motorcycle wheels take longer. Well they take me longer anyway.
The bonus of lacing a used hub is you can look at the wear patterns on the hub to figure out where the spokes go. The things to look out for on a motorcycle wheel are the spokes will have two different ends on them, one with a more extreme bend than the other. Those get fed from the inner side of the hub.
So anyway... seperate the spokes into inners and outers. Load the entire hub and set it on the bench. Now pull all the spokes in the right directions at more of an angle than they will end up at so you can set the rim down over it all.
Now you have to figure out how to position the rim. The holes in the rim will be at an angle which will give you the clue on where it needs to sit. Another thing to look for is the valve stem will sit where the spokes are open, not in an place where they are crossed over each other.
So once you have the spokes in the right orientation and the rim laid down over the whole mess you just move the spokes into the holes and add the nipples one by one. Don't tighten them very far and as you go you can shove them through the rim farther than they will end up to give yourself more room to feed the others in.
Once all the spokes are in place just tighten them all evenly/gradually. I usually leave something like three threads showing on each one to start with and then no threads and then one turn each etc to keep them even as you go. Then once they're snug put it in a truing stand (or the swingarm and forks) and finish the job.
Obviously buy a proper spoke wrench before doing this. Don't even try using an adjustable wrench for the nipples, you will destroy them. If a spoke wrench is too expensive then borrow one. Seriously, don't use an adjustable wrench for this.
Some hubs use straight spokes (roundcase Ducati front wheels for instance). They're as simple as they come to lace up!