How can I improve my wheel building and truing? Read a book? Take a course/lesson?

[morkys]

Years ago a friend showed me how to lace up a 3-cross MTB wheel based on an article in Dirt Rag. I can follow it no problem and almost don't need the mag anymore except to verify I am doing it correctly. I can lace up a decent wheel, and I have built 4 or 5 wheels total. I am never 100% satisfied with the tension and true of the final result. Sometimes I get the wheel laterally true but end up with a hop. It's never much more than a mm or two, but I'd like to get my wheel building closer to the point of a perfectly true wheel.

I need to learn how to make decisions about truing in order to get the results I want, without creating another problem, ie, achieve good lateral true but induce a hop.

Should I look for some courses or a pro who gives lessons or read a book? I don't have a truing stand or tools yet. Is there anything really imporant? A nipple driver? Truing stand? Spoke tension tool?

[J.B. Weld]

Should I look for some courses or a pro who gives lessons or read a book? I don't have a truing stand or tools yet. Is there anything really imporant? A nipple driver? Truing stand? Spoke tension tool?

Yes, you for sure should read a book or 2 on the subject and solicit advice from anyone you can who builds wheels for a living.
I also think you really need a truing stand. It doesn't have to be great, a good home made one is fine, but trying to do it on the bike with zip ties is for emergencies only IMO. Spoke tension tools are nice but I don't think you necessarily need one to build a strong and true wheel.

As for lateral true and hops in the wheel you need to take care of both of those issues in every step of the tensioning process starting from the beginning when the wheel hardly has any (tension).


It's hard to beat repetition. If you have the time and inclination lace and tension a wheel over and over until it's second nature. It's easier to play around with things when the results are not so crucial and with practice all the little issues that seem to plague you at first go away.

[morkys]

Yes, you for sure should read a book or 2 on the subject and solicit advice from anyone you can who builds wheels for a living.
I also think you really need a truing stand. It doesn't have to be great, a good home made one is fine, but trying to do it on the bike with zip ties is for emergencies only IMO. Spoke tension tools are nice but I don't think you necessarily need one to build a strong and true wheel.

As for lateral true and hops in the wheel you need to take care of both of those issues in every step of the tensioning process starting from the beginning when the wheel hardly has any (tension).


It's hard to beat repetition. If you have the time and inclination lace and tension a wheel over and over until it's second nature. It's easier to play around with things when the results are not so crucial and with practice all the little issues that seem to plague you at first go away.

Sounds about right. I think I just have to get a feel for when to add tension and when to even it out. I was reading Sheldon Browns website. I can read other stuff too. I have an older wheel that I do need to build up actually, so I should practice with that one for starters. I also bought a wheel recently and it's not built the way I prefer, so I could always re-lace it for practice.

[One Pivot]

Start truing out hop and runout at nearly zero tension on the NDS. It'll get you rounder and more true wheels much faster (thanks melting feather for the tip). Tension up and retrue for runout and hop again at about 50% of your max tension.

Doing the first nearly-loose true up job really makes a big difference later in the build.

[morkys]

Start truing out hop and runout at nearly zero tension on the NDS. It'll get you rounder and more true wheels much faster (thanks melting feather for the tip). Tension up and retrue for runout and hop again at about 50% of your max tension.

Doing the first nearly-loose true up job really makes a big difference later in the build.

Ok. More good suggestions. Thanks.

[beanbag]

hang out on mtbr and learn thru osmosis