DIY Wheelbuilding: Building the perfect SS wheels part 1

It seemed like it was time to replace the wheelset on the SS Jabberwocky test mule.  The current wheels were several years old now, being a mix of DT Swiss Onyx hubs and DT Swiss 7.1 TK rims, and had been faithful and true, but I did not trust the rims to be a great tubeless conversion even though many have done that successfully.  As well, the rear rim had been tweaked and dented pretty well in a crash and the tension on the wheel was now way off in order to get it spinning true. The combo was not particularly light either.  

One other thing bugged me.  The hub was a 9 speed cassette hub and it needed spacers and such to make it work for singlespeed use.  Does that matter?  Not in any real practical way, in fact it has some advantages, but it offended my purist sense.    

So my goals for the new hoops were as follows:  

              •              build a stiff wheelset without gaining weight 

              •              get a dead reliable tubeless ready rim 

              •              go to a hub that allowed for a dishless build with even hub flange spacing 

              •              add some classic blingy-ness (to help get the chicks, natch!) 

              •              get a rear hub with a bolt on axle option and a front hub that can be converted to 15mm                                   thru bolt QR 

              •              keep the cost at a sub-sonic level 

              •              I wanted to build the wheels myself 

              •              I wanted to stay away from any odd and proprietary parts like unique spokes, etc.  

Making the new wheels lighter is easy.  Spend enough ducats and you can be riding some light wheels.  But there are practical considerations too.  Wheel stiffness is one.  Rim width and the resulting tire profile is another.  Some of the lighter hubs like an Industry 9 or a DT Swiss 240S are pretty feathery, but darn expensive.  A Chris King hubset costs more than a complete, moderate wheel build.  Weight savings was not the first priority.  

Getting a great tubeless set-up is getting easier, but there are really two major players in that world as far as I am concerned:  Stan's No Tubes and Bontrager.  There are others of course and new pre-built wheels like the Specialized/Rovals and the Easton Havens are hitting the trails adding fine options to the 29er wheel market.  But really, for now it is Stans and Bontrager rims that have the established track record for painless tubeless conversions.  I would choose one of those, especially as I needed to buy the rims separately to do my own build.  Tubeless was a high priority.  

I know that there are very many reasons to run a 9 speed type cassette hub as an SS hub.  You can always use it on another bike with gears if you choose; they are common to find used or on sale, etc, and the chainline is completely adjustable which allows for mixing and matching cranksets and bottom brackets, etc.  But I really like the idea of a dedicated SS hub.  I appreciate the dishless wheel build and the better tensioned wheel that results and I like the look of it and the purity of purpose.  The only options were to go with a freewheel hub like a classic Pauls or White Industries or a newer SS cassette hub like many of the hub makers offer now.  Hope, Chris King, DT Swiss, I-9 and others have stepped in with narrowed cassette-body hubs that have wide flange spacing and still allow for some chainline adjustment for the rear cog; likely the best option of all, but was that for me?    

I did not really want the anodized, rainbow colored bling that is so sought after.  Something else was bouncing around my head in that regard, but I did want them to stand out a bit from the herd.  

Since the frame I have now, a Vassago Jabberwocky,  has track ends with tensioners for getting slack out of the chain, I wanted to add some clamping power to the rear axle/frame interface.  A bolt on hub (not a nutted axle) that has a drilled and threaded axle and a separate fixing bolt(s) appealed to me as simple and functional.  If the next frame has dropouts, I am still good to go.  

Cost is relative, but a $900.00 wheelset was out of the question.  That did narrow my choice a bit.  

Building them myself was something I wanted to try.  I have done pretty much everything as far as building up and maintaining bikes over the years, including assisting in a small frame builders shop (no, you DO NOT want me building your frame) but I have never laced up and tensioned a set of wheels.  I had some local and distant support with guys that had built wheels before, a few good books, and the internet for resources.  What could go wrong?  

I did want them to be classic/simple wheels as far as replacing parts, spokes, etc.  Someday I may run a prebuilt, zoomy and special wheelset, but not right now and besides, usually all that proprietary stuff is not there for the do-it-yourselfer, build em' at home wheels.  

The final choices:  

So after thinking about this a lot, reading all kinds of forum discussions, and talking to folks whose opinions I respect, I came to these conclusions and choices.  For rims I went with Stan's Flows in 32 hole drilling.  I actually prefer an eyeletted rim and these are not.  And, they have a reputation for being a bit on the soft side as far as tensioning/building them.  But for a wider rim at this weight, stiffness, track record, and absolute proven tubeless set-up, the Flow is still king as far as I am concerned.  I almost got the slightly lighter and narrower Stan's Arches, but went for the wider tire profile that the Flows provide.  Running  a very close second were the Bontrager line of rims, but you need to go through a Trek dealer for that and Stans is a direct deal.  I like that.  One complaint…what happened to silver ano rims????  Apparently black is the new silver.  Too bad. 

  

For hubs it was partially an emotional choice and partially a practical one.  On the practical side, the cost of a Chris King SS hub or a DT Swiss 240S SS hub is pretty steep.  Not that they are not worth it, but still, I was on a budget.  I knew I wanted a pure SS hub though, so I looked at the choices in freewheel hubs.  I knew that I would be adding some weight overall and I would be giving up chainline adjustability, but that was not a big deal to me.  I wanted to get to a classic feel with this SS wheel build and if I needed to run a tapered BB and crank to get that, so be it.  Many hold the opinion that external BBs are overrated and perhaps I agree.  So there are two main choices for freewheel hubs:  Paul's Components and White Industries.  The chainline differs between the two and there are some other little details, but they are both super hubs. In the end it was the polished gleam of the Whites stuff that won me over.  It reminds me of the old Campy hubs or some other classic bike part.  Simple.  Beautiful.  Elegant.  Bulletproof with a White Industries ENO freewheel on there.  Done.  The front M16 hub is convertible to 15mm QR as well, but not 20mm or 9mm.  Too bad about that, but I can live with it.  I doubt that a 20mm fork would ever see duty on the SS bike anyway.  

Spokes and nips?  DT Swiss Competition1.8/2.0s with alloy 12mm nipples, violet, I think.  

 

Next, we will gather the parts, weigh them in, and dive into the mystical, magical world of wheel building. Will I be befuddled and confused? Will I hit my goals?  Will they even roll?  Stay tuned when all will be revealed. 

Comments

[Doug P]

The White hubs seem to have the flanges closer together than the Pauls. The bracing angle provided by a wider spacing is even more important in the 29er world, where the spokes are longer. I know I'm nit-picking, but I'm a fan of Paul, one of the OG single speeders. Anyway, enjoy!

[admin]

Hey, Doug. You may be right. I actually was torn between the Paul's and the WI stuff. What put me over the top was the chain line of the WI which matched the existing cranks I had and the polished look. I looove the polished look. But Paul's stuff is top notch.

In any case, the wheel stiffness or bracing or however you want to say it is more than adequate IMO. It built a great wheel so far.

grannygear