Rohloff hat trick
August 20, 2015
My third Rohloff build in the last year was just completed.
DT Swiss road disc
May 11, 2015
Blacked out wheels. DT Swiss 350 hubs laced to H Plus Son Archetype rims.
Carbon clinchers
April 10, 2015
In 2015 I don’t recommend carbon clinchers for rim brake applications. Carbon clinchers for disc brakes are a different story. Check out this recent build of carbon rims to Hope hubs:
All terrain wheels
March 21, 2015
This year I’ve built two sets of Rolhoff wheels using different models of Surly fatbike rims. Coincidentally both wheelsets are headed for epic adventures in Australia: the first set is headed for Tasmania and the second to the Canning Stock Route in Western Australia.
Stan’s Grail rims
January 28, 2015
Stan’s Grail is a wider road rim for disc applications. A recent build:
Tubeless silver bullets
January 12, 2015
This everyday wheelset mates classic-looking White Industries T11 hubs and Stan’s Alpha 400 rims. These rims build light wheels and offer the option of running tubeless or with tubes. With 28 DT Competition spokes per wheel and brass nipples, they’ll be rock solid for years.
Doing digital dishes
January 1, 2015
A few times a year I get a query about the digital dishing tool I’ve shown online. It’s something I came up with myself though I’d be surprised if I was the first.
You’ll recognize the base tool as the standard Park Tool WAG-4. It’s a decent tool with sliding blocks that lets you check dish even with tires mounted. Checking dish with the analog indicator probe is fast and easy. The problem is it’s not quantitative. I record a ton of stats about every wheel including tension at every spoke and three kinds of alignment. To record dish alignment with a conventional tool you need feeler gauges and that’s a bit cumbersome.
I had a spare digital gauge in my toolbox so I mounted it up with no fuss. The lug back on the gauge can rotate 90° so I oriented it perpendicular to the shaft. I re-used the existing hole on the WAG-4 so no drilling required — I simply removed the existing screw and replaced it with a slightly longer one to accommodate the thickness of my gauge mount plus a washer. It’s a wood screw and I was able to find a longer one of the same diameter and thread pitch at Home Depot. That’s it.
The issue with my gauge is the throw of the indicator — the range isn’t appropriate for all axle lengths. I could find an indicator with more throw but this was a project done on the cheap (the cost of a screw if you discount the bits on hand). I deal with this problem by installing indicator contact points of different lengths, suitable to the axle in question. Actually I do gross dishing using the regular analog probe and then install the correct tip to record final dish. When using the regular probe it’s handy to remove the contact point altogether so the digital indicator is out of the way.
How does it work? Pretty well. Having the accuracy of a digital gauge makes you realize the limitations of the underlying tool. I balance the digital dishing tool over the wheel and hold it with the lightest touch otherwise the tool flexes and tilts, distorting values. This amount of distortion wouldn’t lead to bad wheels but it doesn’t hurt to sweat the small stuff if you’re bothering to measure.
Versatile road wheels
November 23, 2014
The requirement for this build was a set of do-it-all road wheels for a very fit rider. That means training, some racing, gravel and whatever the day calls for. That means a preference for lightness without entering fragile territory. I put together this package of White Industries T11 hubs, H Plus Son Archetype rims and Sapim Laser spokes. The spoke count, 24 front and 28 rear, combined with a light butted spoke help keep weight down. It’s still enough spokes and uses a stiff enough rim that they’ll be plenty resilient. For style points, check out the blue hub and matching alloy nipples.
Dura-Ace training wheels
August 31, 2014
These wheels are built for stiffness and strength thanks to DT Swiss Competition spokes and a deep rim profile. They’re not light wheels but weight is often misunderstood. More weight means more energy is required to propel the bike forward, most noticeable when accelerating. But when cruising at high speed, heavier wheels have a flywheel character that makes the bike feel like it wants to keep going. Light wheels may climb best but heavier aerodynamic wheels improve descending.
Archetype road disc
August 22, 2014
Similar to a previous set but with Shimano XT hubs. Again with Center Lock rotor attachment, which I like for its relative ease of installation and removal. Typically CL hubs are a little lighter too. The rims are H Plus Son Archetypes in the premium grey finish. I’m not a fan of conspicuous branding — these rims may have the cleanest branding of any bicycle component.
