Wheel Lacing - finding the first hole
06-20-20, 10:55 PM
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Wheel Lacing - finding the first hole
I am using DT SWISS TK-540 and I have no idea which hole do I use to start. The holes do not appear be offset. They all appear to be on the center line. The whole wheel is symmetrical
06-21-20, 06:30 AM
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For any rim I start with the hole next to the valve hole and that is going to allow the spoke to radiate away (as in not cross) that valve hole. Depending on the rim spoke holes' arrangement this first spoke might go to the inside or outside of the flange. Rims with no hole by hole off sets are not uncommon and are dealt with just like any other but with no regard to which side the hole is offset to and which flange a spoke goes to. Andy
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06-21-20, 08:11 AM
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Roger Musson's wheelbuilding book has a good, clear explanation of this. WHEELBUILDING
06-21-20, 09:36 AM
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There is a good lacing guide on the Sheldon Brown website. I've used it for the few wheels I've laced and it seems pretty easy to understand. It will tell you which spoke to put in which hole counted from the valve hole, etc. I wouldn't say there is a hole that you put the first spoke in...but the general practice among wheel builders is that the brand on the hub should be lined up, or visible when looking through the valve hole on the rim. So...however you get to that point...I don't think it matters what order the spokes go in. But, there are some hubs that the spoke holes are driller for inner and outer spokes so that the spoke head seats better, and rims with offset holes for left and right.
Dan
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06-21-20, 10:18 AM
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Here's what I tell my students in my wheel building class
The problem I find is picking the first spoke of the second round. To find which one is correct, I do the following"
Lay the rim so it is horizontal. Position the valve hole opposite your stomach with the rim label upside down. The rim’s spoke holes are slightly offset with one hole is a little above the imaginary centerline, the next is a little below, and they alternate that way around the rim. The hole you have put the first spoke into should be offset toward the top of the rim. If the hub is offset to the bottom of the rim, see “How to handle a rare ‘right handed’ rim” in the appendix.
Hold the hub in the center of the rim with the spokes hanging down. If you are OCD or if you have bicycle mechanic friends and want to avoid ridicule, selection of the first spoke is (marginally) important. OCD mechanics want to have the label of the hub visible through the valve stem hole of the rim. To accomplish this, find the label on the hub before adding spokes. Place one spoke directly in front of the label and count 4 spokes holes (i.e. 2 spokes) to the right of the label (Note to Stuart: Yes, rightis correct. Quit changing it, you knob!) Select this spoke (which from now on will be referred to as the No.1 spoke) and put it through the first hole to the left of the valve hole. Attach its nipple a couple of turns.
Hold the hub in the center of the rim with the spokes hanging down. If you are OCD or if you have bicycle mechanic friends and want to avoid ridicule, selection of the first spoke is (marginally) important. OCD mechanics want to have the label of the hub visible through the valve stem hole of the rim. To accomplish this, find the label on the hub before adding spokes. Place one spoke directly in front of the label and count 4 spokes holes (i.e. 2 spokes) to the right of the label (Note to Stuart: Yes, rightis correct. Quit changing it, you knob!) Select this spoke (which from now on will be referred to as the No.1 spoke) and put it through the first hole to the left of the valve hole. Attach its nipple a couple of turns.
Now comes the only tricky part of lacing a wheel. You must determine which hub flange hole gets the first spoke of the second group (spoke No. 10 overall). Since there are 2 possibilities, drop a spoke through each hole so they rest against the bottom flange vertically and on either side of the No. 1 spoke.
The spoke to the wheelbuilder’s right of Spoke No. 1 is the proper spoke. Put the spoke to the right Spoke No. 1 into the first rim hole to the right of the No. 1 spoke and attach a nipple.
The spoke to the wheelbuilder’s right of Spoke No. 1 is the proper spoke. Put the spoke to the right Spoke No. 1 into the first rim hole to the right of the No. 1 spoke and attach a nipple.
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Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
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Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
06-21-20, 11:31 PM
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The thing my rim the is no offset so right from the beginning I couldn't really follow what Uwrote.
I just don't know where my key spoke is going to go.
mgt
I just don't know where my key spoke is going to go.
mgt
06-22-20, 03:13 AM
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If it's symmetrical pick one--it doesn't much matter.
06-22-20, 08:09 AM
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It may be subtle but I’ll bet there is an offset of some kind. I’ve never run across a rim that doesn’t have offset spoke holes. A right handed rim is so rare that you’ll likely never run across one (I’ve seen only one in my wheel building career) so it likely won’t matter. Put the label at your stomach with it upside down and pick the first spoke hole to the left of the valve.
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Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
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Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
06-22-20, 12:53 PM
#9
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I think this is a very good way to spoke a wheel; https://pdf.zlibcdn.com/dtoken/3cb670...z-lib.org).pdf
06-22-20, 01:03 PM
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Pay for the above linked Roger Musson book. It’s very good.
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06-22-20, 03:49 PM
#12
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You'll get parallel spokes around the valve if you treat a symmetrically drilled rim as either Type A or B. I'd never suggest lacing with angled spokes around the valve.
