deepspacegiant

I'm so spooked by this new venture of putting on a dynamo. Can anyone tell me if there are inherent dangers in removing spokes and a hub off new rims? Be conservative with your warnings! *shudders in fear*

zacster

If the rim is in good shape it shouldn't be a problem. I'm assuming here you are replacing the hub with a dynamo hub and then using different spokes because the length is different?

AnkleWork

Yes, it's dangerous for you to build a wheel. Are you also afraid of new wheels built with the same new rims? Maybe get some exercise to clear your head and relieve your stress. Then you'll start thinking about something else and forget about wheels/rims/dynamos. Good luck.

fietsbob

Take the time to de tension each spoke a little at a time , going around the wheel so as to keep the rim round and flat..

>Using a Spoke wrench <




Identical rim , so same spokes right length?

tape the new one to the damaged rim and move the spokes over 1 by 1..

don't even disturb the lacing pattern, that way..



but a Dynamo hub is bigger, so you have to buy new spokes, of the proper length.

still have trepidation ?

Did You Know Wholesalers to bike shops build wheels from their inventory, so you can buy a built wheel and go with it..

For Cheaper than the sum of its parts @ retail..

so Q: Can you redo the hub and spokes off a new rim, ? A: Yes I can and did ..

in my case kept rim and also put in a dynamo hub , in place of OEM hub..




..


....

jimc101

Rim swapping, with an identical ERD rim, is easy, as fiststbob notes, what your proposing from how I'm reading it, swapping the hub is not.

The chances that a dynamo hub will have the same flange dimensions are pretty remote, all the dynamo hubs I have used, SON, SP, and Shimano are significantly different in their dimensions than a normal hub due to their much larger diameter flanges, and different length spokes are needed.

If you need to change the hub, then you're changing the spokes as well, you may as well leave the old wheel intact, and buy a new rim, as you will be buying new of everything else.

For the danger part, not really seeing any danger, unless you start stripping a wheel, with no rim tape, and intentionally look directly at the spokes your working on, where there is a possibility that one could fly out and hit you in the eye (remote, but possible) if you were to break down a wheel where you weren't keeping the spokes, sip them, using bolt cutters/similar, with the rim tape intact, and there is no real danger (again, don't look at the spoke holes you are working on directly).

deepspacegiant

I was honestly just being conservative about the spokes and getting new ones assuming the old ones would be damaged somehow in taking them off. Probably too anxious about it per the normal

deepspacegiant

Oh my Im exposing my fears to the masses!

CliffordK

If you are using straight spokes, there are some places that have spoke threaders. Cut the spoke and rethread. Our local co-op has one, although I've only seen it used by their staff.

HillRider

If you use a properly sized spoke wrench and unthread the nipples a fraction of turn at a time while working all around the wheel until everything is slack both the spokes and rim will be fine. However, as noted, you will almost certainly need spokes of a different length to match the new hub.

+1 to jimc101's advice. If you are changing both the hub and the spokes, an entire new wheel built using the proper components is probably not much more costly and you would have your original wheel as a spare.

deepspacegiant

So HillRider would you just suggest getting two dishes and making both wheels? Bc right now I feel like it is worth it to get a wheel set together so both wheels can be the same and look feel the same. In that case hubs are super expensive I've found. Maybe I'm wrong?

Hoopdriver

To add to the above excellent recommendations, I advise getting familiar with some of the available spoke calculators. I like spokechart or spokecalc. Exploring these resources will orient you to all of the measurements that go into determining proper spoke length. Practice using the numbers for your current hub and rim and then do the same for your new hub. If you are adventuresome, you can remove one of your existing spokes and measure it to see if your calculation exercise was accurate.

It does sound from your posts that you have quite a bit of angst about this project. If you can control your fears, plan ahead, and work methodically, you will learn a great deal and will gain confidence in your skills. There is a lot that goes into a properly built wheel but most of the tricky stuff is related to tensioning and truing. Lacing up a wheel is pretty easy (though I have to admit even though I have built hundreds of wheels I still occasionally have to take a laced wheel back apart because I wasn't paying sufficient attention). Once laced you can take it to a shop for the tensioning and truing.

jimc101

What is a dish? do you mean a rim?

From your original post, you were asking about stripping a new wheel, and re-using the rim, with a dynamo hub, now your saying that there is an issue with the cost of the hubs, surely this a minor issue as your moving to what is a more expensive type of hub, and you should have accounted for this when looking to change type.

It makes little sense to strip a new wheel for the rim, as you will need to replace everything on the wheel (hub, spokes, nipples), apart from the rim if going to a different type/design of hub, in this case, a dynamo hub. You may as well keep the orginal wheel, and bu a new rim/get your builder to build with a new rim.

deepspacegiant

deepspacegiant

ThermionicScott 

Consider buying a cheap used wheel from a bike co-op or Craigslist, taking it apart, and rebuilding it a couple times before you start on the new wheel. Then you're not out much if you completely screw up the old wheel while practicing.

AnkleWork

Nonsense: buying a wheelset just to use the front rim?!? Isn't it obvious that by just purchasing an assembled dynamo wheel instead of messing with multiple wheels, spokes, disassembly, re-assembly, etc. you'll be way ahead? Without a doubt, your irrational fears will lead to poor decisions, and thus mistakes ultimately causing you to be maimed -- a self-fulfilling prophesy.

What's your thread really about?

alcjphil

Exactly. Buying a complete wheel in order to use a rim that you could have bought for less money and also throwing away the hub and spokes from that wheel does not compute. If all you need to build a wheel is a rim, then buy a rim. Don't buy a wheel