Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Electronics, Lighting, & Gadgets
Reload this Page >

How hard is it to build a wheel with a dynamo?

Notices
Electronics, Lighting, & Gadgets HRM, GPS, MP3, HID. Whether it's got an acronym or not, here's where you'll find discussions on all sorts of tools, toys and gadgets.

How hard is it to build a wheel with a dynamo?

Old 08-09-21, 08:03 AM
  #26  
noglider 
aka Tom Reingold
 
noglider's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: New York, NY, and High Falls, NY, USA
Posts: 40,691

Bikes: 1962 Rudge Sports, 1971 Raleigh Super Course, 1971 Raleigh Pro Track, 1974 Raleigh International, 1975 Viscount Fixie, 1982 McLean, 1996 Lemond (Ti), 2002 Burley Zydeco tandem

Mentioned: 510 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 7287 Post(s)
Liked 2,362 Times in 1,381 Posts
Originally Posted by unterhausen
Unless you want to build a number of wheels, even the minimum investment isn't worth it.
What leads you to say this? The minimum investment is a spoke wrench.
__________________
Tom Reingold, tom@noglider.com
New York City and High Falls, NY
Blogs: The Experienced Cyclist; noglider's ride blog

“When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments.” — Elizabeth West, US author

Please email me rather than PM'ing me. Thanks.
noglider is offline  
Likes For noglider:
Old 08-09-21, 08:06 AM
  #27  
unterhausen
Randomhead
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Happy Valley, Pennsylvania
Posts: 24,363
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4 Post(s)
Liked 3,664 Times in 2,497 Posts
I'm not sure I ever read Sloan. We might have sold it though, missed sales opportunity. I'm pretty sure I got my start building wheels by transferring new rims onto old wheels. I did that countless times. I'm not sure where the guys that taught me learned to build wheels, they were not bike mechanics before they started the shop, but they were pretty good. I don't remember the first wheel I built, I don't think it was for me.

Originally Posted by noglider
What leads you to say this? The minimum investment is a spoke wrench.
I simply don't think a novice will build a good wheel with just a spoke wrench. I never could true a wheel on a bike, maybe that's just me. It's not likely to be dished and the tension will not be right. Otherwise, sure, you can build a bike wheel. I'm told you can check the tension with apps. I check relative tension by plucking spokes, but I always use a tension meter to check absolute tension.

Last edited by unterhausen; 08-09-21 at 08:15 AM.
unterhausen is offline  
Old 08-09-21, 09:39 AM
  #28  
Tourist in MSN
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Madison, WI
Posts: 11,112

Bikes: 1961 Ideor, 1966 Perfekt 3 Speed AB Hub, 1994 Bridgestone MB-6, 2006 Airnimal Joey, 2009 Thorn Sherpa, 2013 Thorn Nomad MkII, 2015 VO Pass Hunter, 2017 Lynskey Backroad, 2017 Raleigh Gran Prix, 1980s Bianchi Mixte on a trainer. Others are now gone.

Mentioned: 47 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3426 Post(s)
Liked 1,441 Times in 1,122 Posts
Originally Posted by steelbikeguy
...



...
I had not seen that catalog before. I do not recall the name of the catalog that our shop produced.
Tourist in MSN is offline  
Old 08-09-21, 10:35 AM
  #29  
Tourist in MSN
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Madison, WI
Posts: 11,112

Bikes: 1961 Ideor, 1966 Perfekt 3 Speed AB Hub, 1994 Bridgestone MB-6, 2006 Airnimal Joey, 2009 Thorn Sherpa, 2013 Thorn Nomad MkII, 2015 VO Pass Hunter, 2017 Lynskey Backroad, 2017 Raleigh Gran Prix, 1980s Bianchi Mixte on a trainer. Others are now gone.

Mentioned: 47 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3426 Post(s)
Liked 1,441 Times in 1,122 Posts
I could not remember the name of the catalog that my former employer Wheel Goods published, so did some googling, this link has a few photos of the catalog. I pasted one photo below.
https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...ycl-ology.html

Tourist in MSN is offline  
Old 08-09-21, 03:10 PM
  #30  
noglider 
aka Tom Reingold
 
noglider's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: New York, NY, and High Falls, NY, USA
Posts: 40,691

Bikes: 1962 Rudge Sports, 1971 Raleigh Super Course, 1971 Raleigh Pro Track, 1974 Raleigh International, 1975 Viscount Fixie, 1982 McLean, 1996 Lemond (Ti), 2002 Burley Zydeco tandem

Mentioned: 510 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 7287 Post(s)
Liked 2,362 Times in 1,381 Posts
Originally Posted by unterhausen
I simply don't think a novice will build a good wheel with just a spoke wrench. I never could true a wheel on a bike, maybe that's just me. It's not likely to be dished and the tension will not be right. Otherwise, sure, you can build a bike wheel. I'm told you can check the tension with apps. I check relative tension by plucking spokes, but I always use a tension meter to check absolute tension.
It's been a while since I was a novice wheel builder, so maybe I don't know what they're capable of. But I don't think expensive tools gets you a better wheel. I just think it gets you a wheel faster. I have tutored people in truing and building wheels using a spoke wrench and a Park TS2. Some are total novices. The results are good.
__________________
Tom Reingold, tom@noglider.com
New York City and High Falls, NY
Blogs: The Experienced Cyclist; noglider's ride blog

“When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments.” — Elizabeth West, US author

Please email me rather than PM'ing me. Thanks.
noglider is offline  
Likes For noglider:
Old 08-11-21, 02:30 PM
  #31  
ironwood
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Boston area
Posts: 2,039

Bikes: 1984 Bridgestone 400 1985Univega nouevo sport 650b conversion 1993b'stone RBT 1985 Schwinn Tempo

Mentioned: 7 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 542 Post(s)
Liked 151 Times in 100 Posts
The first wheels I built were trued on a suspended frame. I put a pencil on top of the brake pads as a guide to make the wheel round, then I took off one pad and used it as a guide to dish and make the wheel flat. Knowing how to true a wheel on a frame comes in handy if you are on a tour, and need to true or repair or respoke a wheel. A number of years ago I did help another tourist rebuild her wheel using just the frame to true it.
ironwood is offline  

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.