best LBS to buy spokes for wheelbuilding

What are your favorite local shops for buying spokes for wheel building? I'm planning on building some wheels using some vintage hubs I have laying around and will lace them to modern rims (I'm switching some 27" tires to 700c for better fender clearance and potentially to add wider tires). I am looking for places that have experience with this sort of project and have a reputation for making accurate spoke cuts. My understanding is that poorly measured spokes can lead to wheel failure and/or lots of flats. I have relatively little experience in the matter, so most of this is second hand knowledge. I'll be building the wheels with a buddy who is experienced at wheel building but buys his spokes from Harris in BOS. I'm looking for a local option on this project. Any advice and experience is much appreciated! 

Views: 633

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by prof.gfr on February 21, 2013 at 6:08pm
Thanks again everyone!
Permalink Reply by Jerry Lee on February 22, 2013 at 12:35pm

I am going to experiment, I got my cheapy Hozan spoke threader today, will tried cutting and threading my own spokes, will be time consuming, but if it works...great, else it was a $164 lesson. I need really short spokes, probably lacing them radially, as there will probably not be possible for crossing(16" 305 rim to a large hub). Might use washers to further strengthen the hub flange.

Permalink Reply by djm on February 22, 2013 at 12:46pm

And if the shop measures incorrectly, its their problem, not yours.  It has happened to me.

prof.gfr said:

Another quick question (hopefully): is it preferred to bring the actual hubs and rims into the shop, especially if the hub is vintage? 

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on February 22, 2013 at 4:20pm

Spocalc is great but don't trust their database.  There are a ton of mistakes and some outdated entries. Always measure hubs and double-check rims unless  you have a data sheet you can trust. 

mike w. said:

There are several spoke length calculators available online. St Sheldon's site lists a couple of links. i downloaded Spocalc which has an extensive database of hubs and rims (plus you can add other hubs and rims to the database.) It's proved pretty accurate in my experience. Plus it was a freebie.

RSS

Groups

© 2008-2016   The Chainlink Community, L.L.C.   Powered by

Disclaimer  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service