Re-Building Spoked Wheels
New Wheels – Just Like Magic
Re-Building a Spoke Wheel with Confidence
By Texas Joe
Rebuilding spoke wheels is one of the rights of
passage in the custovation* of an old bike. That
convoluted three-dimensional puzzle with an alloy hub at
the center of a spider web of steel, wrapped in a rubber
donut, is not as intimidating as some think.
I admit, my first time was full of anxiety. Taking
the wheel apart was a no-brainer but putting it back
together caused me to wonder if I’d taken on a project
too big for my abilities.
How do you keep all the
details straight? How does the hub get centered in two
planes? What is run-out? What if wheel wobbles and
breaks apart at speed?
Certainly a lot to think about and accomplish when
building a wheel. However, the job is not impossible and
you don’t have to be Albert Einstein or an idiot savant. All you need is a bit of time, a camera, a spoke wrench
and a ruler. Lacing a wheel is like a good magic trick. Genuine motorcycle slight-of-hand
-- you know how to do it
and everyone else is mystified. Now that’s worth the
effort and you’ll talk about it for years.
In this example, the wheel du jour is off a 1980
Velorex sidecar. It's part of a custovation
project involving a 1984 BMW R65, the driving force for
the sidecar rig. The point is that spoke wheels
are very similar to each other; some have 36 spokes,
some 40 and all have a hole in the hub. The axle
and bearings live inside the hub to allow the wheel to
spin with ease.
I learned a while back that replacing the plain steel
and plated spokes with stainless spokes and nipples is
the way to go. While cost is a bit higher, labor is the
same and the conversion will last a lifetime.
Starting
After the Schrader valve is removed from the tube,
break the tire bead from the rim. A mallet may be needed
help the separation, especially if there’s rust showing
(Editor's Note: See our "el
Cheapo Bead Breaker" article).
Mix up a small amount of water and liquid dishwashing
soap and smear it in and around the beads, both sides.
Continue to remove the tire and tube. Removal should be
easy, however, one time I had a wheel project with a
tire that was so dry and inflexible; I had to cut it off
with a hacksaw.
 
Measuring and Photos
The next steps are the most important. Be sure to
take photographs of
the spoke layout on both sides of the wheel and measure
the offset.
Spoke layout is obvious upon close inspection.
On a 36 spoke wheel there are 9 groups of four, while a
40 spoke wheel has 10 groups of four. Note that each nipple sits in a dome
that alternates in alignment around the inside of the
rim.
Each dome has a hole and its placement aligns with
a hole in the hub. The spoke connects the hub hole to
the wheel hole, so each spoke in the wheel has a
corresponding mate in the hub.
The good news is that the
pattern is repeated, so all you need to do is get the
first one started in the correct location and the
remaining 35, in this case, can only be installed one
way. Get the starting point wrong and you’ll be
disappointed.
This wheel has all 36 spokes the same length and end
bend. Some wheels have different length spokes for the
brake-side compared to the opposite side; no worry, just
keep them marked, separated and photographed.
Not all hubs are centered on the wheel. Depending on
the type of hub, the hub may extend a little or a lot
beyond the edge of the wheel. To measure offset, use a
stiff piece of metal (yardstick here) to span the
brake-side center radial.
 
Use a small machinist scale to
measure the offset the brake-side of the hub. Check the
measurement in four quadrants and record the average
measurement. Measure the offset on the opposite side
too.
Now the hub can be removed from the wheel. Sometimes it’s easy and the nipples unscrew without a
problem, but occasionally they are rusted on and cutting is
the only solution. Be sure to get at least one undamaged
spoke from the four positions, keeping track of their
original location. Brake-side inner and outer and
opposite side inner and outer.
If your wheel is not a
popular make, like a Norton or old Triumph, you’ll need to
work with a spoke maker and they will make a set for
you.
Sounds like a big deal but it isn't; you can either mail
some spoke samples to the manufacturer or copy and fax the shape to them. The
main dimension points are diameter, length and bend. Cost is usually no different than a stock item and turn
around time is a few days.
Getting Ready
With the hub removed, clean and polish the wheel and hub
and replace the bearings. Since bearings are cheap and
the old ones are 20 plus years old, I usually replace
them with sealed units. The cost difference is pennies
but they should last 30 years.
Polishing the stainless spokes and nipples pays off
in bling and long-term good looks, while also helping to retard
the onset of
tarnish. Just be careful, always wear eye protection
on the buffing wheel and don’t let a spoke slip out of your
hands. I did that one balmy evening and it took
two people an hour on their hands and knees scouring the
grass on the side of the house before the spoke showed
up!
With polished spokes and photo, align the fresh hub
with the wheel. Start with the inner spoke hooked into
the hub and aligned with its wheel hole-mate. Count four
holes and lace another one until all inners are mounted.
Lube each spoke thread with the oil supplied -- this is
very important to prevent galling and ensure that you’ll
get proper tension when tightening. Start each nipple
with only 2 or 3 threads. Pay attention to this because
gradual and even tightening will speed the overall
alignment process.
After the inners, mount the same-side outers. By this
time the lace pattern is obvious. Then flip the wheel,
mount the inners, then outers, lubing and maintaining
that 2 to 3 thread start.
Now is the time for a stogie and a beer. While
puffing and sipping, mark your starting spoke and work
your way around all the spokes, tightening each the same
amount with a wide-blade short handle screwdriver; say
about 2
turns each.
This method takes a bit longer but draws the
spokes evenly, keeping the hub on center. About half-way
to the mid-thread point, measure the offset like before
to see how close you are to the proper dimension. You
may have to push on the wheel rim to help seat the
spokes.
Zeroing in on the final offset can be accomplished a
couple of ways. First method is to cut wood spacers the
thickness of the opposite-side offset and position them
under the wheel. That way the wheel is suspended the
proper distance and the brake-side offset can easily be
checked. This works particularly well for large offset
hubs.
The second method is no spacers; just proceed
uniformly around the wheel frequently checking the brake
side offset.
The wheel will snug up and you’ll see that either
most or all of the spoke thread is covered by the
nipple. The spokes should feel tight. Truing is next.
Truing
You’ll need some form of a truing stand to hold the
wheel, although the bike can be used instead by placing
the front wheel in-between the
forks or rear wheel in the swing-arm.
Or you can make a
homemade stand out of wood or metal. For this project,
the sidecar axle is fixed to a large bracket that mounts to the sidecar frame. Not having the luxury of
a separate shaft axle, I mounted the bracket / axle on
the bench.
Use a spoke wrench to tighten the spokes, anything
else will ruin the nipples and achieving proper tension
will be a problem.
Set up two guides, one to indicate vertical run-out
and the other horizontal run-out. I use copper wire held
by a convenient clamp.
For this kind of wheel, nominal
accuracy is fine, nominal being 1/16 of an inch each for
run-out deviation. Slowly spin the wheel a few times
looking at the vertical high-spot and horizontal
high-spot and mark the high vertical spot with tape
Keep in mind the truing process is a combination of
adjustments that are opposite to the desired outcome. Do
vertical alignment first, horizontal will then be a
snap.
Vertical Alignment
To move the rim from bottom to
top, tighten spokes on top and loosen those on the
opposite side. Make small adjustments at a time using
the spoke wrench.
Keep rotating the wheel slowly,
watching the pointer and the change to the tape
reference point. Rotate the wheel looking for a new high
spot. Adjust as you go until the wheel spins true in the
vertical plane to no more than 1/16 inch variation.
 
Horizontal Alignment
Look at the diagram to see how to remove the horizontal
wobble. Find the horizontal high-spot and mark with
tape. Watching the pointer and rim, adjust the spokes
looking for a new high spot and less than 1/16 wobble.
Spoke Tightening
Recheck the offset and if necessary make adjustments
using the horizontal technique but this time, evenly all
around the wheel.
With the offset correct go back the truing stand.
Mark a starting spot with tape, slowly rotate the wheel
and tap the spokes with a long round-shaft screwdriver.
The object is to get the spokes tight with all having
the same approximate tension. How tight is enough? One
expert convinced me to listen to the pitch of an empty
wine glass when tapped with a fork. A tight spoke will
make a ping sound.
A loose spoke will sound dead with no
noticeable ping. A tighter spoke has a higher ping-note,
so tighten the spokes to sound similar. Tap and listen
as you go around the wheel and adjust as needed. Recheck
vertical and horizontal alignment and offset one last
time. Don’t forget to cover the spoke nipple tops with a
rubber band or tape.
Satisfaction
So now you have your rebuilt wheels cleaned, polished
and gleaming with stainless spokes!
Mount the wheels and
take the bike for a ride on a sunny day. Park someplace
where the bling attracts attention and when someone
mentions that your vintage bike wheels look like new,
take the complement but work in that fact that you
re-built the wheels yourself.
Like Houdini performing
his best trick, they won’t believe what they are seeing. Just grin and save the secrets of wheel building to
share with a deserving apprentice. You’ll be glad
you’re keeping the magic alive!
*Custovation is a combination of customizing, and
renovation. Not a restoration, which means to bring back
to an original condition; Custovation has a more
specific meaning: CUSTOMIZE - to make or alter to
individual or personal specifications combined with
RENOVATION which is to restore to an earlier condition,
by repairing or remodeling.
References
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