Wheel building

[nick_the_wheelbuilder]

Another world-cup-light 29er XC wheelset has just been born in the workshop.

This time it's an all-black affair, with bladed spokes, brass nipples and Nextie's Rollingstar II hubs and Alpha 36S 245g, 30mm inner width XC rims.

Coming in at around 1170g, these are race-day light but everyday durable.

Enjoy the pics.

[nick_the_wheelbuilder]

Something quite unbelievable - not one importer in South Africa has alloy rim brake road rims in 20h / 24h in stock.

Not Mavic, DT Swiss, or any big or small brand.

With the number of rim brake bikes still in circulation this really surprises me.

I have found a source in the UK, but obviously the shipping almost kills the viability of bringing in a set.

Am I missing a supplier?

I'm building a set of wheels for a customer and already have a gorgeous set of hubs - straightpull and very light. (same as pictured)

Edited January 6 by nick_the_wheelbuilder
.

[NotSoBigBen]

Another one of my 'I need a front wheel for a single speed' let's see what I've got lying around ....

36 hole hub, 48 hole tandem rim and lots of odd spokes and a few hours later 😎

Small detail but I should have paid attention to where the valve will be though 🤔 

[i24]

I need some advice. My old steel frame MTB's originally galvanised spokes are now totally corroded. I bought some stainless steel spokes from Temu with the intention of replacing them. Plan is to replace one spoke at a time so I don't have to work out lacing etc from scratch and I can keep a check tension and alignment as I go. A professional would probably cut them all and start from scratch and get it done in a fraction of the time it will take me. But my plan is working for so for for the first few spokes.

But I made a mistake measuring the spoke length when I ordered the new ones. I measured them in situ and I thought they were all the same size. But I was wrong, now I have taken some out and measured vary carefully, I found:

• Rear wheel drive side 262 mm
• Rear wheel non-drive side 264mm
• Front wheel 266mm

I ordered 263 mm for all of the spokes. This does not seem to be a problem with the rear wheel - they fit nicely and there is no protrusion from the nipples.

But I am concerned for the front wheel. I can fit the spokes and tighten the nipples about 5 turns. But the original spokes had about 10 turns of thread engaged. Is this safe and practical or should I look for some other spokes?

Thanks for suggestions.

Edited January 26 by i24

[nick_the_wheelbuilder]

On 1/26/2026 at 1:34 PM, i24 said:

I need some advice. My old steel frame MTB's originally galvanised spokes are now totally corroded. I bought some stainless steel spokes from Temu with the intention of replacing them. Plan is to replace one spoke at a time so I don't have to work out lacing etc from scratch and I can keep a check tension and alignment as I go. A professional would probably cut them all and start from scratch and get it done in a fraction of the time it will take me. But my plan is working for so for for the first few spokes.

But I made a mistake measuring the spoke length when I ordered the new ones. I measured them in situ and I thought they were all the same size. But I was wrong, now I have taken some out and measured vary carefully, I found:

• Rear wheel drive side 262 mm
• Rear wheel non-drive side 264mm
• Front wheel 266mm

I ordered 263 mm for all of the spokes. This does not seem to be a problem with the rear wheel - they fit nicely and there is no protrusion from the nipples.

But I am concerned for the front wheel. I can fit the spokes and tighten the nipples about 5 turns. But the original spokes had about 10 turns of thread engaged. Is this safe and practical or should I look for some other spokes?

Thanks for suggestions.

I would use longer spokes for the front wheel - too little thread engagement can cause the spokes to rip the threads from the nipples.

Ideally you want the end of the spoke to reach the top of the slot in the nipple head.

Are your new spokes silver or black? (I may have some lying around)

 

 

[i24]

39 minutes ago, nick_the_wheelbuilder said:

I would use longer spokes for the front wheel - too little thread engagement can cause the spokes to rip the threads from the nipples.

Ideally you want the end of the spoke to reach the top of the slot in the nipple head.

Are your new spokes silver or black? (I may have some lying around)

 

 

I will finish the back wheel and see how that goes.

But, it looks like I need 36 off silver, stainless steel, 266 mm spokes, without nipples and I will also have 36 off 263mm ones left over...

 

[nick_the_wheelbuilder]

On 1/27/2026 at 2:25 PM, i24 said:

I will finish the back wheel and see how that goes.

But, it looks like I need 36 off silver, stainless steel, 266 mm spokes, without nipples and I will also have 36 off 263mm ones left over...

 

I have loads of nice double butted Wheelsmith 266mm silver spokes.

WhatsApp me and I'll send you some. Just pay for PUDO.
083 452 871 six

[NotSoBigBen]

1 hour ago, nick_the_wheelbuilder said:

I have loads of nice double butted Wheelsmith 266mm silver spokes.

WhatsApp me and I'll send you some. Just pay for PUDO.
083 452 871 six

Jeez mon ami ... my good mate @patches told me long time ago that silver spokes are for poor people 🤪

[David Marshall]

3 hours ago, NotSoBigBen said:

Jeez mon ami ... my good mate @patches told me long time ago that silver spokes are for poor people 🤪

Now that no one locally stocks silver spokes any more they are becoming the in thing!

[NotSoBigBen]

29 minutes ago, David Marshall said:

Now that no one locally stocks silver spokes any more they are becoming the in thing!

A bit off topic but .... through my best mate Grumpy I got these Campag Nucleon wheels as I needed a set of wheels for a single speed bike

I'm told in their day they were revered for their lightness, strength, asymmetric and bladed spokes (ahead of their time) and all round performance

So when I mentioned possibly rattle canning the spokes black as it would fit better with the bike I would swear there was about to be an immediate tarring and feathering for the mere suggestion. I have in the meantime accepted the silver despite the 'for poor people' sentiment 🤯

Just fitting and using it as a single speed wheel I'm told is sacrilege but hey I'm also not that known for doing 'normal or correct things' anyway so best the Campag disciples look away 😎

[i24]

22 hours ago, nick_the_wheelbuilder said:

I have loads of nice double butted Wheelsmith 266mm silver spokes.

WhatsApp me and I'll send you some. Just pay for PUDO.
 

Thanks! I have sent a whatsapp. (I have noted your number, maybe you should edit it out from message above).

I will pay things forward when the opportunity arises. 😏

 

Edited January 29 by i24

[nick_the_wheelbuilder]

On 1/28/2026 at 8:52 PM, NotSoBigBen said:

A bit off topic but .... through my best mate Grumpy I got these Campag Nucleon wheels as I needed a set of wheels for a single speed bike

I'm told in their day they were revered for their lightness, strength, asymmetric and bladed spokes (ahead of their time) and all round performance

So when I mentioned possibly rattle canning the spokes black as it would fit better with the bike I would swear there was about to be an immediate tarring and feathering for the mere suggestion. I have in the meantime accepted the silver despite the 'for poor people' sentiment 🤯

Just fitting and using it as a single speed wheel I'm told is sacrilege but hey I'm also not that known for doing 'normal or correct things' anyway so best the Campag disciples look away 😎

When it comes to singlespeeding, there are no sins.
Except riding gears.

[nick_the_wheelbuilder]

Did you guys know that you can paint carbon rims?

Nextie, my regular carbon rim supplier, sent me this photo to show what's possible.

50mm deep rims, 24mm inner width, 360g per rim.

Pretty, no?

These rims are called "Ripple" and have a wavy "ridge" below the rim edge to break up airflow and make the rim more aerodynamic and improve crosswind handling.

Currently only 1 set of these blue rims exists in the whole world and I can get hold of them if anyone's interested.

[nick_the_wheelbuilder]

Just sharing a few pics of my most recent build.
Alloy Jetset AR-23 gravel rims on the new ED-GE straightpull hubs.

I used Pillar PBA1420 bladed spokes to keep the weight down, and black brass DSN nipples for durability.

Approx 1690g wheelset and tubeless-ready with 23mm inner width rims.

Great for gravel or a robust disc brake road option.

All for under R12k, hand-built and delivered.

[Underachiever]

33 minutes ago, nick_the_wheelbuilder said:

Just sharing a few pics of my most recent build.
Alloy Jetset AR-23 gravel rims on the new ED-GE straightpull hubs.

I used Pillar PBA1420 bladed spokes to keep the weight down, and black brass DSN nipples for durability.

Approx 1690g wheelset and tubeless-ready with 23mm inner width rims.

Great for gravel or a robust disc brake road option.

All for under R12k, hand-built and delivered.

Rim depth Nick?

[nick_the_wheelbuilder]

25 minutes ago, Underachiever said:

Rim depth Nick?

30mm deep, 23mm inner width - really in that sweetspot.
Notice the small ridges inside the rim cavity - this apparently makes the rim stronger, almost like corrugations in cardboard.
 

Edited April 8 by nick_the_wheelbuilder