Author Topic: lacing a wheel (Read 76397 times)

Quail "Owner of the comfortable k8" · « **on:** May 30, 2005, 09:55:56 PM »

I am thinking about doing this. I have trued bicyle wheels in the past. Has anyone done this or is it worth the 100.00 + spokes to have it done? I hate my rusty spokes.

carsholduptraffic · « **Reply #1 on:** May 31, 2005, 01:37:44 AM »

its an easy enough job, just very fiddly. i think the australian norton owners site had a good tech article on this.
take a pic first, and measure the offset just to be sure before ripping it apart. you will need a stand of some type (swingarm etc) to true it up.
check lots when it is back in service till the spokes settle.
then enjoy the satisfaction of your work working.........

bryanj · « **Reply #2 on:** May 31, 2005, 01:56:32 AM »

You will find the spokes have two different bends at the "head" end so sort them first. One goes out from the inside and one goes in from the outside. Lace up using only the in from the outside and get true then fit the other set and tighten--the wheel should still be true. The advantage of this is that for the inexperienced of us you are only adjusting half the number so in theory its easier. You can clamp the spindle in a bench vice and spin at an angle if you want and remember that there will always be a "kick" where the rim is welded so dont spend your entire life trying to get rid of it.

oldbiker · « **Reply #3 on:** May 31, 2005, 02:03:50 AM »

Agree with bryanj. It took me about an hour and a half to build and true one wheel. David Silver Spares has stainless spoke sets at a very reasonable price. The pattern of the spokes is the same on front and back wheels so you always have a pattern handy. Just remember any adjustment should be made over several adjacent spokes tapering off tightness.

SteveD CB500F · « **Reply #4 on:** May 31, 2005, 03:18:17 AM »

There's an article in the FAQs on wheel lacing:

http://www.sohc4.us/forums/index.php?topic=368.0

Six · « **Reply #5 on:** May 31, 2005, 10:14:40 AM »

I did it by clamping a spare swingarm vertically to my vise, and then sliding the whole wheel and spindle into the open spindle slots. It helped I also had a spare wheel to compare lacing pattern. I put in all the spokes finger tight first - then I slid the wheel down on the swingarm and turned all the screws lightly until they were pretty well seated. Then I started tightening, trying to keep the wheel true as I went along. When I got a ping that matched the spare wheel I was satisfied they were tight enough. Then I did a final check for trueness by eye with a coathook wire rigged to the vise and was able to true the wheel to about 1mm of play both side-to-side and up-n-down.

The first time it took me a couple of hours - the next time, I bet I can do it in one.

Six - Minneapolis

liquidplumber · « **Reply #6 on:** August 14, 2005, 10:22:33 AM »

I was just curious if anybody out there has ever laced a wheel. Is it something a guy could do in his garage? I consider myself having above average mechanical ability. Any tips, tricks, things to look out for, would be great. Thanks in advance,

Jeff

kghost · « **Reply #7 on:** August 14, 2005, 11:07:12 AM »

Yeah, you can do it.

The trick is patience.

SteveD CB500F · « **Reply #8 on:** August 14, 2005, 12:01:23 PM »

Check the FAQs - there's an article there about lacing wheels.

techy5025 · « **Reply #9 on:** August 14, 2005, 12:20:41 PM »

Jeff,

I have laced the wheels on my 750.......twice......once with the original spokes and again
with stainless ones from Buchanon. It is a straightforward process best done with no TV,
beer, or the kids in sight...

I built a frame out of plywood....imagine a u shape....and clamped the wheel near the points
of the "u" using the axel. I think used a runout dial indicator ... bought at Sears... to lace
the wheel. It was mounted so that it contacted the rim as I hand turned the wheel. Two
indicators would have been better as you need to measure movement in line with the
axel and 90 degrees to it....wobble and bounce. With one you are constantly moving the
indicator.

One piece of advice....take lots of pictures of the wheel before removing the spokes...if you
haven't already done so. Insert the spokes that go in from the outside of the hub first and
thread them to the correct rim holes....then insert the ones that thread through the hub
from the inside out.

Before you start cranking down with a spoke wrench....hand tighten all the spokes to about
the same depth within the nipples. I tightened one half turn at a time at the point of max
error on the dial gage and then backed off to one quarter and one eight approximately on
adjacent spokes.....and never loosen. Because adjustments in the two axis interact, you will
soon learn what "Kentucky Windage" means.

It is hard to describe in words but you will quickly learn which spokes to tighten for the desired
effect......and at worse you can loosen alll the spokes and start over.

How hard to tighten....one turn before they break of course...

Pinging on the spokes with
a smalll wrench will tell you which ones are tight and loose.

Good luck,

Jim

liquidplumber · « **Reply #10 on:** August 14, 2005, 12:43:59 PM »

Thanks for the great info Jim. Luckily I have two dial indicators. I'm going to order the spoke kit this week, so hopefully I'll get to try this out soon.

I was looking on ebay for a front wheel in decent condition (spokes on my wheel are pitted), but they either in worse shape than mine, or so expensive that I'd be afraid to actually use them.

chippyfive50 · « **Reply #11 on:** August 14, 2005, 02:15:27 PM »

I was thinking about attempting the lace up this winter, I did it when I worked at a bike shop in college, but a motorcycle seems more intimidating, and it has been 15 years. Anyway, http://www.buchananspokes.com/rims.htm has a decent selection of new rims, and surely tere are plenty of others. Please post updates on your results or lessons, I am looking forward to starting in the winter.
cheers....

liquidplumber · « **Reply #12 on:** August 14, 2005, 03:25:41 PM »

Hopefully I'll be able to remember to take pics during the process and post them here. I will post updates.

normalguy · « **Reply #13 on:** August 14, 2005, 07:16:30 PM »

Please do...I'm very interested in doing it this winter.

techy5025 · « **Reply #14 on:** August 14, 2005, 08:42:25 PM »

I am probably going to do my third re-lace of my rear wheel as it has a small area
where the chrome has lifted and so I am looking for a nicer one. It's only money
right!

You will find that the Buchanon spokes are thicker than the original ones BTW,
so they will have to be bent slightly to fit into the rim holes....beautiful spokes
though.

Jim

paulages · « **Reply #15 on:** October 20, 2005, 12:21:30 PM »

anybody have any links or particularly good advice for lacing wheels?

i took apart my front wheel to polish the hubs and spokes, and the rear is getting a 16" conversion (cb550F). i've got one side laced up loosely, but i'm having a hard time with the other side, leaving me to believe i'm supposed to be doing this in a certain order. i got all of the spokes through and roughly where they are going before threading the one side, but now i can't seem get the other side to fit right. with the first side, i was able to twist the hub around so that the spokes were closer/farther from the dimples as i needed, but on the other side, there seems to be no such play.

my girlfriend owns a bicycle shop...maybe i'll go get advice from them.

Bob Wessner · « **Reply #16 on:** October 20, 2005, 01:10:02 PM »

Try reading through this..

http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Downs/5896/rim.htm

Good luck, let me/us know how it turns out.

Bob Wessner · « **Reply #17 on:** October 20, 2005, 01:22:32 PM »

Here'a another..

http://204.29.80.50/restore/wheel/wheel.html

paulages · « **Reply #18 on:** October 20, 2005, 05:28:41 PM »

thanks. i figured it out actually...don't really know how, it just laced right up as soon as i got to the bike shop, as if being in contact with people who knew what they were doing was all i needed. i think i was trying to put the uppers and lowers on the second side in the wrong directions.

i haven't trued it yet, but my axle fits on their truing stand, so it shouldn't be too hard. luckily, i had another cb550 sitting around to learn the spoke pattern from. it's really not that hard. just be sure to lace the inner ones first!

here's my front wheel before and after polishing:

hdpredator · « **Reply #19 on:** October 20, 2005, 08:51:58 PM »

I'm going to do the same thing to mine (disassemble/polish/reassemble). Just a question; did you use the original spokes and polish them or get new ones? I'd just like to be sure, rather than find out at 80mph. thanks-ü

techy5025 · « **Reply #20 on:** October 22, 2005, 07:47:12 PM »

Went through the lacing bit several months ago......several times.

You will probably find some indentations underneath where the spokes
wrap around the outside of the hub....hard to poliish out, but they are
hidden when the spokes go back in.

I replaced the spokes with stainless and love them.

Jim

Sam Green Racing · « **Reply #21 on:** October 22, 2005, 08:21:26 PM »

HDpreditor,

Replace spokes with stainless. Polishing the old ones, you end up taking off what bit of a coating Honda put on.
Soon as they get wet, you will end up with rusty spokes. Stainless are a bit dearer but it pays off in the long run.

Sam.

bryanj · « **Reply #22 on:** October 23, 2005, 03:05:16 AM »

Ah, you went too far too soon!

You will see that there are two types of spokes with different !head" angles. One goes from the outside inwards and the other from the inside outwards, with me so far?

Take the 20 that fit from the outside inwards and fit 10 to each side of the hub in ever other hole, you should be able to tell which holes from the marks on the hub.

Lace up your rim using just these 20 spokes and true it on your jig getting all the spoke tensions even.

When its true put in the other 20 spokes and tighten.

This way you are only truing on 20 spokes which is WAY easier and you dont have to bend the spoke to get them ouside to in spokes in which you do if you lace it the other way round.

Expect to take 1-2 hours for the first one but this will reduce to aboy 30 mins with practice

hdpredator · « **Reply #23 on:** October 23, 2005, 10:42:05 AM »

paulages...thanks for the advice and the pics. given me something to shoot for

everyone else, thanks for the advice. i've decided to go with buchanons.

paulages · « **Reply #24 on:** October 23, 2005, 11:58:02 AM »

i actually got them all lined up and seated fine (after a few trial and ERRORS) without truing anything yet. it's really not that hard, it just helps to have another wheel to look at for the pattern.

i reused my front spokes. i agree that any heavy polishing is a bad idea, and reusing at all might not be the best option at all. mine happened to be pretty clean, so i just soaked them in WD40, then hit each one with a wheel and jewlers rouge for a few seconds, not really long enough to take anything significant off the surface. my (pedal) bike mechanic roomate tells me that they don't reccomend reusing old spokes on their wheel rebuilds, due to the possibilty of metal fatigue from being stretched for 30 years. i don't think they will shear or anything so drastic. if anything, they just won't hold tension, and then you're back to square one.

for my rear, ordered a 16" SS conversion kit from buchanans (they are the cutest...i mean toughest... looking spokes---3 15/16" long). they are cheaper unpolished, but they polish the same spokes for a fee. i think if you know how to lightly polish, it's probably safe.

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Author Topic: lacing a wheel (Read 76397 times)

carsholduptraffic

normalguy

hdpredator

hdpredator