Topic: when lacing wheels...

[evinrude7]

is it not prudent when lacing up a wheel, if one has never done it before and for sake of keeping the correct pattern to do one at a time?  remove one then replace one and so on. 

[BenelliSEI]

Cant be done that way....... All the “inners” (those with the button head to the outside of the hub flange) must be laced in first. Then, tie in all the “outers” (those with the button head on the inside of the flange).

A good set of photos might be useful, before you start. I keep a really old, rotten set of wheels for comparison. The spokes are in groups of four, that repeat all the way around. I try and START by lightly tying in the four clustered around the valve stem hole in the rim. After that, just repeat the pattern, around the rim. They must me started VERY loose, or you can’t get the last sets pushed through the rim holes.

Another clue is all the original “outer” spokes leave a slight scar on the hub flange. Make sure you lay the new spokes over those marks. This all sounds more confusing than it really is.....

[Tim2005]

It's a good idea but it's not always possible- often you cannot remove individual spokes without moving others too

[754]

2 things important. . Picture before taking apart.

 And I like to make a cardboard pattern, showing angle of inner and outer  spokes  where they exit hub .. often around 120 degees.....this eliminates any confusion in angle when starting to put outers in... ., you can put notes on cardboard., like cross pattern,  how far threads go inside nipple , etc. Also note wether inners cross, or are all same direction.. (getting this wrong costs a lot of time.)
 
 Make sure your rims if changed have same order and tilt , for any set of 4 spokes.

[evinrude7]

all really good info.  thank you.  any need for green or blue loctite on the threads?  or just a drop of oil? 

[seanbarney41]

no loctite!  I recommend healthy amounts of anti-sieze on the nipple where it contacts the rim, plus on the threads.  This makes trueing much easier and will hopefully  enable the wheel to be re-trued at later dates.

[BenelliSEI]

+1 to Sean B’s comment. Buchanan include a small bottle of lubricant with their spoke kits. It’s like molasses! Any good anti seize compound will do. I always install a new rubber band, snapped inside the rim to protect the tube from the spoke ends. If your supplier lists a “heavy duty” one, in the size you need, order it.

[evinrude7]

a while back i had bought a set of front and rear spokes and nipples from DSS with the intent of dropping the wheels off at the local shop.  came home from an hour of hard riding this afternoon and found one broken spoke on the rear.  so i dug out my DDS sets and started asking about it here along with some googling.  think i'm going to tackle the rear this weekend.  haven't messed with spokes since childhood when i raced bmx.  pretty sure i'll need a spoke torque wrench and a truing stand.  any recommendations on those and on the truing stand.  can one mount the wheel on the swing arm and true the wheel to a couple of points on each side?  or is there a homemade or easily found truing stand one can find locally?  it doesn't seem like rocket science but i'd like be at least halfway prepared.   

[754]

Swingarm or forks work if need be.. try to get a good fitting wrench on the spokes..

[seanbarney41]

The first wheel I trued I used a spare swing arm clamped in my bench vice...no special torque wrench.  I don't see much value in getting real precise with a dial indicator either.  Just a simple visual pointer...you want to be able to correct problems and see the results of your adjustments quickly and easily.  But work your way up to full tension as gradually as possible and your wheel won't get far out of wack.  I still don't even have a spoke wrench...nipples can be tightened with a screw driver (or an allen key in the case of my crf450) from outside the rim with the tire removed

If you are not confident, lace it up and have a pro check your work and do the final trueing.

[seanbarney41]

Also, really helped me to number every spoke so I could work a group of four and alternate to the exact opposite side of the wheel...like evenly torqueing a cylinder head

[754]

Failing having a spoke wrench, I have used a 4 inch crescent wrench.

[jgger]

You can use a sharpie to mark the rim as it spins. Then tighten the spokes that will pull the rim away from where it is marked. Then with a straight edge laid from the begining or end of the pen marks through the center tighten the ones that again will pull the rim away from the pen mark.

[Old Moe Toe]

When all the spokes are in place and not yet tightened, it is a good idea to concentrate on 4 consecutive spokes at 90 degrees to each other.  mark each group of four. This makes it a lot easier to get the rims hop and wobble in the very close ball park before you move on to the other 24 spokes. I read this in my Harley workshop manual and it sure does make the job easier.

[Alan F.]

I've always tightened each spoke 1 turn each for a complete rotation of the wheel, followed by another turn each for a full rotation until they're all tight. This eliminates the possibility of the wheel going far out of true. There will still be truing to do, but minimally so.

[pjlogue]

I've always tightened each spoke 1 turn each for a complete rotation of the wheel, followed by another turn each for a full rotation until they're all tight. This eliminates the possibility of the wheel going far out of true. There will still be truing to do, but minimally so.

This is what I do as well when lacing up a wheel.  I have found that doing it this way you just have some tweaking when trueing the wheel.  Saves a lot of time.

-P.

[Maltboy]

Swingarm or forks work if need be.. try to get a good fitting wrench on the spokes..

The swingarm idea is smart!  Just clamp it in a vise and you're good to go.  I've been wondering what I could use for a trueing stand, and I have an extra swingarm.  I can also attach a piece of wooden dowel to it with a rubber band for fine tuning.

[BenelliSEI]

Make sure to check for “bounce” (ensure the rim is concentric about the axle centre) as you START truing. Once you have all the spokes snugged up, is too late in the process.

[jgger]

Swingarm or forks work if need be.. try to get a good fitting wrench on the spokes..

The swingarm idea is smart!  Just clamp it in a vise and you're good to go.  I've been wondering what I could use for a trueing stand, and I have an extra swingarm.  I can also attach a piece of wooden dowel to it with a rubber band for fine tuning.

This is where the sharpie works great. Mark it, adjust, wipe with laquer thinner to erase the mark. Thencheck it again.

[754]

Pencil , dowel, plastic knitting needle all make good indicator rods..
 When moving rim sideways for adjustment, I try to loosen the tight side, before tightening to move it over..

[Alan F.]

Chopsticks work well too. You don't want to true a wheel on an empty stomach, full and happy will help keep any frustration at bay.

[Kevnz]

There's a good article on YouTube on how to lace a Honda 40 spoke rim. He does one row of spokes into every 4th hole, flips rim and does ditto. Then outer spokes. Worth a look, taking photos is confusing, but when you see the logic laid out row by row it all makes sense.

[754]

Use the cardboard angle pattern I suggested..

[Alan F.]

There's a good article on YouTube on how to lace a Honda 40 spoke rim. He does one row of spokes into every 4th hole, flips rim and does ditto. Then outer spokes. Worth a look, taking photos is confusing, but when you see the logic laid out row by row it all makes sense.

Same method for 36 spoke wheels, just 9 bunches of 4 instead of ten.

[Don R]

 Separate the innies and outies first. Set the outies aside. Mark the spoke next to the valve stem hole on the rim end and hub end. I take a piece of cardboard into the kitchen and do them on the table.