Wheel Building... A Magical Art

For those who have followed this blog from its inception you will know that I have tried to become a little more proficient in bike maintenance, though  my skills are very limited and it takes me ages.  It certainly isn't cost effective!  However I do enjoy it and it keeps me occupied

The series consists of

http://thediaryofmybike.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/pedal-to-saddlesetting-height.html

http://thediaryofmybike.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/novice-bike-mechanic-part-1.html

http://thediaryofmybike.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/mechanical-interlude.html

http://thediaryofmybike.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/the-novice-bike-mechanic-part-2.html

http://thediaryofmybike.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/marginal-gains.html

http://thediaryofmybike.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/a-business-case-for-improved-data.html

http://thediaryofmybike.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/the-mobile-mechanic.html

http://thediaryofmybike.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/the-novice-bike-mechanic-and-wheel-rims.html

and as I succumbed to the realms of fantasy, ignoring the fact of my ageing body and general overall lack of fitness, I started to look at potential performance gains through the use of  improved wheels

http://thediaryofmybike.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/rolling-along.html

This post takes the whole process to a much higher domain....

The Magical  Arts of Wheel Building

I am quite good at planning and  reading instructions, it is just the following them that causes me difficulty. So the preparation part of my project was good fun;  researching the different sort of rims, the advantages and disadvantages of various spoke lacing patterns, the intricacy of  various hub materials and construction with particular emphasis on the bearing quality. Then there were decisions to be made about spoke thickness and colour to mention nothing of the finer points of material degradation between Brass and Aluminium for nipple construction. And of course I also had to consider the choice between rim tape or the much lighter velo plugs; after all, that saving of 20 grams could be all the difference on whether to have a cream cake or toasted tea cake on my next ride.

After much pondering I came down to purchasing

 23mm width H plus Son Archetype Rims drilled for a 20/24 spoke combination.
Novatech F482SB / A291-SB  Hub set
Alpina AC1 F1 Silver SSDB spokes with brass nipples
and, because Velo Plugs do not fit these rims I went with Velox Cloth Rim tape

All I needed now were some tools, and a helpful experienced advisor who could act as my mentor.  Fortunately just such a man lives close by, and in return for showing him some of the best local Cake Stops ( for which I am rapidly becoming an expert ) he offered to let me borrow his tools and help me with the build.

I chose a radial lacing pattern for the front wheel and a 2 cross pattern for the rear. The whole build process was extremely satisfying, though I expect that Rob found it tediously slow compared to his normal pace. By taking my time and tightening each spoke  in many small incremental steps, the spokes gradually developed that beautiful ' ping ' tone as they came into synchronous tension. ( Though this was helped by having a tensionometer to ensure things were going OK )

When finally finished I installed them on my Giant Advanced TCR SL3 and I do think they look grand

and they certainly ride well.

The only problem that I now have is that I seem to have only 4 bikes BUT I have 6 sets of wheels!
I must think of a constructive solution.

The Mobile Mechanic

I am not sure whether every cyclist used to be a Boy Scout, but their motto of " Be Prepared " is something that all cyclists should adopt. In the case of cyclists this often boils down to the stuff they carry with them in case of the need for urgent repairs on the road. Whether or not they know how to ACTUALLY  use this kit is another matter entirely. And it is this which started me thinking when I misplaced my Multi-Tool the other week and was in need of a replacement. The modern tool is really a mechanics wonderland

Allen keys  of every size, tyre levers,flat and phillips screwdrivers, spanners and even a chain splitting tool; a cornucopia of instruments. And of course with this wide range of Allen Keys I could even remove and maintain the pedals. You never know, the next generation of multi-tools may even allow me to re-program my Shimano  Ultegra Di2 Electronic Gear Change System.   Perhaps.
Of course there is a minor downside of having this mobile workshop, it is heavy and we all know that weight kills especially when climbing hills.
But it was not always like this, though cyclists have always loved toys as shown by this travelling tool kit from Mafic.

Tyre levers were missing from this kit so had to be purchased separately as shown in this early tool manufactured by  Terrys

But compared to the vast array of tools for the mobile mechanic available today, some of us remember the first ever multi tool, and this set contained something all the others still miss....a pair of spoons which doubled as a musical instrument or essential when eating strawberries and icecream.

My lightweight cycling friends carry lightweight kit and one of the best I have seen are these, though I have my doubts over the life expectancy of those plastic tyre levers which double as a case.

My eldest son however has embarked on a plan which eschews all this modern paraphernalia and relies upon an Oyster Card, a £10 note and a mobile phone plus a bunch of flowers to a hopefully helpful wife .

Have you got any essential kit ? New or vintage?  Post a photo in the comment section below

The Novice Bike Mechanic ( Part 2 )

Part 1 described how I went about removing the chain rings on my 1961 Mercian Audax with the aim of replacing them with a more hilly friendly version as I prepare for a life of cycling in my dotage. One of the main obstacles I encountered was the question of how much force to use to loosen the threads, many of which had seized up over the decades since the bike was last stripped and assembled.
Re-building with new components is in theory a simple process of just reversing the process but life for me never seems that simple and for a bodge-it man could present many challenges. What I needed was a book!   And my GS Gazzetta friends came up with an excellent suggestion

So armed with my new fount of knowledge I started the rebuilding process. Stage 1 was to insert the new Bottom Bracket, having first cleaned out all the accumulated dirt and debris which had collected in the shell. The insertion bit was quite easy and the tightening of the shell thread, enough to pinch tight but not to endanger the thread stipping. Feeling quite good so far.

Just a slight smear of grease on the new crank threads and we were nearly there. I was very wary of over tightening the crank bolt and in the event, after the bike had been ridden for a few kilometres, I had to return to this and tighten a little more. Perhaps the bolt was still bedding down. The smaller chainset meant that I also had to lower the front derailleur changer, all in accordance with my instructions from ZIM

The old big ring was a 52 tooth size whereas now it had shrunk to 46 and so there was a question about chain length but I am convinced that messing about with link removal is something of a black art..literally when you see how I appear to get grease and oil on my wife’s white towels! So I left it alone and just checked that the gear changer still worked,
And the bike was ready to roll!

However, in practice I discovered that the gear changes were not working as smoothly as I would have liked and I think that the position of the rear derailleur with the longer chain was ( partly? ) to blame. And so it was back to ZIM to find out what to do and what was needed. The recommendation of a Park Chain Tool to squeeze the links together when removing a SRAM link was excellent and made the job so much easier. Calculating the new chain length according to ZIM ( my new bike mechanic phrase ) I used another Park Tool to remove a few links and then reassembled everything and tried again

This time everything seems to be working.

Whilst I would not now call myself even a reasonable bike mechanic, I have enjoyed this exercise, made more enjoyable by not being under time pressure as I had another bike to ride. It has also given me a deeper understanding of how the whole thing works..problem is I am now listening out to every creak, groan that my Mercian makes and spend a ride trying to diagnose non-existent problems. Oh, and I do now have the basis for a set of good quality bike tools.