Wheelsmith or DT spokes with brass nipples

Spokeprep or linseed oil

I've used many different hubs but mostly Shimano hubs. Not cuz they are better but because they were supplied to me.

Good cheap rims I like are just about anything from Alex or Velocity.

jaretj

Mavic open pro rims or HED Belgiums with DT Swiss spokes and brass nipples. Campy makes some great hubs but are a little more expensive. I also have a wheel wth white industries that is nice but also can't go wrong with DT Swiss or shimano hubs either.

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Andy Mullen
Team Zoot

I usually like using 14/15 double butted spokes and brass nipples (DT Swiss or Sapim is generally what I use). The alloy ones are lighter, but they tend to get deformed easily if you are not careful in the tensioning process and they never last more than 10 years in a wheel that is exposed to crap weather. I prefer Shimano hubs too, but it doesnt really matter. I do recommend using a good rim, like a Mavic Open Pro or DT Swiss RR440 simply because they are very sturdy and exceptionally straight. Cheaper rims tend to warp more in the build process and it's a bit harder to get true with even tension. Most of latest wheels I've built have been with DT Swiss rims as they have been building extremely well.

If you don't have a spoke tension gauge, make sure you do, as it's almost critical in my opinion. I would definitely start with the front wheel first because it's symmetric and you don't have to worry about nailing the differing tensions and spoke lengths.

I usually order my hubs and rims from AEBike.com and then separately order the spokes I need from WheelBuilder.com because you can order a custom count of spokes vs a box of 100.

For what it's worth I just built a pair of MTB wheels using light-bicycle.com 33mm wide 'all mountain' carbon rims, Sapim D-Lite spokes and Sapim aluminum nipples, and my old Hugi 240 front and rear disc hubset. Ordered the rims from light-bicycle (they were easy to deal with, shipped pretty quickly considering it's from China, and the rims look great), the spokes and nipples from http://www.bikehubstore.com/. Bikehubstore was also quick and effective in terms of shipping cost - not everyone will ship from the US to Canada using the regular postal service.

IIRC this was the third and fourth wheels I've built from a completely disassembled set of parts. They're running well so far and trued up decently with (by ear) fairly even spoke tension on the respective wheel sides... I have a Park wheel truing stand and exercise lots of patience when doing wheels.

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Less is more.

I started a similar thread recently as I'm pretty much doing the same thing with the same concerns. Somebody told me Flo has their 30 rims for sale for $80. Still figuring what spokes, hubs, etc... to buy and from where.

I usually build training wheels with Novatec hubs as you get more freedom with spoke count than Shimano and they have ABG to protect the alloy freehubs. You can get them from bdopcycling
Kinlin XC279 is a nice rim if you want to go for wide and slightly aero.
Any 2.0/1.8/2.0 spoke from a good brand (or 1.7 for wheelsmith).

If anyone has good tips on a combination of rim/hub/spokes/nipples (and a website to order everything) that would be greatly appreciated!

Buy everything from BHS (Bike Hub Store). They have it all. Use their house hubs, Kinlin or house rims, and Sapim Race spokes. Aluminum nipples are fine if you use a good compound. I use Tefgel and do this professionally.

I can give you more detailed guidelines if you tell me stuff like how much you weigh, how you ride, etc.

There's no reason why your first set of wheels can't be great. What are you using for a guide?

thanks guys...ended up going for hed c2 with dt350 hub 20H, emailed a bit with the guys from wheelbuilder, very responsive and made sure i got all measurements correct...now just see if i can buy some patience to build...

Get the basics down first: 32h 3x wheels built out of decent but not too expensive bits. A23s, Aeroheads, Open Pros, et al are great to start with and build up into nice wheels.

Plan on screwing a few up that you may have to re-lace or re-tension./re-true em.

You don't need the fanciest stuff to build good wheels. I built wheels for 20ish years on a folding Minoura stand that wasn't even straight. Good dishing tool is essential.

Its nice knowing that the wheels you're beating up on your buddies on are built by you.

M

I'm interested to hear how you did on your build. If you don't mind, do a follow-up with pic.

Good luck with your build!

x2

I ordered a pair of BHS C472w Clincher Rim - 23mm wide - 28mm deep, Superlight hubs and CX Ray spokes over 2 years ago and these wheels are still going strong

You don't need the fanciest stuff to build good wheels.

You don't need anything but a spoke wrench really.

Most important thing is taking your time and reading up on what needs to be done. There is more to it than just sticking the spokes in and making the wheel true! Here is a pretty good free guide: http://miketechinfo.com/...ech-wheels-tires.htm

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html

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res, non verba