I recently trashed my rear wheel and was thinking about trying to build a new wheel myself, just for fun and experience.
My old wheel was a Mavic Cosmos, 28 hole, straight pull spoke, 3 crossed.
I am looking for suggestions on which rim, spokes, nipples you might suggest that I used to build up a new wheel. I am 6’ 1" 215lbs, so I am looking for something pretty solid but not too heavy. I will be using this wheel as a backup training wheel.
I purchased a new set of Velocity Spartacus Uriels and was thinking about using a Velocity rim, either a Fusion or a Deep V but I am unsure on what type of spokes/nipples I should use. If you have any other rim suggestions let me know, I am not locked into a Velocity. I will be using the old Mavic hub as there is nothing wrong with it. Any help/suggestions/tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
If it’s your first wheel I would build something cheap and with box rims. Since you’re pretty big I would go with at least 32 spokes also. If you have a chance read the Jobst Brandt book too.
I was hoping to just use my existing Mavic hub which is 28 holes instead of buying another hub. Thanks for the suggestion on the book, I will definitely look for that one.
If you really want a deep v, go ahead and use it. They are good rims; I have built wheels with them and been very happy with the finished product. Mavic Open pros are definitely easier to work with though and the finished wheels are every bit as good (less aero but you probably don’t care about that in a training wheel). Assuming you are going to pay about the same for each and you don’t care about the profile, I would definitely go with the open pros for your first wheel. Either rim will give you a very strong wheel. Obviously 32 spokes would be a little more durable but I wouldn’t want to live on the difference and I understand not wanting to buy a new freehub. If its a front wheel, I might just bite the bullet and buy a new 32 hole hub. I think you can still get ultegra fronts for $25.
For spokes, I would just use double butted 14-15 wheelsmiths or DTs. When I was really into reading about and analyzing such things, I had an opinion on which was better. Now I just use whichever is easier to get or cheaper. I haven’t been disappointed in either. Same with nipples, no reason to use anything but brass and either wheelsmiths or DTs will be fine. Again, someone might tell you one is better than the other and they may even be right but I don’t think there’s much of a real world difference.
The Art of Wheelbuilding is a good book. Brandt knows his stuff but keep in mind that he is a cratchety old retro-grouch. His advice on the nuts and bolts of wheelbuilding is second to none but he is an absolute ludite when it comes to design, material selection etc. If all you want to do is build one 28 spoke wheel, you can probably get all the information you need on the internet for free. Start with Sheldon Brown’s page’s section on wheelbuilding.