building up a set of wheels.....

never done this before, i cant find a set of wheels i'd be happy to part my money with also, i dont have the up front cash to buy a full set, so, i'm thinking of slowly building up a set.

ideally, i'd like it to fit in well with my LXm580 groupset, but doing a quick search i cant find LX M580 disc hubs, so, alternatives must be sought.

the wheels would be used on my commuter/xc bike (rigid) 2004 Marin Nail trail. so something reliable, good strong build but with a sensible price tag.

firstly i'd like to get the hubs sorted:

Hubs
i'm partial to Shimano hubs, mostly due to their availability second hand and the prices they come up at.
need to be nine speed hub for rear and disc compatible.

then Rims:
no idea on this. any suggestions welcome.

spokes:
even less of an idea on this than the rims :|


budget:
Hubs: £25ish??
Rims: £30ish??
Spokes: £ no idea, never bought them before....

colours: black/grey i'd be happy with. not really doing any bling thing on this bike, so understated, nothing flashy really.

is this a suitable way to approach building a wheelset? or am i going about it fack-to-bront?

any advice/pointers appreciated

I agree with you on the hubs - Shimano are fabulous value for money, well-built and durable. However I think that there is only miniscule difference between Deore and XT/XTR. The top end ones are marginally lighter, have the same seals but actually smaller, weaker bearings to accommodate an aluminium axle. I bet nobody can tell the difference in the dark! I have a Deore LX rear that has outlasted 3 bikes and done several tens of thousand miles with 3 or 4 new freehub bodies.

I'd go for a set with double butted spokes, Deore hubs and Mavic 317 or (better) 717.

hamster":3m3u9b7t said:

I agree with you on the hubs - Shimano are fabulous value for money, well-built and durable. However I think that there is only miniscule difference between Deore and XT/XTR. The top end ones are marginally lighter, have the same seals but actually smaller, weaker bearings to accommodate an aluminium axle. I bet nobody can tell the difference in the dark! I have a Deore LX rear that has outlasted 3 bikes and done several tens of thousand miles with 3 or 4 new freehub bodies.

I'd go for a set with double butted spokes, Deore hubs and Mavic 317 or (better) 717.

Click to expand...

thanks for the advice, going to attempt to lace them up myself (then give to a LBS to true/dish as appropriate).

about the spokes - i guess a visit to sheldon brown would be in order. but if there is a quick easy method to determine what i need, then i'm all for hearing that.....of course i know i need to match hub/rim holes, so i guess thatas why starting with hub and rim first makes sense....

just seen these on the forum for £30 the pair:



what kind of spokes would i need for these?

They use normal spokes but the difficulty would be calculating the spoke lengths if none of the online calculators have M555 listed. I haven't checked, mind you.
I'd use something like M756 hubs if you want to use Shimano.

funky looking m555 hubs... but as stated I'd stick with XT or LX myself, they've noticeably smoother bearings IME and to me the M555 look like a cracked flange waiting to happen (unless anyone knows otherwise!)

they're centre lock, but they are within my price range - and a set.....

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Shimano-SLX-D ... 3cd428689f

Look on CRC: you can almost get a pair new for that kind of money.

The long-distance touring guys have gone off the top end Shimano stuff due to undersized bearings compared to the parts of the range still with the bulletproof old cup and cone on steel axles.

twain":82uv1dtl said:

never done this before, i cant find a set of wheels i'd be happy to part my money with also, i dont have the up front cash to buy a full set, so, i'm thinking of slowly building up a set.

Click to expand...

what is your budget? I am sure if you look around on the internet forums, shops, ebay etc you will come up with something pretty decent to fit the bill - buying parts separately usually ends up being more expensive.

wait until you ahve funds then buy - no point buyying the bits since you ain;t going amnywhare until you have the lot plus if you have never built a wheel, you may mess it up.

02gf74":1dd0dwwc said:

twain":1dd0dwwc said:

never done this before, i cant find a set of wheels i'd be happy to part my money with also, i dont have the up front cash to buy a full set, so, i'm thinking of slowly building up a set.

Click to expand...

what is your budget? I am sure if you look around on the internet forums, shops, ebay etc you will come up with something pretty decent to fit the bill - buying parts separately usually ends up being more expensive.

wait until you ahve funds then buy - no point buyying the bits since you ain;t going amnywhare until you have the lot plus if you have never built a wheel, you may mess it up.

Click to expand...

also true... unless you MUST build them hang fire, every now & then a superb set of used wheels comes up for a ton or so.