Wheel building costs

[Mr. K]

My local bike shop has quoted me £40 a wheel to build up my hubs and rims (32 hole, DT double-butted spokes, brass nipples) - is that as expensive as I think it is? Can anyone recommend an online builder I could post my hubs and rims to?

 

[Jussa]

My local bike shop has quoted me £40 a wheel to build up my hubs and rims (32 hole, DT double-butted spokes, brass nipples) - is that as expensive as I think it is? Can anyone recommend an online builder I could post my hubs and rims to?

I had a pair done by a guy whos local to me, £40 for both wheels to be built up, I provided the Hubs & Rim he provided the double butted spokes and the skill and within a week he had them built up, I did drop them off and collect them in person and paid cash .He does advertise on ebay and his prices include postage to get wheels to him and return. I cannot access ebay at the mo, but happy to forward his details onto you when i get home tonight?

 

[bm0p700f]

If that £40 includes good spokes like Sapim Race or similar then that is not too bad I think. Also remember if you are running a shop and doing it for a living then you have to charge. Also most good shops will guarantee there builds so if anything goes wrong then there is comeback. That also puts an incentive on the shop to spend that extra time making sure its perfect - that is even spoke tension, dished to within 0.5mm and ideally true within 0.2mm laterally and radially. That bit takes a bit of time you know.

If you doing at a hobby or a bit of fun then you can charge less like the ebay guy.

 

[kaiser]

Sounds OK I've just checked a local shop and it was £30 which does not appear to include spokes. I reckon though if you find a good builder the extra can be worth it in the long run. What about giving it a go yourself, its extremely satisfying.

 

[spike3]

I paid £30 a wheel including sapim spokes from Velo cycles in Stone, velo-m.co.uk they do mail order bike parts so I'm sure that they wouldn't mind doing the wheels mail order. Behind the fancy corporate website there is actually a very freindly LBS.

There still true 2 months and many a bone shaking rock or root later.

 

[Jussa]

If you doing at a hobby or a bit of fun then you can charge less like the ebay guy.

The guy who i dealt with (found on ebay) makes wheels and has done for MTB teams in the area, he works within the tolerances so you get a perfect wheel, so i knew he had a good reputation, also he does work from home so overheads are kept to a minimum. I was lucky as he is only a few miles away so its good to deal face to face.

 

[gtRTSdh]

£40 a wheel including DT DB's is reasonable. Your local shop will / should check them over after a couple of rides for you.

Getting it done online with the postage is going to end
up more expensive especially just for one wheel plus no after care.

 

[Whatleymeister]

£40 per wheel includnig build and spokes is very good if you ask me. I paid £50 per wheel to have mine done. They will need to go back very soon for a quick re-tension and tweek but thats on the shop - all part of the service.

If they have a good rep, then go for it.

 

[Tazio]

Odd that this thread should be here as I've just phoned a local shop for a price.

£20 per wheel to build plus either £10 or £15 for Sapim spokes depending on the quality of them, £20 for black double butted.

Best of all the wheels get a guarantee for the lifetime of the rims and he will true them for free.

That's a pretty good deal I'd say.

 

[dbmtb]

Not another thread about wheel building costs. Seems to come up every month!

Bearing in mind DT competition spokes need to cost about 50p each if the shop is to make anything off them then £40 is a bargain if you're providing rim and hub. If a punter came into my shop and bought all the parts I'd charge them considerably less (ie a discount on the labour) than if they only bought the labour.