Hi Ray, glad to hear that things have (mostly) gone well for you. My experience of broken spokes is that once one goes, more will follow shortly afterwards so it’s best just to rebuild the wheel. My 2nd Woosh wheel started to break a few spokes at the J bend after about 700 miles, so I moved that wheel from the tandem over to a solo bike where there should be less stress. I have another Sputnik rim and Sapim Strong spokes ready to rebuild that wheel in due course.
Wheel building with robust components is not that difficult. If you get the spoke lengths correct, it’s a pretty straightforward process. Don’t trust the ERD given on suppliers websites though, order your rim then measure the ERD yourself. I’ve used a few Ryde Sputnik rims and the ERD can vary be several mm. I think they are excellent (heavy & strong) rims, but there is a definite variance in their ERD measurements. Roger Musson’s book is a well-spent £10 and will give you a step-by-step guide on building a good wheel. A lot of ‘traditional’ wheel building advice is not that relevant for hub motors with their much larger flange sizes. The Grin website videos are good too – I was a bit sceptical about lacing my wheel as a single cross, but it has stayed true and so far is holding up to use on the tandem. I dished the wheel as little as I could to help keep tensions even – I used 231mm spoke length on the NDS and 230mm on the DS.
I don’t believe that wheelbuilding is a dark art, if you are methodical and patient, you’ll end up with a strong and reliable wheel. It’s a satisfying activity and I’d encourage anyone to give it a try.
Wheel building with robust components is not that difficult. If you get the spoke lengths correct, it’s a pretty straightforward process. Don’t trust the ERD given on suppliers websites though, order your rim then measure the ERD yourself. I’ve used a few Ryde Sputnik rims and the ERD can vary be several mm. I think they are excellent (heavy & strong) rims, but there is a definite variance in their ERD measurements. Roger Musson’s book is a well-spent £10 and will give you a step-by-step guide on building a good wheel. A lot of ‘traditional’ wheel building advice is not that relevant for hub motors with their much larger flange sizes. The Grin website videos are good too – I was a bit sceptical about lacing my wheel as a single cross, but it has stayed true and so far is holding up to use on the tandem. I dished the wheel as little as I could to help keep tensions even – I used 231mm spoke length on the NDS and 230mm on the DS.
I don’t believe that wheelbuilding is a dark art, if you are methodical and patient, you’ll end up with a strong and reliable wheel. It’s a satisfying activity and I’d encourage anyone to give it a try.
