The rim on my 20” freestyle/hockey unicycle had a bad kink in it that needed sorting out but no amount of truing was going to fix it. So it was either a new rim and rebuild the wheel or a whole new wheel. Well a chance word at a local cycle shop and for just a few quid I walked out with a new alloy Weinmann rim he had in the back of the shop. So my decision was made, rebuild the wheel, only I’ve not done it before.
I knew how to in theory but just to check I went along to Sheldon Brown’s wheelbuilding web page After taking the old rim off I realised that the kink was worse than I thought and the rim wasn’t even round. Could this be the reason why I’m just not getting the hang of those tricks? Probably not. After cleaning the hub and spokes I rebuilt the wheel, then trued the wheel (I have done this before) and put it all back on the unicycle.
This is where the satisfaction comes in; I rode on the wheel I built. I’d not anticipated feeling good about riding round my hall and kitchen but I did and all because I’d built the wheel instead of some machine in a far off country. Isn’t life strange, or is it just me that’s strange?
Wheelbuilding is truely one of the most satisfying things there is. When I built my first wheel, I felt like I had attained some cool zen-like state of being. I think I still feel like that after every new wheel I built.
I dunno about building a computer. I built one, and I was kinda depressed to notice that by the time I had finished it it was obsolete…
I just built my trials wheel. It was really satisfying, since I know there’s noone else to blame if things go wrong, but then there’s that sickening knot you get in your stomach when you notice there’s play in the plines on the hub, and you’re gonna have to do a complete rebuild. That is the knot I currently have sitting in my stomach… I also have to get my spokes re-cut. Building the wheel was fun, but now this sucks.
“gerblefranklin” wrote in message > I just built my trials wheel. It was really satisfying, since I know
> there’s noone else to blame if things go wrong, but then there’s that
> sickening knot you get in your stomach when you notice there’s play in
> the plines on the hub, and you’re gonna have to do a complete rebuild.
> That is the knot I currently have sitting in my stomach… I also have
> to get my spokes re-cut. Building the wheel was fun, but now this sucks.
are you saying there is play in the splines? i tried to tell you that
was going to happen with profile cranks.oh well
Yeah Jagur, you were right. I wasn’t surprised, since both you and Steve warned me of this, but I figured I may as well try. I don’t regret tryhig, since I wouldn’t have known if I hadn’t. Thanks for the warning, though. I’m glad I knew about the risks beforehand.
After taking the old rim off I realised that the kink was worse than I thought and the rim wasn’t even round. Could this be the reason why I’m just not getting the hang of those tricks? Probably not. After cleaning the hub and spokes I rebuilt the wheel, then trued the wheel (I have done this before) and put it all back on the unicycle.