Wheel Obsession

By Igor

I’m obsessed about wheels. Hubs, rims, spokes, and (ahem…) nipples.  There is something about building a wheel that leads to such a deep connection with the bike.  The selection of parts, building, and truing entails decisions that will make you honest with yourself and bring out real emotions. The bicycle wheel is an amazing, delicately balanced creation.

The choice of components of a wheel build is not something to be taken lightly. The rim is the most important part of the wheel, for it takes the load, shock, and deformation of the wheel to accomplish a comfortable and safe ride.  A rim out of round will lead to complications during building and an uncomfortable ride. A rim that has been manufactured by cutting corners to cut costs will save a customer money at first, but will only lead to costly repairs and replacements down the road (pun intended).

Hubs have more to do with frame design: spacing, gearing, braking, and application.  There is something to be said for all types of bearings. Sealed bearing (cartridge) lasts a very long time because they are kept away from the elements, so they are perfect for city riding and touring. Ceramics are fast and light but can wear out and damage steel races. Loose ball bearing is traditional and can be adjusted and overhauled, but requires much more care and maintenance [than cartridge].

Oh the spoke…the seemingly lowly spoke.  Much of the time when I hear people talk about the newest bike they build up, how much it weighs, the components it has, the type of wheel or X laced to Y without knowledge of the spoke attributes. The spoke is a very important consideration because they are dynamic. They change with shock and stress from frame distortion.  There are so many different styles of spokes that I won’t even get into all the benefits and drawbacks of each one in this post, but it is an important conversation to have with your wheel builder regarding your application and stress factors.

Nipples. Brass. Always.

Anyway, here's a few pictures of my latest build for Adrian's Bertin. 32h Campagnolo Record hubs, double butted DT Swiss spokes, VO Raid Rim, brass nipples.

You should always talk to your wheel builder about these choices and lacing patterns. They are the most valuable resource for the quality and safety of your ride.

Wheels are the component of the bike that I’m most passionate about. The whole process of lacing, truing, dishing, rounding, truing, dishing, rounding, truing, rounding, truing, dishing, and truing is something that I find therapeutic and intensive at the same time.

Scott’s obsessed about bike luggage and rumor around VO is Casey has never slept due to thinking about bikes 24/7/365. So what keeps you up at night? Headsets? Pedals? Bar plugs?