Lacing a rim, sometimes those words send people running for cover. I hear a lot of people say "I dropping my rim and spokes by the shop" or "there is no way I gonna try and do that myself. Now if you don't know the differents between a pair of pliers and a cresent wrench then you might want to drop this work by the local shop to have done professionally. Otherwise, this job is not the "big bear" it sometimes is made out to be. You don't need an expensive lacing jig as you will see if you read Carl Askews below on a lacing jig. I tried Carls method recently on my CB-750 front rim and hub, I didn't use the radio as he does (I watched wrestling on TV)but I followed his method on the jig just as he mentioned and it really was a breeze. The most important part is being sure you don't get the outer spokes mixed with the inner spokes and on most rims they are two different sizes, keep in mind there is not much differents between the two so look carefully. I can't speak for lacing all rims as I mostly have laced Honda rims. However, with the Honda rims if you look at the rim closely you will notice where the spoke goes into the rim there will be a small hump pointing toward the hub, look closely and you will see exactly where the spoke is suppose to come from as the humps are directional. They indicate if the spoke comes from the right or left side of the hub and also if the spoke comes from the right of left side of the rim.
Once you get all your spokes laced through the rim rotate the rim and slowly tighten each spoke. Don't try to tighten it too much at a time, work the rim around until the spoke nuts are just starting to make contact. At this point you can start working on making your rim circular. Find the high spots and and tighten the spokes around the high spot. You will find that you may need to loosen the spokes about a quarter turn around the low spots and turn the rim around to the high spot to tighten it. Keep working it and you will get a feel for it. After you have got your rim round you can then start working on getting the wobble out of it. Again, start with the high spot and then down a low spot, it will quickly start to take proper shape. After get the rim strait double check to make sure it is still concentric. If not, go back over it and when you get it strait check for the wobble again. Each time it should get better and soon you are thruogh. Go around and flick the spokes with a finger, they should all be tight and make about the same sound. Tighten any spokes that are loose and check your rim again for trueness. Check out Carls jig below!!!
Do I have to buy an expensive lacing jig?
By Carl Askew
I do like the idea of the wheel jigs I must admit, and would snap one up
if
ever I got the chance to buy one cheap.
But I have been building wheels since 1969 and have never once used
anything
else but a vice, an axle and a spacer to mount the wheel on. That is
with
the axle standing up vertical.
I can't say which would be the easiest having only used the vice, but a
vice
is very easy to find.
I do use a 3" shifting spanner most of the time while I am truing and
then a
spoke spanner to tighten them at the end.
Do make sure that you use a good quality spanner on the nipples because
once
they are rounded that is it.
The first thing to get right is to get the rim concentric with the hub,
then
you can true it to run straight. Getting the rim concentric with the hub
is
always the first step.
It is a very satisfying job, I always listen to the radio while doing
it,
but that is not important.
Here is another idea below, I'm sorry as I lost the authors name and I can't give him proper credit for his information and ideas.
Another Idea for a Jig.
For a jig to true the rim I clamped the swingarm of the bike
vertically
in my vice, installed the newly spoked wheel with the axle bolt and
used
one of the sides of the swing arm as a reference point when adjusting
the spokes to get rid of the wobble (side to side and up and down).
Overall the job was not as difficult as I had thought it would be - try
it - you might like it!!
Tips on Wheel Lacing
Much easier to do than I was led to believe
Preliminary:
1.Draw yourself a spoke pattern
2.The hub will probably be offset. Measure it, both sides
3.Measure the new rim. I had two Borrani WM3 rims and the profile was different. The part I was
measuring to was a 1/4 inch different. I was surprised.
4.Grind a screwdriver with parallel sides to fit the nipples snugly. Much easier to use than a spoke
key.
5.When taking the old wheel apart, keep the inside and outside spokes apart. They are probably
different.
Building:
1.Stainless Steel spokes and nipples are nice.
2.Lubricate the threads, this really helps.
3.Only put the inside spokes in and lace them up to the rim, putting a couple of turns on each
nipple.
4.Then lace up the outside spokes. This way they cross each other nicely and do not tangle.
5.Working around the rim progressively tighten the nipples a couple of turns at a time starting at
the valve hole, to keep track of where you are. This will keep the hub centered and true.
6.When they start to get tight check your offset and only tighten the left or right side until
corrected. Make any adjustments now to true the wheel. It is much easier now to correct than
when the spokes are tighter.
7.When the rim offset is correct and the wheel is true, tighten all spokes again working around the
rim. You should be able to get them tight enough using the screwdriver. Tap them, the tone will
pick up any loose ones.
8.Refit the tire and balance.
