Repair guides › Wheels & Tires
Build a wheel from a bare hub and rim
The rim, spokes and nipples that hold the hub in the middle. Most adult bikes have double-wall alloy rims. Spokes are under tension; each pulls the rim toward its side of the hub. Turning a nipple changes tension and moves that part of the rim sideways (true) or up/down (round). Internal rim width sets which tire widths fit well.
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Tools
- Bike grease: Park Tool PPL-1 PolyLube 1000 ($)
- Digital calipers: Clockwise Tools DCLR-0605 IP54 Digital Caliper ($$)
- Spoke wrench: Park Tool SW-7.2 ($)
- Truing stand (or zip-tie method): Basic wheel truing stand (16–29 in) ($$)
- Spoke tension meter: Park Tool TM-1 Spoke Tension Meter ($$$)
- Wheel dishing gauge: Park Tool WAG-5 Wheel Alignment Gauge ($$)
- Spoke nipple driver: Park Tool ND-1 nipple driver ($)
- Spoke ruler + bearing gauge: Park Tool SBC-1 spoke bearing and cotter gauge ($)
Compare Good, Better and Best for each tool
Steps
- Measure: the rim’s ERD, the hub’s flange diameters and each flange’s distance from the center. Rear hubs differ side to side.
- Work out the spoke lengths for each side with a spoke calculator (3-cross is standard for 32 spokes). Buy spokes within 1 mm of those lengths, plus nipples. The hub and rim hole counts must match.
- Lace the first set: from one flange, put a spoke into the rim hole next to the valve hole, so the valve sits between two parallel spokes. Then fill every 4th rim hole from that flange.
- Lace the other three sets the same way, crossing each spoke over two others and under the last one (3-cross). Check the pattern against a finished wheel before you go on.
- Grease the nipple threads and thread every nipple to the same depth, just until the threads are hidden.
- Bring up the tension evenly: half a turn on every nipple, all the way round, again and again. Squeeze spoke pairs between rounds to settle them.
- True side to side, then round (no hop), then dish: the rim must sit centered over the axle. Check with the dishing tool.
- Measure tension with a tension meter and even it out within about 10% per side, at the rim maker’s figure (often 100–130 kgf on the drive side).
- Stress-relieve (squeeze the pairs firmly), re-true, then fit rim tape and the tire. Check it again after the first few rides.
Torque
| Fastener | Torque |
|---|---|
| Spoke tension | rim maker’s figure (often 100–130 kgf drive side) |
Diagram
Looking down from aboveWheel rim
Signs it needs doing
- Wobble you can see at the brake/frame
- Ping from loose or broken spoke
- Rim rubs the frame