Building wheels for first time.... help

Hi! I want to build my own wheels and was looking at the velocity deep Vs on BLB hubs.

I have a few questions, are the BLBs any good? From the pics on the website they don’t look sealed. If they aren't sealed, can anyone recommend a sealed alternative please?

Will 32 spokes be ok to hold the deep Vs together on a London commute?

And finally, it not all that hard to build wheels is it? And if I can't get them true enough, I can always take them to a shop to get them put right....right?

Cheers

Hi! I want to build my own wheels and was looking at the velocity deep Vs on BLB hubs.

I have a few questions, are the BLBs any good? From the pics on the website they don’t look sealed. If they aren't sealed, can anyone recommend a sealed alternative please?
[QUOTE]
I don't know them but I woould assume they are the same as ever other "own brand" fixed hub. System x, SJS e.t.c They are fine and good and dandy.
[QUOTE]
Will 32 spokes be ok to hold the deep Vs together on a London commute?

If build correctly yes, unless you plan on doing lot of tricks, or are especially heavy, or a very careless rider.

And finally, it not all that hard to build wheels is it? And if I can't get them true enough, I can always take them to a shop to get them put right....right?

Cheers
Yep, or I'll do it. http://www.lfgss.com/thread32262.html?highlight=wheel+building

Are you talking about BLB's freestyle hub?

Looks sealed to me?

32 spokes are more than enough, deep Vs are tough too so you should be fine on a regular London commute.

Building wheels is pretty easy, buy the correct length of spoke, loosely lace them up, bring to tension, stress the wheel and then do a final true. The more time you take over it, the better they'll be... lots of incrementally smaller adjustments.

Cool, cheers guys, They certainly do look sealed from that angle so I'll pop down BLB on friday and pick some up. I am pretty light and certainly wont be doing any tricks so all is good.

What about different spoke patterns, are some way better than others? I'd quite like to go for a different patteren on each wheel.

Ah, I was looking at the track hubs.... I can't see those freestyle hubs on the website. How much are they?

the blb track hubs are the same as formula/zenith/system ex which can be found minus the hipster tax online. use sheldon's wheelbuilding tutorial. 32 spokes is fine. why do you want deep v's? mavic cxp 33 whilst not as deep or as many colours are cheaper, lighter and better.

Sticking to one pattern means you only have to buy one length of spokes. Do them 3x. Make it simple for yourself. You've never built a wheel before. Why make it complicated?

32h wheel builds will be fine. I'm very heavy and I use 32h wheels on both bikes, with no problems.

I've just had a look at those other hubs and I dont think they do them in the colour I want which is a shame but a few quid extra for having them ready powder coated is ok with me. I want to stick to the colour of my bike which is white and red.

Im only going for deep Vs because I like the look of them really and have heard that they are durable. I'll check those other wheels out though.

As for the pattern, good call, I will certainly stick to one pattern, spokes aren't as cheap as I thought so that will save me a few quid too. And I'll use that guide.

Cheers guys, really looking forward to doing this now! Bring on the weekend! Tommy, I might give you a shout if my wheels are bent all over the shop after I have built them!

Deep Vs are gonna be stonger than Cxp33s (and with a non machined option).
CXP 33s are gonna be lighter and cheaper than Deep Vs.

Both have their place. Depends what its for.

Deep Vs are gonna be stonger than Cxp33s (and with a non machined option).
CXP 33s are gonna be lighter and cheaper than Deep Vs.

Both have their place. Depends what its for.

As Harry said... If you are just commuting, what is the point of hindering yourself with a hefty rim like a deep-V?

A well built open pro or CXP-33 could save you about 200 of rotating weight, making your life a bit easier (5 more mins in bed maybe? haha).

Seriously though, for your intended use, deep vs are are over kill.

What you should do is build a set of one-ones/formula's/system-x's on mavics and them take them to someone for a final true.

Another option for you to look at are the halo wheels, which will probably come out at the same price as your custom built set and are relatively light and pretty strong.

search halo rims and then go to their road wheels. and look at the track section.

hope that helps.

Bollocks. Just looked up the weight:

Cxp33 = 470g
Deep V = 500g

Thats 30g, which is shit all.

PLUS!
Mavic CXP 33 RRP: 49.99
Deep V RRP: £41-45 (depending on finish and machining).

So actually, there is no reason to pick the CXP 33 other than if you prefer the look or are that affected by the slightly smoother drillings then on Velocity Products.

Rear Halo Hub is an epic fail if you run fixed. So avoid Halo wheelsets at all costs.

Fair enough, I had it in my head that Deep V's were around the 740g mark.

I had a set of Halo's for 2 years and it was fine, still v. smooth at the end, probably did about 5500 miles. Might've been lucky though.

weight is actually 520g, 500g is the 650c version.

So, if you went for open pros, you'd be saving about 200g.

Thats the B43, which is awful.

Not all rear halo hubs seems to suffer from the defect, most do. Basically, when you tighten the sproket and lockring up tight it slightly crushes the bearings, accelerating their decay and reducing the smoothness of the bearings immediately.

Sounds like I was lucky then... Or maybe you've been unlucky. Either way.

Oh, my bad. Reading fail. Still, 50grams isn't that important.

Mavic open pros are a totaly different kettle of fish though. If one wants Deep Vs they aren't gonna want open pros.

Sounds like I was lucky then... Or maybe you've been unlucky. Either way.

I don't ride them. Just seen a good few in the shop.

~~Sticking to one pattern means you only have to buy one length of spokes. ~~ Do them 3x. Make it simple for yourself. You've never built a wheel before. Why make it complicated?

Just realised this (the bit now crossed out) is bollocks, firstly since the distance between flanges is different between front and rear... although possibly not different enough to need different length of spoke. I dunno. And, secondly, unless you're going to buy a box of spokes, it doesn't matter if you need to buy different lengths.

WAC that skully is.

True. But if one is commuting, then why would you want deep-v's. Anyways OP, get whatever you want, doesn't sound like there's a lot in it.

At the end of the day, a well built and maintained wheel is going to be a lot more important than a few grams here and there.

Hmmm, I was set on deep Vs but now you got me thinking again!! I might be doing a ride from London to Berlin in April so a light rim may be a good idea, on the other hand the bike is mainly used for work and for knocking about town so I could take the little extra weight to have those nice deep rims!

Skully: Formula Hubs do take the same spokes front and back.

Arantrek: Commuting, is hardcore. There are craters in the roads, curbs, and taxis. Stronger rims over light rims for commuting or urban riding IMHO. Light rims for long distance or racing. But lets not go B43 heavy. Thats just crazy shit. 500ish grams is perfectly acceptable weight on the mean streets of london.

Sounds like I was lucky then... Or maybe you've been unlucky. Either way.

I've been lucky too. Mine have held up fine.

Not sure how the sprocket or lockring can actually crush the bearings but if they go wrong they go wrong I suppose.