Disclaimer: This article describes how I chose to do a particular task. It is presented as information, not recommendation - use your own discretion to decide whether my method suits you. If in doubt as to your capabilities, use your local bike shop.
Wheelbuilding is one of those tasks that makes people draw in breath through their teeth - as close to magic as anything in cycling, the mystique of the wheelbuilder is powerful indeed.
So can a small, slightly mechanically adept monkey turn his hand to this most occult of bicycle tasks?
The Specification. The wheels are for a fat tyred road bike - in my case this means a rear hub with 135mm OLD (over locknut distance, or rear spacing), a fairly wide rim to accomodate tyres up to 45mm (unlikely that I'll run anything that fat, but it's a possibility, even with mudguards on the Surly Long Haul Trucker frame). The bike is intended to be a load hauler, commuter, and occasionally a tourer. In terms of wheels, for me this means high spoke count (36), traditionally (i.e. 3 cross) laced wheels. Wheel size is 700c.
The Components. Mavic A319 rims (double eyeletted, 700c), tyre sizes 28mm to 47mm, 36 hole.
Shimano Deore M530 hubs (36 hole - irritatingly supplied mismatched (one silver, one black) - original supplier wouldn't respond, and it seems the silver is hard to get. Time is short on this build for reasons I won't go into, so my hubs will be mismatched. Oh well).
ACI Double butted Spokes - 36 x 294mm for front wheel, 18 x 290mm (drive side), 18 x 292mm (non-drive side). Edit: I think 292mm would be better for the front wheel (damn you, DT Swiss spoke calculator).
The Tools. My truing stand is built from scrap timber (from kitchen cabinets, as it goes) according to the plans in Roger Musson's Wheelbuilding book (of which, more later).
I lashed out on an adjustable nipple driver - Musson's book does have plans for making your own from a cheap philips head screwdriver. I don't have the means to grind one of these down, and quite liked the idea of the variable length pin on the Cyclus tool I bought - it has proved handy so far. The plus of using the nipple driver is that you get a guaranteed level of "screwed in-ness" of your spokes and spoke nipples. (This is becasue the central pin of the driver disengages at a given point, e.g. when the top of the spoke is 3mm below the top of the nipple). Some people do this by using the spoke wrench to tighten the nipples to a point where a given amount of thread is showing. Whichever method you use, screwing the nipples to a defined point should mean that, given a true, round rim, you start to take up tension and true from a point where your wheel begins true and round...
As a dishing guage, I use a piece of stiff cardboard (from a box that Chain Reaction cycles supplied some tyres in) and a steel ruler. Again, plans for this can be found in Roger Musson's book. I do intend to build the wooden guage also in the book at some point, but the cardboard one works just fine for now (and has the plus of being very quick to make).
Part Two - the method, information used & thoughts on the process itself.
Disclaimer: This article describes how I chose to do a particular task. It is presented as information, not recommendation - use your own discretion to decide whether my method suits you. If in doubt as to your capabilities, use your local bike shop.
My BB Removal kit - L-R: Crankbolt and washers, outside tap nut, Cyclo Bottom Bracket tool (shimano compatible).
The time had come to change the Truvativ square taper bottom bracket on my Giant SCR2.0. I had confidence that the bottom bracket (hereafter "bb") had been installed properly, as my bike was supplied by Rick Green's of Handforth, an excellent bike shop. (This is significant - poorly fitted bbs can "cold weld" into frames and become a large headache).
Before I started, I made sure I knew what thread my bb was. This is important, as "English" threaded bb cups loosen in different directions, depending which side of the bike you are working on. Not knowing the threading of your bb could mean you spending a day leaning on the spanner, getting nowhere and developing ever more inventive combinations of swear words to throw at your bicycle. As my bb shell on the Giant is English threaded, the tool must be rotated towards the front of the bike to loosen (clockwise on the drive side, anti clockwise on the non drive side). If this seems counter intuitive, it's because the tightening action thought to result from pedalling is the effect of the bearings on the bb cups, not on the cups directly. I think.
My first attempts were made using the tools from my Lidl bike tool set (a shimanosplined BB tool with tall splines, that uses an 8mm allen key to turn it). The problem with this tool is that it has no way to hold itself into the splines on the BB. A properly fitted BB will be in the shell plenty tight, so without gorilla like grip, you'll struggle to hold the tool in place while applying the large amount of torque required to move the BB - at worst, you can damage the splines as the tool loses engagement. Pictured above is my bottom bracket removal kit, based on advice from my local bike shop, Manchester's excellent Bike Boutique. They suggest the use of a tool with shorter splines (measured vertically from top to bottom of the tool), a bolt the right size for the crank bolt hole in the bb spindle, and a large washer (usually sold in hardware stores as a "repair" washer).
My kit differs slightly, in that I used bits from around the garage - the bolt is the bolt from the square taper crankset that was originally on this bb, and instead of a repair washer I used the nut from an old outside tap kit (the washer and cap on the crank bolt are large enough to hold this securely).
The bolt and washer are used to hold the tool on to the bb cup, as pictured below;
End on view - the tool is held in place by the nut, which has been bolted through to the bb's spindle.
Another view showing the whole stack.
Remember that the purpose of the stack is to hold the tool in place so that it doesn't slip on the splines - it doesn't have to be hugely tight (you don't want to be working against it when turning your wrench). One advantage of the stack I used (as opposed to the repair washer) is that it doesn't overlap the wrench flats of the bb tool. I guess (although I didn't use one myself) this would make the use of a ring spanner or socket wrench possible. (On the cyclo tool, the wrench flats are 32mm in size, incidentally).
Once the tool is bolted in place, use a suitable spanner to turn the bb tool. On my bb, the drive side was movable using a headset wrench. Unfortunately, the non-drive side was far too tight for this to work, so I invested in a good quality 10" adjustable wrench to remove this side. Even here, a fair amount of force had to be applied to "break" the first turn- in my case applied with a rubber mallet to the end of the wrench - I'm not sure I'd recommend that approach to you, although I used "taps" of hopefully gradually increasing force.
As with lots of bike jobs, once I had the correct tools, and a bit of advice, the whole process was pretty straightforward. The Giant had its bb shell cleaned out, regreased heavily, and now sports a Hollowtech II bb and a Tiagracrankset. The old square taper crankset (with a lovely new FSA outer ring) will be used on my Long Haul Trucker build, once a replacement square taper bb arrives (the Truvativ one originally in the Giant is a bit gritty, so will not be reused).
I've often heard it said that pro-cycling teams sell some of their kit at the end of the season, as a way of raising funds and divesting themselves of unused bikes and parts.
Obviously the Tour de France doesn't mark the end of the season, but we found these interesting little snippets in the classifieds section of a little known cycling magazine.
(Or we strung together a lot of tenuous in jokes as an excuse to put another post up without doing too much work).
ITEMS OFFERED: Team Astana Rider Trading Cards. Complete Set Available, Happy to Split. Contact: J. Bruyneel.
"Win Friends and Influence People" Book (French Edition). Unread. Contact: B. Hinault.
"It's a Family Affair" - Sly and the Family Stone (CD) Contact: A. Schleck
"O Brother Where Art Thou?" DVD Contact: B. Feilliu
"Tales of the Unexpected" DVD box set 2009 Italian and French editions available. Contact: B. Wiggins.
"Nice Guys Finish Last" book. Contact: K. Van Hummel
Stage Winner T-Shirt - Euskatel Euskadi Colours. Medical Condition forces sale. Contact: M. Astarloza
ITEMS WANTED: Mountain/All Terrain Bikes (x9) Can exchange for 9 slightly dirty Time Trial Bikes. Contact: BBox Bouygues Telecom Team HQ.
Complete Team Kit. Most pro-tour considered, Not Astana please. Contact: A. Contador.
Stabilisers / Training Wheels, or Racing Trike. Cash offered, or can offer exchange/part exchange (can offer road bike, tt bike (with torn handlebar tape and some scrapes from use) or several pairs of bib shorts (torn)). Contact: D. Menchov
CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE: Entire post inspired by a joke I saw on twitter about Denis Menchov offering several pairs of scraped up Rabobank bibshorts for sale.
I picked this book up on a recent trip to Devon. It's been my pleasure, on such occasions, to visit a great little book shop on Station Road, Teignmouth.
The owners of the shop had, as their interests, both rock climbing and cycling. The cycling section of the shop was my destination, and however little I might think it able to offer me after previous visits, I'd inevitably leave at least £20 poorer, and several books richer.
It was at Teignmouth Books that I picked up William Fotheringham's "Put Me Back on my Bike", and Freddy Maertens' autobiography, for instance. (I also bought Lance Armstrong's two books, but I won't hold "Every Second Counts" aganst them). The shop is a treasure trove, full of interesting tomes, some devoted to subjects as specific as space-frame Moultons, and some as wide ranging as studies of the bicycle in "War, Love, Life and Literature" (S. McGonagle), some rare as hen's teeth, some as ubiquitous as "It's Not About the Bike". (Few people know that by law, there must be at least one copy of "It's Not About the Bike" in every book shop's "Cycling" shelf - shopkeepers found guilty of breaking this law are made to read the English translation of "A Tempered Passion", the Indurain biography. Cruel and unsual indeed).
Sadly, it seems, the shop is to close - despite my best efforts to empty their shelves, fill mine, and fill their coffers, it seems that they're unable to keep going in the present climate. The proprietor was kind enough to point me in the direction of the book whose cover adorns this post. I know nothing about it, or the author, but am a sucker for a striking cover, it must be said. A couple of touring books (one from the '60s, one from the early '90s), a Graham Watson coffee table book "Heroes of the Tour", a training guide from 1975, and the McGonagle book I mentioned completed my purchases.
If any of you are heading over Teignmouth way soon, you'll find that I've left some books there for you still. Have a browse, buy something interesting - if you've the money, that history of Spaceframe Moultons looked really interesting...
Cyclists are an unusual bunch (no pun intended) in many ways. Not least, in the UK, is the tendency for those following the sport of Pro Cycling to be cyclists themselves. (I could be wrong, but I don't see the same proportion of fans of other sports participating and spectating).
In the cycle commuter, the excitement of a grand tour, like the Tour de France, can bring out a certain enthusiasm for the course, and a desire to emulate your heroes in a way that can be inappropriate on the public highway.
Being a civic minded monkey, I thought it might be useful to outline a few ways to relive the Tour on your commute in a responsible way, rather than Silly Commuter Racing.
The Early Years
Maurice Garin (centre), Image from Wikimedia Commons
Given that the tour De France began over a century ago, you'd be forgiven for thinking that you had little hope of emulating the very first riders. But don't despair!
The Spares and RepairsExperience
"The sky is gloomy and washed out. Huge, grubby clouds extend to the horizon. It is as if nature itself were grieving. In the outskirts of Valenciennes, Eugene Christophe stands on the pavement. He pushes in front of him, the saddle towards the earth, his bicycle: the fork is broken. It seems to me a mighty lyre whose broken strings sing his final misery." -Henri Desgrange
In the early years of the Tour, riders were expected to carry their own spares, and effect any repairs required themselves. Obviously most of us bicycle commuters do this already. However, do watch out for people offering to lend you tools or assistance as you crouch by the road refitting your punctured tyre - should they help you, the commissaire will undoubtedly impose a hefty time penalty upon you.
"The Tour de France is finished and the second edition will, I fear, also be the last." -Henri Desgrange
There are several ways the bicycle commuter can relive the uneasy atmosphere of the 1904 tour.
Instead of gesticulating futilely at the car that passes too close, imagine yourself to be Garin, or Pothier, who were attacked by masked men in a car trying to delay them on the first stage of the race.
Cycle paths (or the Etape Caledonia) provide ample opportunity to relive the 1904 tour's fifth stage, during which nails were strewn on the route. Users of cycle paths will have to substitute the (usually) ample broken glass for nails, but isn't it the spirit of the thing that matters? Extra authenticity could be gained by finishing your commute on two flat tyres, like eventual winner Henri Cornet, although this monkey advises that there is authenticity, and there is buggering up your wheels, and the former should be sacrificed in favour of not doing the latter.
The Octave Lapize Experience
"++Have crossed the Tourmalet on foot stop ++ ++Road passable to vehicles stop ++ ++No snow stop ++" -Telegram from Adolphe Steinès to Desgrange
Relatively few of us have a commute including anything much resembling the Tourmalet and Col d'Aubisque, beyond a general trend upwards. However, if you have a hill that leaves you knackered and grinding away in your lowest gear to ascend it, why not shout "Assassins!" at the top, to relive a moment of tour history from 1910?
Gear(s)
"I still feel that varable gears are only for people over forty-five. Isn't it better to triumph by the strength of your muscles than by the artifice of a derailer? We are getting soft...As for me, give me a fixed gear!"-Henri Desgrange
Those of you using fixed gear bicycles can be smug in the knowledge that you're reliving cycling early years, although if you're not also rocking tweeds and an enormous handlebar moustache, you've only gone part of the way. All is not lost for those of us with variable gears though - why not pretend that you're Stéphanois Panel, who experimented with variable gears in the 1912 edition of the tour? For full authenticity, ride a fixed for the next 25 years, as variable gears were banned in the tour until 1937.
The Modern Tour
Very much a feature of the modern tour, the doomed French breakaway allows riders that are French, or Jens Voigt to ride ahead of the pack for most of the stage, only to be reeled in and passed with 5-10km to spare (usually).
The Doomed French Breakaway Experience, #1
".... just discount this breakaway right? It has Voeckler in it, thus 99% doomed" -Poster on PodiumCafé (Voeckler went on to win the stage)
Easily done if you're a city rider.
Inevitably, there will be times when you find yourself ahead of a group of cars, simply because the motor vehicle isn't that efficient at getting through cities. Ride away, and then allow the "catch" to occur once the roads have cleared enough for the "peloton" to get to you.
The Doomed French Breakaway Experience, #2 Again, more easily done in the city.
In this case, the cars passing you are the break, and you're the peloton. Inevitably (unless you're riding at three in the morning) the cars will choke the street and slow to a stop - at which point the "peloton" makes the catch.
A fortuitous combination of traffic conditions can sometimes mean that you get the rare (although less so in the 2009 tour so far) occurrence of the successful breakaway, with your pursuers left fuming in your wake. In such a case, you're welcome to zip up your jersey and roll to the end of your commute with your arms aloft.
Although you may never live this down if your workmates catch sight of you.
The Mountains Experience Again, the poor state of Britain's cycle paths comes to your rescue here. As you're unlikely to encounter crazed fans waving flags in your face, why not pretend that those branches and bushes the council fail to trim back every year are the flags of the Basques, or the trident of the devil? Ride through them with a grumpy look on your face, but don't get carried away and throw your bidon at them, there's usually nettles in the bushes as well...
Added authenticity can be gained if you can bring yourself to believe that the frequent graffiti along the path names famous local cyclists, in the style of the names painted on the roads of the tour. Hard to do when all you have to work with is a spray-painted Dazza, or Wayne, but needs must.
The Marcus Burghardt Experience
Lots of Britain's dog walkers seem keen to recreate this, with you in the position of Burghardt.
DON'T - it's not the dog's fault their owner is an idiot.
(See also, The Sandy Casar Experience)
The Astana Experience For this, you'll need some sort of group ride - if you have a "Critical Commute" or similar organised ride with a dedicated leader, that could work.
Ride until the group splits while the back markers wait for traffic to pass, or a green signal. At this point, ride like fury on the agreed route, ignoring the protests of the designated leader. If possible, put "your people" on the front, and either;
a) explain to anyone that asks that "the road has decided who is the leader". b) explain to anyone that asks that "my legs felt good, and it was a spontaneous attack to gain a few seconds".
Coming Soon;
The Denis Menchov Experience In which you forget which way up your bike goes.
Bought from Howies.co.uk Price Paid: £30, shortly before they were reduced again to £24 :/
Addendum: Howies' collaboration with Timbuk2 seems to have ended, and they now offer two self branded messenger bags, the Chevron Bag, which is a really interesting idea (I'm not sure the reflectives are quite right for traffic behind though), and the gorgeous Hand Me Down bag, which costs a fair amount (to say the least) but is built to last forever.
The bag I review here is essentially the Timbuk2 meduim, so hopefully the information is still of use.
I ride a commute that consists of two cycling parts (2 and a bit miles, 12 and a bit miles), with a train journey in between. I'm generally carrying work clothes, something to read, waterproofs etc, and found the load space of a rucksack a bit inconvenient at times (essentially tall and narrow, meaning that if you packed the thing you want under the waterproof, a degree of unpacking is necessary).
The courier bag appealed because of the wide, shallow load space - in theory, this means I can get to things without unpacking other things. It struck me that it might also be a more convenient place for my train ticket etc, given the ability to access the bag while wearing it.
Timbuk2 messenger bags seem to be reasonably well regarded by commuters, and the chance to pick one up at a lower price than the somewhat eyewatering £80 RRP was too good to pass up, even though the Ltd edition one does look slightly like it's made out of '70s curtains. (Sorry Mr Oakley).
First Impressions: The bag is very well made, and under the cotton duck outer is a solid looking waterproof liner. The main load space contains a good sized organiser pocket (more than enough room for spare tubes etc) that consists of pen slots, a large zipped pocket (which contains patch type pockets (I put my tubes in those), smaller zipped pocket, and a clear, id type pocket (which seems a bit useless to me, as asking someone to peer into your bag to see your license/security pass etc is, well, odd). On the outside, you have one decent sized zipped pocket (under the main flap when the bag is closed) which has a pocket without a closure behind (good for wet gloves, for example).
The bag arrived from Howies in good time, and ordering & delivery was straightforward, as it has been every time I've used them.
In use: Well, the bag swallows up a deceptively large amount of stuff - I used it on a short shopping trip when it first arrived, and was able to cart a boxed DAB radio, and two boxes of washing powder home in it. My commuting gear goes in very easily, and I suspect I could carry a pair of shoes in addition to all that without really stretching the bag at all.
It is important to remember that the back of the bag is unpadded, and as such a degree of thought is needed to pack it so that you aren't tormented by stuff digging into your back throughout the ride. The main carrying compartment is one space too, so you need to give some thought to whether things will slide about in it.
It also may not be suited to the lower position of a racing bike - unless the bag is packed exactly right, it will inevitably slide one way or the other across your back, and seems to need constant readjustment. Again, the key to this is packing properly, but this particular pack is one I manage to do once a week at most, it seems. I suspect that a more upright riding position (on a flat bar bike, or the hoods of a drop bar bike) would make this far less of a problem. More burly riders may also find that less of a problem, as the stabilising strap may sit better for them. (I find it doesn't go quite high enough up the main strap, personally, and would be better if it could be fitted over the shoulder pad).
In Summary: Solidly built, huge carrying capacity, but expensive at RRP, and may not be ideal if you ride head down a lot.
Like any group of people interested in things, some cyclists have an urge to classify their two wheeled brethren.
I don't really have any answer to offer here, although I do think some sort of Cosmo style "What Sort of Cyclist Are You?" quiz would be helpful.
My contribution would be this question;
Another cyclist waves to you - do you;
a) Wave back b) Give a slight, barely perceptible nod c) Wonder whose party you met them at d) Mentally assess the net worth of their bicycle and kit, waving only if it matches or exceeds your the value of your own bicycle and kit e) Look around to see who they were waving at f) Ignore them, they're probably some sort of serial killer g) Ignore them, otherwise you'd be waving at everyone, and where would that end up? h) Ignore them, as your goal is to normalise cycling, therefore there should be nothing unusual about seeing another cyclist that merits such a gesture and as such you should obviously SHUN this traitor to the cause
My knees and a partially laced wheel.
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