Wheelworks.co.nz, Handbuilt wheels by Tristan Thomas

I laced this pair of DT Swiss 240s hubs to XR-270 rims for a great ‘all-round’ wheelset for Mark.

We used round-section DT Swiss Revolution spokes on the front wheel and Competition spokes on the rear.  The front wheel is laced 24 hole radial, the rear is 28 hole, 2-cross.  Both spokes are 2.0mm at the head and thread but the Revolution spokes are 1.5mm in the center section compared to 1.8mm for the Competition.

Lateral stiffness is less of a concern on the front wheel because of the widely spaced, symetrical flanges so a lighter spoke can be used to reduce weight and improve the ”feel’ of the wheel.  For the rear wheel stiffness is more important because the cassette pushes the driveside flange in towards the centerline.  Competition spokes add stiffness to the rear wheel and I used brass spoke nipples on the driveside to help with long-term durability.

Mark wanted to use red spoke nipples and red decals to match his frame and fork.  Plus red is the fastest colour :-)

This is a great pair of wheels and they represent great value for money.

The Alchemy ELF is a great front hub – it’s combination of wide flanges and light weight mean that it can be laced into very stiff, light wheels.

I paired the ELF with the excelent DT Swiss 240s rear hub.  The 240 has the best freehub body mechanism on the market and is extremely durable.

The spokes are bladed DT Swiss Aerolites laced 20 hole radial on the front wheel and 28 hole 2-cross on the rear wheel.  Spokes nipples are DT Swiss aluminium.

The hub and rim decals are red because that’s the fastest colour :-)

This pair of 1534 gram wheels are for Gary’s new Yeti ASR which I’ll be building next week.  The ASR is a 5″ long-travel cross country / All-Mountain frame and needed a pair of wheels which were light enough for XC use but strong enough for a bit of abuse.

The rims are the new Stans Crest – an updated version of the ZTR 355 with the newer sidewall shape.  I laced them to the excellent Stan’s hubs with DT Swiss Competition double butted spokes and a combination of aluminium and brass spokes nipples.

The front hub uses a 20mm thru axle for the Rockshox Revelation forks.  The rear is a standard 135mm quick release.

Please note that the photos of the wheel weights include the tubeless rim tape and valves.

Unfortunately this is the second time I’ve built this wheel for Jeff…a car door was opened on him which did a lot of damage to the bike.  Luckily Jeff came out reasonably well.

The Dual Duty is a 700c rim designed for touring, cyclocross or 29er mountain bikes.  It’s a versatile and well-priced rim and laced to this Hope Pro2 hub it should last a long time…minus being hit by car doors.

Spokes are double-butted DT Swiss Competitions and brass spokes nipples are used for long term durability.

The new Chris King R45 hubs are a work of art.  They take all the good attributes of the old Classic hubs and make them more road-specific.  The freehub body has 45 engagement points rather than 72 to cut down on freehub body drag, and the new freehub body has been designed so that a Campagnolo version can be produced in the future.

The flange geometry is great.  The driveside flange on the rear hub has been pushed outwards (a good thing) and the non-driveside flange sits in a good position for the balance of stiffness and spoke tension.

At 102 grams the front hub is ‘heavy’ compared with some other alternatives but the rear hub is very competitive at 215 grams.

And the best thing about Chris King hubs?  That lovely noise and the great selection of colours.

I built these hubs to a pair of Kinlin XR-270 rims using bladed DT Swiss Aerolite spokes.  I have red Wheelsmith nipples which are a near-perfect match for the red hubs.

At 1444 grams this is a great pair of wheels.

These road and touring wheels are build around the White Ind H2 front hub and H3 rear.  The H3 uses a steel axle, titanium freehub body, and 5 bearings which makes it a very durable hub.  The flange geometry is very good and it builds into a very stiff rear wheel.

The rims for this build are the DT Swiss R465 double-eyelet clincher previously known as the RR1.1.  This is a great alternative to the Mavic Open Pro and is very high quality.

Both wheels are laced 32×3 with DT Swiss Competition double-butted spokes and black brass nipples.

Despite the high spoke count and durable parts these wheels weigh 1744 grams actual weigh – I find it amazing that low spoke-count ‘factory’ wheels of this price are 100-300 grams heavier with much worse durability.

This XTR rear wheel had pulled a spoke head through the rim and required a replacement rim.  This generation of Shimano wheel is notoriously hard to work on; the spokes cross over (driveside spokes enter the non-driveside of the rim), the mixed lacing pattern and hub-mounted nipples mean that these wheels don’t resemble a ‘normal’ wheel and react quite differently to adjustments.

At first I hated doing Shimano rebuilds but the more I do the better I get and the more I enjoy them.  The basic wheelbuilding concepts are the same – spoke tension holds the wheel together and pulls the rim where you want it – but the best way to get the desired effect is quite different and I like the challenge.

The finished wheel has run-out of less than 0.10mm in both the lateral and vertical directions and has exceptionally equal spoke tension which means the wheel is true and will remain true.

Like the FH-M965 rear hub these wheels use a titanium freehub body and titanium rear axle.  The replacement rim was remarkably light for a UST tubeless rim at 420 grams, the old rim was 433g.

This front wheel is a training wheel for Wes’ wife.  I used a 28 hole DT Swiss RR1.1 rim with single eyelets and laced it to a Velocity sealed bearing front hub.  These hubs are Taiwanese made but are very good quality and use good quality bearings.

I used DT Swiss Competition spokes and matching black brass nipples.  The rim decal is a nice sky-blue.

The DT Swiss rims always build up well and this one was no exception.

This pair of wheels is a dishless pair using the Hope Pro2 hub similar to the wheels tested by NZMTBR magazine. The Pro2 single-speed hub is modified to fit 7 cogs from a standard 9 speed cassette giving better chainline and much better wheel stiffness because of the wider flange spacing.

Jack wanted something light and stiff for a new XC bike and wanted a touch of uniqueness.  I removed the Hope logos and polished the hub barrels – I think this looks great – and he wanted one silver spoke and nipple on each wheel next to the valve.

Spokes are light weight DT Swiss Revolutions and all spoke nipples are aluminum.

The rims are the new Stan’s Crest – basically a newer version of the 355 but with the updated BST bead socket and a profile more similar to the Olympic.