Wheelworks.co.nz, Handbuilt wheels by Tristan Thomas

Matt wanted to upgrade his current Mavic wheels to something with more performance and lower weight. He originally wanted the ZTR Olympic rims but after a couple of emails we concluded that the Crest would be a better choice. The Crest is a very versatile rim and has great durability for such a light weight rim.

The Stan’s hubs with a QR15 front axle are nice and light and great value.

The spokes for this wheelset are black DT Swiss Competition. I used brass nipples on the rear driveside and aluminium everywhere else. Nipple colour alternates between red and black.

Rounding off a fortnight of Rohloff is this hub laced to a 26″ Salsa Delgado rim. The Salsa rims are eyeletted and work really well with the wide flanges of the Rohloff hub.

The spokes on this wheel are double-butted Sapim Race’s and I use DT Swiss nipples because they allow a greater rotation angle inside the rim.

Kah needed a matching rear for his Lefty front wheel which I built earlier in the year.

After a long wait the DT Swiss 240s single speed hub arrived. After some pink decals it was ready for Kah.

The Alpine is the lightest “non-race” rim in the Stan’s range and is essentially a newer version of the ZTR Olympic.

DT Swiss Revolutions and alloy nipples keep the weight down – since the DT hub has wide flanges these spokes are plenty stiff enough for all of Kah’s horsepowers.

I also fitted a pair of DT Swiss 36 point engagement rings to make for snappier acceleration and a much better noise when coasting.

Robert is putting together a supercommuter based on a Merida S’Presso. I built a Rohloff from PureSports into an all-black Semi 29er rim with DT Swiss Competition spokes and black brass nipples.

I’ve built a lot of Rohloff hubs but this was the first time that I’ve installed one onto a bike. Installing one of these is very different from a normal geared bike, and at first is very intimidating. Once you figure out how each bit works it’s actually a very simple job – the hardest part is making sure the cable routing looks nice and tidy. The hub deals with all the indexing itself so all that’s really required is running the cables around the roller which actuates the hub.

In a moment of total-overkill I used the lathe to cut the end of the grip. With all twist-shifters you need to cut down the grip to fit, and it’s very important that the end is perpendicular so that the twist shifter can rotate easily. Usually this is done with a craft knife but a parting tool on the lathe did a much cleaner (and quicker) job.

I’ve got another one to install onto a Singular frame once some more bits arrive…

Geof wanted a new pair of wheels for his singlespeed with the option of potentially running gears in the future. We used red Pro2 single speed hubs and I machined the freehub body to accept 7 cogs to future-proof the wheels a little.

Stan’s Arch 29er rims are great for singlespeeds as they’re very stiff so well suited to low cadence grunting up hills.

Based on Geof’s weight and planned use I used DT Swiss Competition black spokes and matching black brass nipples.

Decals are red to match the hubs.

Brent wanted a light weight pair of singlespeed wheels for the upcoming World Champs in Rotoura.

I used ‘classic’ silver Pro2 hubs with a combination of DT Swiss Revolution and Competition spokes and DT Swiss alloy spoke nipples in order to keep the weight down but retain plenty of lateral stiffness.

The 29″ Crest rims are very light and build up really well.

This pair of wheels should last many years of singlespeeding. Thanks for your order Brent!

Richard wanted a pair of wheels which would be versatile enough to be used on his rigid singlespeed and also 5″ travel full suspension.

I suggested the Pro2 hubs because of their ability to be quickly and easily converted from 20mm to 9mm front axles, and the rear hubs’ excellent freehub body and durability.

I laced them to Stans ZTR Arch rims. At 420g these rims are lighter than most DT Swiss and Mavic “cross country” rims yet have stiffness and strength way above their counterparts.

I used DT Swiss Competition spokes on the rear driveside and front disc side to add some stiffness, and lighter DT Swiss Revolutions on the non-drive and non-disc side to save some weight. All spoke nipples are red to match the hubs.

Total weight is 1690 grams (or 1716 including the tubeless valves and tape)

This is a light pair of 26″ singlespeed wheels. The Hope Pro2 hubs are one of the best singlespeed hubs out there: 48 engagement points, reasonable weight, a good selection of colours, and exceptional durability.

I laced these hubs to the new Stan’s Crest rims. This is a replacement for the 355 with the newer Bead Socket Technology making tubeless tyres harder to burp.  These are awesome rims with great durability and very light weight.

The rear wheel uses light weight DT Swiss Revolution spokes on both sides – the wide, parallel flanges build into a very stiff rear wheel even with these light spokes. The front wheel uses the same Revolutions on the right side but stiffer Competitions on the disc side. All spoke nipples are aluminium.

Weight is a very respectable 1594 grams.

Mat approached me a few months ago – he is off to race the World Cup in Mont Saint Anne, Canada and he needed a fast and light pair of XC wheels.

Mat originally wanted to use a pair of carbon rims but I explained that I didn’t think the cost / benefit was right and that the much cheaper, just as light Stan’s Race rims would be a great option.

I laced the sub-300 gram Race rims to Tune King and Kong hubs. These are one of the lighter mountain bike hubsets out there and with large bearings and aluminium axles they offer good durability and performance.

I used DT Swiss Aerolite bladed spokes to keep weight and aerodynamic drag down. The front wheel and non-driveside rear are laced 3-cross, and the driveside rear is laced 2x to increase the non-driveside spoke tension. This is important on the very light Race rims.

Gold nipples and custom gold decals – Mat’s aiming for gold at the World Cup.

The wheels came in at a stunning 1244 grams for the pair and they look a million-bucks.

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.