Wheel Builds …

Tim’s disc brake front wheel

Tim wanted a new wheel for a project bike he was building. On the road, the disc brake is coming fast and Tim was looking at a bike that could be taken on all 3 roads – sealed, dirt and full on off road.

Tim had a nice shiny Phil Wood 36 hole hub that would do nicely. Being a 36 hole hub limited our options a little but we knew the Mavic Open Pro would handle all that could be thrown at it with its double eyelets and good Maxtal aluminium.

Keeping the shiny classic look going we used silver DT Swiss competition spokes and silver brass nipples.

If Tim’s training keeps going well this wheel may also get to go on the Kiwi Brevet. Good and reliable he asked – no problems.

Peter’s DI2 Alfine

Peter came into us to asking if we could build the Shimano DI2 11 speed Alfine hub he had just purchased into his existing rim. Seeing the DI2 Alfine hub for the first time I knew It would be a interesting project that dose not come up all that often.

The Shimano DI2 Alfine hub would solve the reliability problems that Peter was having with the gears skipping when the electric motor was at full power. The hub matched the number of spoke holes on the rim so we where good to go.

36 DT Swiss competition spokes latter, some time fitting the wheel to the bicycle, two men to lift the bicycle from the repair stand and the next thing I was down the road with out pedaling into a good (Wellington) headwind at 25kshr.

Peter will now enjoy the commute with out the maintenance of external gears when he chooses to pedal and a reliable rear wheel for years to come.

Andy’s Krampus Wheelset

When Andy’s not fighting crime he can be found fighting the trend….

When he first saw a mountain bike Fat tyre bike he thought it would go well for the Brevet being rigid and rather simple to go the distance. Adding to the many bikes from a tandem to mountain bikes with many wheel sizes – 26″ 650B and 29″ we knew this would be a good choice for his next project.

To have a Fat bike you need to start with the wheels and Surly has that area covered and we chose the Rabbit Hole to be big but not too big to add extra weight as when done the bike will likely be built with panniers and may need to be carried.

Dt Swiss hubs are our first choice. The rear will need a XD-Driver for the Sram XX1 build and there are not to many rear hubs around with that option that is as reliable. Six bolt disk compatible hubs front and rear makes it easier to find spears at most bicycle shops.

Held together with a three cross lacing pattern using DT Swiss Competition spokes and brass nipples will see these wheels last many a years.

Something a little different and I’m sure he will once again be asked questions when riding his new toy. In the mean time let the build begin…

-Gavin

Daniels White T11 hubs and Pacenti SL23 rims training wheels

Dan wanted a pair of durable training wheels. He races at a National level so these wheels will see plenty of kms of training as well as club racing. For bigger races he’ll use his carbon wheels but these will end up in the wheel wagon.

Durability and ease of maintenance were two strong criteria of Dans. We chose the White Industries T11 hubs – they run on large bearings and the titanium freehub body means the cassette cogs won’t dig into the freehub.

Pacenti SL23 rims are wider than usual and will let Dan run lower tyre pressure for better grip and cornering as well as better comfort for the long miles on the road.

DT Swiss Competition spokes and brass nipples finish off a super durable wheelset.

Daves Reynolds carbon rebuild with E13 hub

Dave was having some problems with the rear hub in a near-new pair of Reynolds carbon 29er wheels.

The Reynolds rims are great quality and work really well – it’s just such a shame about the wheel’s hub and build quality. The spokes were miles too short and the spoke tension was extremely uneven. Combined with the poor quality hub Dave was less than impressed.

We replaced the rear hub with an E*Thirteen XCX – with 60 engagement points this hub makes a great sound while coasting and will accelerate quickly out of corners. The hub uses super large flanges and wide flange spacing to build into a stiff wheel and it’s also one of the rare hubs available in 24 hole.

DT Swiss Competition spokes and aluminium nipples round-out the build.

Andy’s Singlespeed wheels

After spotting some singlespeed wheels we built up a few years back on our web site Andy now had some lust for a new set for his Kona Unit hoping that we could build and ship them in time for the New Zealand Singlespeed champs this weekend in Rotorua.

Getting them build and sent was never a problem and after some discussion we decided to change the parts a little to better suit his needs and wants.

We used the Hope Pro 2 hubs set in the gunsmoke gray to best match in with is raw finish frame. The Trails rear hub is there singlespeed specific hub and with the wide hub flanges builds up a super stiff and strong wheel. The front hub will be used with a 9mm QR at the moment as the Kona has a ridged fork but will also be running a 15mm through axle when the suspension forks are fitted and the hub is super easy to convert with the hub adapters popping off with out any tool needed.

The WTB I23 29er rim is strong with it’s I beam running in the middle for extra strength with reliability being the key to this wheelset as the Kona gets used for everything no matter what the conditions are.

The black DT Swiss Competition spokes and black brass nipples tie the wheels together and with our life time guarantee we know these wheels will go the distance.

With a ridged singlespeed and these wheels we know you are “hard core”. Enjoy the New Zealand singlespeed champs (maybe the bear short cuts and the costumes) and I may join you on 2nd equal with all the others.

Paul’s DT Swiss 240s disc hubs with 11 speed and Crest rims

Paul’s custom Independent Fabrication disc road bike was waiting on two final pieces to be complete: the hubs. We were initially waiting for King’s new R45 disc which were slated for delivery in January but it’s now the end of April and we’re still waiting so the decision was made to move to DT Swiss 240s hub.

I used the mountain bike version of the 240s to accept a Center Lock rotor. I removed the 10 speed freehub body and fitted a 11 speed unit from the road hubs – this widens the over-locknut by 1mm but that’s no problem: Most of the 11 speed road hubs are 1mm wider than their usual 130mm width to accommodate the extra cog without impacting on flange spacing too much – in reality this is only 1/2mm per side of the hub which the frame needs to stretch and most frames are built slightly over 130mm to ensure the wheel is easy to install and remove so it’s really no issue. In this case the hub is 136mm as the frame is built to mountain bike / disc road standards.

The rims are Stan’s ZTR Crest. Why no carbon? The rarity of disc-road hubs meant using 28 hole hubs – for Paul’s weight using a 24h with a stiff rim would have been fine – so there was no benefit in spending extra money just for carbon-bling. The Crest rims are extremely light and will be suitably stiff with the 28 drilling.

Spokes are DT Swiss Aerolites with two white spokes and red nipples at each valve.

Sub-1400 gram weight is ridiculously light for a ‘normal’ road wheel – factor in the disc brake hubs and this is impressive.

Dan’s Flite carbon with Chris King hubs

This is a build that we love to do!

We like to think that we do a good job and a repeat customer is the highest compliment We build a lot of cool wheels BUT its the repeat business that we like the best. We are proud of our work and a repeat order just makes us smile that little bit more.

We built up some alloy road wheels around a year ago and they are going well but Dan wanted something a bit faster and lighter for the race days and still go the distance day in day out. We chose the Flite 35 front and Flite 45 rear to keep the weight down, stiffness and aero speed up. Dan’s alloy wheels will be passed onto his second bike.

The Chris King hubs are a all time classic with their precision machining, awesome looks and super smooth bearings. We chose the red to tie in with the bikes colour scheme and to stand out from the many black hubs out there. The rear hub is fitted with a Campagnolo freehub body.

The DT Swiss Aerolite spokes keeps the wheel weight down while helping the aero rims hold the speed gained with every pedal stroke.

A happy customer now with two sets of great performing wheels to which we at Wheelworks say thanks.

Jude Youngs endurance wheel set

Jude needed a good race set of wheels after moving up from a 26″ wheeled bike to a 29er bike.

Jude has a lot of events coming up soon with the rebirth of the N-Duro 24 hour mountain bike race in a weeks time in Rotorua. Jude likes to ride all day and night so having a light reliable wheel set key while still being able to get parts around the world at ease.

We used the XTR hubs from her last race wheel set and laced them into a pair of Stans Arch EX 29er rims. Shimano can be found anywhere in the world and has very low rolling friction with the ball bearing cup and cone system. Stans Arch rims have been proven time and time again for there weight and reliability while still being a bit stiffer than the Crest.

We used Dt Revolution spokes for the front wheel and DT Revolution spokes for the non drive side and DT Competition spokes for the drive side rear to increase the durability and stiffness. All laced with Alloy nipples.

We wish Jude the best of luck this weekend and also latter in the year at the World Championships in Canberra Australia.

Leons DT 240 hubs with Enve 29er rims

Leon wanted a new pair of carbon wheels for his 29er – after looking at all the options he settled on a pair of Wheelworks-built Enve XC rims.

We used the DT Swiss 240s hubs to keep the wheels light and reliable. To future-proof the front wheel we used the 20mm thru-axle version of the 240s and fitted QR endcaps – this means if / when Leon buys a new fork that these wheels will be ready to go.

Bladed DT Swiss Aerolite spokes keep the weight down and two red spokes at each valve add a touch of colour to match the custom Wheelworks decals.

Thanks for your order Leon!