Mickie's Front Wheel

Currently building up a set for my friend Mickie. This will be her do-everything wheelset. Criteria: light, durable, comfortable and pretty. We chose navy blue Chris King R45 hubs in 24 and 28 drillings, with 2x Sapim Race spokes, 12mm brass nipples, and Pacenti SL23 rims.

The set is half way complete. This morning I finished the front, which I find more challenging than the rear.

The workspace: stand, Spotify, coffee mug, and spoke ruler. The pieces of tape on the stand are used to mark the rim in quarter sections, which aids in spoke tensioning.

One of the best.

Vital equipment: spoke tensiometer, spoke wrench, and tension chart. Wheel building is like a basketball game: the final minutes of the game can occupy a third of your time. This wheel didn't foul. Thankfully.

Pacenti rear Dura Ace 9000 wheel is done!

I managed to stretch this project out over 10 days. Test ride this afternoon. This wheel goes on my better half's pit bike. The DA hub is nice, but for the money, White Industries and Chris Kings are better. The verdict is still out on the rim. I've been riding the front Pacenti/DA wheel for 3 weeks. There was some initial pulsing when braking, but that seems to be going away.

The weight of the set should be around 1500 grams. Not bad for about $600 invested.

I can build wheels cheaper and lighter, but not better. These hubs should last 5 years of racing or 10 years of riding.

Ride report to follow....