Saturday, July 27, 2013

Getting back on that horse

It is almost July, and that means cross season is almost upon us. That means taking a break from riding all the wheels I've been building, and returning to the truing stand. What have I been riding? On the road bike, a lovely Pacenti SL23 wheelset with a 20 hole White Industries H2 on the front, and a 24 hole Powertap SL (with G3 internals) on the rear. These are shod with 700 x 25 mm Contis. Life below 90 psi is splendid.

Ongoing impressions of the Pacenti:

  • They work very well with standard size road brake pads, exhibiting none of the pulsing I was experiencing with V-brakes. I suspect this has something to do with the length of the pad.
  • Mounting tires is a real challenge. I suspect this is because of the tubeless rim design. Once I get a frame with the proper clearance, these will be an excellent candidate for the 28 mm Hutchinsons.
  • My initial concern about the low spoke count was unfounded. These rims are plenty stiff for someone who goes 175.
What I am working on today:
  • Relacing a rear 24 hole White Industries T-11 (Campy) onto a 50 mm Yishun carbon tubular. This will be straight gauge spokes in 2x (drive), 0x (non drive) pattern. This will be my rear wheel for cross.
  • Relacing a rear 24 hole White Industries T-11 (Shimano) onto a 50 mm Yishun carbon tubular. This will be the same pattern as the above wheel. 
  • Lacing a front 20 hole White Industries T-11 onto a 50 mm Yishun carbon tubular. This will be 0x with straight gauge spokes. This will be my front wheel for cross.
I'll go into the relacing in a separate post.

Here's the assembly line for today:
  • T-11 hub--titanium cassette body--no gouging, unlike Chris King.
  • 12mm brass nipples drying out after soaking overnight in triflow. Lube those nipples when building with carbon!
  • Spokes and the all important spoke ruler.
  • Lastly, my trusty and calibrated Park Tool TS-2 stand.

Updates to follow!