Specs for Pacenti SL23 v2 and HED Belgium+

Looks like a dead heat on bead to bead dimensions. The HED is on the left and Pacenti SL23 v2 is on the right.

For outer width the edge (?) goes to the HED (right side in the photo below). Neither rim is overly generous with the height or thickness of the braking track.

What about weights? I don't have a scale but of these builds, the SL23 v2 is the lighter:

HED Belgium C2, 24 hole, CX-Ray, 2x, alloy nipples, White Industies T11 hub
Pacenti SL23 v2, 24 hole, CX-Ray, 2x, brass nipples, nipple washers, White Industries T11 hub

Resurrection

Despite my best efforts to keep this site a secret, people eventually find me and want to talk wheels. This is a good thing because like any skill, wheel-building must be practiced to maintain competence.   Like any vocation, the equipment and tools do change, and wisdom is gained about how products stand up over time. Version 2 of the Pacenti SL23 snuck up on me. Two arrived today. They look impressive and once I get the calipers on them I will post the bead to bead dimensions. Version 1 didn't stand up so well: I had a couple of their low spoke count rims crack at the eyelets. Now it is recommended that nipple washers be used with those rims--especially in high tension applications such as driveside rear. (Would've been nice if Pacenti had responded to my request for spoke tension specifications when the rim first hit the market. #crickets. Whatever. Gotta ride somethin' on the rollers.)

My current vanity wheel project is a set of Hed Belgium+ rims with Shimano Dura Ace hubs. The front is a 24 setup with CX-Rays in 2 cross laced to aluminum hexagonal nipples. The rear is a 28 hole setup with CX-Rays in 3 cross also laced to aluminum hexagonal nipples. The rear is together but the front must wait for the supply chain to catch up. The 24 hole version of that rim is new and scarce. This set is destined for my Caad10 in the short term and maybe a special someone's ride in the longer term.

Notes: The 5,5 mm Sapim hexagonal spoke wrench is a tight fit with that rim. The Hed Belgium series rims remain my favorites. They arrive round, they tolerate high tension, and they build up round and true. Worth the extra dinero, in my opinion.

Two projects in the queue:
(1) 24/28 hole black White Industries T11 hubs on Pacenti SL23 v2 rims.
(2) 24/28 hole pink White Industries T11 hubs on Hed Belgium C2 rims.

Yummy!

Answering the question I didn't want to ask: What does 400 bucks worth of spokes look like?

Pacenti SL23 v2. Nice finish, wide internal, and a shorter less machined brake track.

H Plus Son TB-14 first impression

The current project is a classic box section rim build for my friend Taylor. Admittedly, I didn't approach this build with gusto. Wheelbuilding is always interesting, it's just that some builds are less interesting than others. Box section rims, 32 hole, two cross, with Sapim Race 2.0/1.8/2.0, and silver brass nipples is about as basic as it gets. That's said, this build is interesting because I haven't worked with an eyeleted box section rim for awhile--the last build was Ambrosio Nemesis tubulars on Dura Ace 7800 hubs (gorgeous!)--and I'd never worked with this rim (H Plus Son TB-14).

Pictured is the valve hole counterweight. This is a pretty rim with nice features.

First impression of the rim:

1. The rim nose is highly polished and very attractive;
2. The counterweighted valve hole is very classy; and
3. The rim wear indicator is a tiny 1-2mm hole in the sidewall similar to HED's.

For equipment I am using:

1. Rock 'N' Roll nipple cream;
2. Lineseed oil for the spoke threads; and a
3. Standard Park Tool spoke wrench.

Findings thus far:

1. There's much more friction at the nipple shoulder than what I had expected from an eyeletted rim;
2. Rock 'N' Roll nipple cream has a half-life of several days after which it dries out and fails at its mission;
3. Going back to the standard spoke wrench makes me long for the greater control/precision of building with the T-wrench and hexagonal nipples; and
4. Box rims are super responsive.

Findings #1-3 are all inter-related; it's #4 that's making this build fun. Box section rims aren't as tolerant of higher spoke tensions as say an H Plus Son Archetype or a Pacenti SL23. Why? You probably remember from junior high science class that the arch is inherently stronger than the I beam when it comes to strength-to-weight. Now consider the cross section of the rim: the box section is the I beam and the SL23 is the arch.

To prevent spokes from pulling through the box section rim, manufactures like Mavic, DT Swiss, and H Plus Son use eyelets to distribute the force the tensioned spoke and nipple apply to the rim's nose. Early carbon rims also did this too but instead used nipple washers.

The upside of box section rims are few but worth noting: they are more compliant/comfortable, they are often lighter, and they just look classy. For the builder there are additional upsides: eyelets can reduce spoke wind-up, and the rim is much more responsive to truing.

How responsive? Really f'ing responsive. Normally I despise radial truing because I'm often working with very stiff rims. At the moment Taylor's front wheel is 80% tensioned, and it is +/- 0.005" round. I've never approached that level of true on another build.

My trusty trueness gauge. The unit of measurement is 0.001".

Lightweight Builds

If you are considering buying or building a set of handbuilt alloy wheels, I suggest you don't fixate too much on weight. Why? Because it is hard to match the weight benchmarks set by the pre-built wheels from Shimano, Campy, Fulcrum, Mavic, and Easton. They all offer alloy wheelsets around 1500g at $700-1500. Going under 1500 grams usually requires $1000 on up.

If you want to build a light wheelset, getting to that 1500g benchmark can be tricky. By the time you select your rims and hubs there's not much room left before you hit 1500. The following amounts are for White Industries T11 and Pacenti rims.

Front: 100g (hub) + 450g (rim) = 550g

Rear: 250g (hub) + 450g (rim) = 700g

You can go below these amounts by about 10 percent but not much beyond that before you're soon paying double and reducing reliability. Basically, you are playing with 250g when choosing spokes and nipples.

Let's assume you want to build a 20/24 hole wheelset for training and racing. Here are some weight scenarios:

Sapim Race (2.0/1.8/2.0) for front and rear

with alloy nipples: 676 + 852 = 1528

with brass ripples: 688 + 866 = 1554

Sapim CX-Ray (1.7/0.9/1.7) for front and mixed Race and Laser (1.7/1.5/1.7) for the rear

with alloy nipples: 648 + 836 = 1484

with brass nipples: 658 + 850 = 1508

Of course the actual weights will vary by spoke length and lacing pattern. The calculations assume 280mm spokes, which is a good median value.

You could knock off about 50 grams by using a Chris King R45 hubset (215g for the rear) and Stan's Alpha 400 rims, but that would add about $200-250 and there are drawbacks.

If you're wary of the low spoke count, the numbers for 24/28 are 675g and 875g or 1550. Add 25g when you add 4 spokes/nipples.

Lightweight wheels are expensive for two reasons: 1) the components cost more; and 2) the builds take longer. Working with alloy nipples, which save 30 grams per wheelset, requires extra time because a hasty build can strip nipples. Working with light spokes is tricky because spokes will stretch, and you will be fighting spoke wind-up. Spoke wind-up is your number 1 enemy as a builder.

Weight is on my mind because my current project is a long list of shit you should avoid: 2:1 spoking, CX-Ray spokes, alloy nipples, and a center-drilled rim. More on that soon.

Pacenti SL23 vs HED Belgium C2 vs HED C2 Belgium Plus

This is click bait for nerds. Last year's post on first impressions of the Pacenti SL23 continues to be a popular one. And I frequently get the question about which wide rim is the best, so it's time to directly address the question.

I'll start by ruling out a few choices: Kinlin XR-279 (haven't ridden it; no desire to), Velocity A23 (too soft and inconsistent quality control), H Plus Son Archetype (one catastrophic rim failure, and then there's that strange anodized brake track... ).

What's left? HED and Pacenti. Now that we narrowed the field the remaining questions are:

1. What will fit your frame?
2. What spoke count do you want?
3. What is your budget?

The HED Belgium Plus may not fit your frame. Part of becoming an adult is being able to buy booze, lottery tickets, cigarettes and, yes, learning that you can't always get what you want. I can't use that wheelset on my Cannondale Six13 because it rubs the seat tube and brake bridge. (The regular C2 and SL23 should fit without any drama.)

The Belgium Plus is only available in 28 and 32 hole drillings--if you can even find it. The C2 is available in 24, 28, and 32. The SL23 wins here with 20, 24, 28, and 32 hole drillings. My current road wheelset is a 20 hole front on a SL23 with a White Industries H2; the rear is a Powertap SL 24 hole. The front is plenty solid, but I did use straight gauge spokes so that's not unexpected. The rear, with 2x, and Sapim Race spokes is a different story. That's not the fault of the rim, it's that weird Powertap narrow flange spacing that's to blame.

On budget, it is the SL23 that's the clear winner. It's just under 100 bucks at bikehubstore.com. Yep, that's a promo; Brandon is a straight-shooter. This dick is not. He should be in jail.

Bottom line: if it fits your frame and your needs, go for the HED Belgium Plus. A road rim with an internal width of 20.6 mm is a beautiful thing: It makes dog and cats get along, it brokers a two state solution, and it makes a 25 mm Conti into a 28.5 mm tire. Plus it is ready for tubeless if that's the direction you're going in.

After that it is a toss-up between the HED and Pacenti. The HED is nice to build on, but it is more expensive, and a little heavier than the Pacenti. I lean towards the HED, but they're both great choices.

Red nipples and nipple cream

Take a moment to snicker. The guys at the Bicycle Pro Shop never get tired of laughing every time I ask about anything nipple related. I wonder if the people who sell ball washers look forward to the day the way these guys do.

This wheelset had a number of firsts for me: first time using nipple cream, first time using hexagonal alloy nipples, and the first time using a hexagonal nipple wrench.

That's the Sapim 5,5 mm nipple wrench. Two problems with this piece of equipment: 1) it's not cheap; and 2) it may not work with your rims. After much grinding with the Dremel tool, the T wrench passed through the spoke holes in the rim bridge.

Notes about use: the best use for this tool is on spokes that are already under tension. Bring your wheel up to 90% tension using a regular spoke wrench. Beyond that, use this wrench for making any final adjustment to a drive side nipple, or for any alloy nipple that is under tension. I found that making minute adjustments to nipples was much easier with this tool and there was no concern I would strip a nipple. It was also much easier to see spoke wind up because working on the backside of the rim allows for an unobstructed view of the nipple/spoke.

The downside: it is slow and you can't use it near the feeler arms of the truing stand. Instead, use the feeler arms to find the untrue spot, then rotate the wheel 1/4 turn towards you, make the adjustment with the wrench, extract the wrench, re-check trueness. Sound slow? It is. Use this thing judiciously/sparingly.

Notes about hexagonal nipples: I like 'em. They're not much more expensive than regular nipples and they reduce to zero the chance of stripping a nipple. I will continue to stay away from alloy nipples--hexagonal or not--just on general principles.

Notes about nipple cream: I love the stuff. It makes for a cleaner build than soaking the nipples in Triflow. Triflow always manages to seep onto the brake track and rim bridge.

A regular 12 mm brass nipple (left) and a hexagonal allow nipple (right). The hexagonal head makes it impossible to use a nipple driver.

Pictures of Clarke's wheelset.

The best side of the WI logo.

Brass spoke head washers. Totally unnecessarily. Still, it looks awesome.

The front is radial lacing, elbows in.

Full wheel specifications....

Here comes Fun Boy!

The White Industries hubs are in; the Chris King R45 debacle is a over. What did I learn? Next time someone wants to build on Chris King I should try even harder to talk them out of the idea. #DeadHorse.

Purple? Personally, I don't get it. But my friend wants a loud wheelset. He wants it to scream Here comes fun boy! That's a direct quote. Awesome.

These things look awesome. In case you missed it (I did) White Industries has expanded its hub colors beyond polished silver and polished black. They've got blue, green, red, purple, pink, and gold. The purple is fucking gorgeous.

Purple hubs -> black spokes -> red nipples -> black HED C2 rims.

This will be my first build with hexagonal nipples. Stay tuned.

More artsy pics...

Deliciousness

The National Bike Summit is in session. I'm there because it is part of my day job. But I'm not really there because before long my mind turns to lusty thoughts of new bicycle parts. Also helping distract me from the business of the day was my lunch partner, Megan, the Cyclist Lawyer. She's a lawyer, a racer, and a bit of an equipment nerd--not necessarily in that order.

Then there's this....

Yes! Please? Not sure whether to love or hate Cannondale for pulling its track bike from the market in 2008--just in time to miss the hipster fixed gear revolution. I should love them for it I guess, because if I'd seen a beauty like this being ridden by some dude whose jeans were tighter than his chain tension,  a hate crime would surely ensue.

Next wheel project: White Industries T-11s (Gold) laced to HED Belgium C2s. Stay tuned.

Love,

Mark
ps. #ChrisKingCustomerServiceFail

Gold(?) Chris King R45s

The next project is a wheelset for my friend Clarke. He has chosen HED Belgium C2 rims and Chris King R45 hubs. We're going with 24 hole front/rear. The front will be radial; the rear NDS will be radial with stout 2.0 mm spokes; and the DS will be 2x 2.0/1.8/2.0 Sapim Race. I'm not enamored of the R45 hubs but it was the customer's choice. The local bike shop ordered the set directly from Chris King, and one week later they had arrived. One problem:

Gold?

Strike 1. The original sin + a lame explanation from the company. The bike shop calls Chris King and explains the problem. Chris King explains that hubs are plucked from the same batch and double checked to make sure that they match. Apology? Pshaw!

Strike 2. Chris King slow-boats the replacement hubs. Ten days have passed and still no hubs. A company that was serious about customer service would FedEx those hubs--which don't weigh more than a pound together--to fix their mistake. This is $600+ hub set.

Strike 3. At this point I'm looking forward to a third offense so I can swear off this product completely. Will the last straw be the proprietary hub adjustment tools? The soft 6000 series freehub body? Or something new?

I excite. Stay tuned.

Back in bid'ness

Two builds happening this week.

1. HED Belgium C2s with Ultegra 6800 hubs. 32 hole, 2 cross, 12 mm brass nipples. Durable, moderate cost, 1700 grams. That steel rear axle and cassette body really keep that weight up. Those HED rims have the nicest finish on the market. Pacenti SL23s are nice; these are better.
2. Stan's Arch EX with White Industries MI-6 (front) and Eno rear. 32 hole, 3 cross, 12 mm brass nipples. No one makes prettier hubs than WI.

HED Belgium+ Measurements

I'll be upfront about my bias: I love HED Cycling. They're a Minnesota based company that was an early innovator in wheel aerodynamics. Just like Greg LeMond, who was another Minnesota based innovator in bicycle aerodynamics. You know... I was another Minnesota based innovator in bicycle aerodynamics. At the age of 16, in 1991, I purchased Profile aero bars and slapped them onto the 1991 Cannondale Crit bike (SC 300) I was riding because I'd read they would make me faster. For the guys I was riding with--handmade steel, lugged frames--it was sin compounded by sin. They taught me the norms of cycling (or at least tried to). The lessons didn't sink in until much later.

Back to HED. They are a great company, and not just for their technology, but for their people: whenever I call them with a question about ERD, or to ask when the hell the 24 hole Belgiums C2s were going to show up (2011) they always pleasantly and patiently answered my questions. Tip: use the phone to interact with people; emails are way easier to ignore.

I've been rocking out on HED rims since 2009, when I built up a set on 32 hole White Industries H2/H3 hubs. In the interim, I've built two more wheelsets on their rims. HED now has a lot more competition in wide clincher rim market, but their quality has always been better than everyone else.

Competition is good when it leads to innovation and/or lower prices for consumers. With HED's new rim it's an 'or' not an 'and': the MSRP of the HED Belgium+ is $149 versus $119 for the existing C2. That works out to 10 bucks for every extra millimeter of internal width. The C2 is 17.5 mm bead-to-bead and the new one--check your math--is 20.5 mm. Sweet!

Brake track width is just over 25 mm. There appears to be zero transition (no lip) from the rim nose to the brake track, meaning the brake track is slightly toroidal. Excellent.

The hubs show up mid week: Campy Record 32 hole.

Worth the extra 30 bucks over the C2? Or the extra 50 over a Pacenti? We'll see...

First impressions: wide carbon clinchers

Just short of 100 miles on the new wheelset. Impressions so far using the wheels on the cross rig, with 700 x 25 clinchers, 80 psi & 90 psi (front/rear), 11-28 cassette.

Stiffness: carbon rims have no issues here. These are very stiff, especially with CX-Ray spokes.

Ride: not bad considering the stiffness.

Braking: good! This was a surprise. I won't be riding these in the rain, or bombing sustained descents. Using DT Swiss yellow fronts and Gigantex cork rear.

Aerodynamics: they don't feel fast, but they're also not susceptible to crosswinds.

Looks: head turners thanks to the 12k cosmetic weave.

The test rig.

It's hard to capture the luster of the 12k weave. It does look sweet--take my word for it.

The brake track uses the 3k weave.

38 mm, U-shaped profile, Sapim spokes, DT Swiss brass nipples. Black everywhere.

Carbon everywhere!

And yet more carbon...

Head tube badge. Carl Strong is the man.

The relentless pursuit of insanity

If you happen to be a perfectionist, wheel building is not for you. You'll never get perfectly uniform spoke tension and perfect roundness, so the best you can hope for is close enough on both measures. Adding quantitative measurements can either improve your wheel building by providing additional feedback, or drive you to madness with the pursuit of perfect numbers. I use a tensiometer and that's been 90 percent positive. Today I build my first wheel with the aid of lateral and radial truing gauges from Morningstar tools. We'll see if this is a good thing.

I will say that the experience thus far has been good. The tools shipped quickly from California, and they included a handwritten note from the owner, Paul. That's awesome, right? Gauges now mounted to my TS-2, I'm diving in...

Update: first build--Powertap G3, 38 mm wide carbon clincher, Sapim CX-Ray spokes--is done. These gauges are very useful and well worth the $120. The accompanying instructions could be clearer, but soon enough you'll figure out the logic of the setup.

One trip around the dial equals 0.1" and each unit is 0.001".  The wheel I just completed indicates a tolerance of +/- 0.005". This thing is fucking brilliant. (I can't say the same about building with CX-Ray spokes. More about spokes in the subsequent posting.)

Update two: this setup may be too accurate. I can now detect flat spots on the rim that are due to manufacturing defects. The current rim has 3 and they're about 0.002". Doesn't sound like much, and it's probably not, but it's annoying knowing they are there.

Nerd alert: Rim measurements

I'm cleaning my room today. It's where I sleep; it's where I build wheels; and it's where I store wheels, rims, hubs, and spokes. I've got other work to do, but it's not as much fun as wheel building. So to procrastinate, I decided to measure the internal/external dimensions of the rims on hand.

Yoeleo U shaped 25 mm carbon clincher
25 mm external/18 mm internal

Yishun 23 mm carbon tubular
23 mm external

Gigantex/Equinox carbon tubular
20.5 mm external

Velocity A23 clincher
22.8 mm external/17.5 mm internal
(This is equivalent to the HED Belgian and H Plus Son Archetype. The Pacenti SL23 measures 18.5 mm internally.)

DT Swiss 450 (double eyelet)
19.5 mm external/14 mm internal

Flashpoint FP60 clincher
18.4 mm external/13.4 mm internal
Can you say pinch-flat? Can you say 125 psi limit?

Velocity Arrowhead
20.25 mm external/14.2 mm internal

Wide carbon clincher rims

Captain Ahab: Moby Dick
Me: wide carbon rims

The sin of omission is commonly practiced by purveyors of carbon bicycle goods. It manifests when describing carbon rims and wheels. Taller was the old trend; wider is the new trend. WIDE CARBON CLINCHER RIMS! They'll tell you 23 mm wide. The problem is that is the measurement at the brake track. The measurement that counts is the internal bead-to-bead dimension. That is the dimension that will change your tire's profile from a lightbulb to a rounder and wider profile. Once you get over 17 mm for the internal dimension, you can legitimately claim wide rim status.

I recently received a 25 mm wide U shaped carbon rim from a new supplier in China. I put the calipers on it and--holy shit--truth in advertising. Outer: 25 mm; inner: 18 mm. It is 38 mm in depth with a 12k cosmetic weave. The set is, of course, 20/24 hole. It even has a u-shaped profile, which should add some stability in cross winds.

This will be a Powertap G3 wheelset for my road bike.
Scheduled build: in two weeks.

Destro's cross wheels

This morning I finished a set of carbon tubulars that will be fitted to a friend's new cross bike. The rims are second generation Yishun carbon tubulars, which measure 23 mm and have a nice deep center channel for your sew-ups. Gluing and mounting tires on these rims is very easy.

I don't have a scale so I will take them at their word on 400 grams/rim. The weave is 3k with a matte finish. They are round, except for one or two high spots from the mould. This lack of roundness is a problem I've noticed on every carbon rim I have sourced from China. (By way of contrast, the Gigantex/Equinox rim I built up was round.) If an alloy rim arrives out of round, it is a mere annoyance. When the rim is carbon, it is a major headache and the wheel will never be radially true.

Details for Destro's wheels
Front uses a White Industries T-11 hub, black. 20 hole
Radial lacing, using 2.0 DT Swiss spokes, laced to DT Swiss brass nipples

Rear uses a White Industries T-11 hub, black, 24 hole, Shimano/SRAM
DS is 2-cross, using 2.0/1.8 Sapim Laser, laced to DT Swiss brass nipples
NDS is 0-cross, *elbows out*, using 2.0 DT Swiss spokes, laced to DT Swiss brass nipples.

Notes

• I went with elbows out/radial for the rear NDS to increase lateral stiffness. I learned the hard way that not every hub is tolerant of this spoking pattern. Advice: make sure that hub is forged, not machined.
• I went with straight gauge on the NDS for the same reason as above. Now that Shimano/SRAM has gone to 11 speed, the DS flange has moved inboard with the effect being a drop in lateral stiffness. This can be compensated for with lacing, spoke diameter, and rim choice.
• The plus side for all manufacturers moving to 11 speed is that cassette bodies can now be swapped without redishing the wheel. To complete Destro's wheelset I had to swap Campy for Shimano. Took 10 minutes. That White Industries stuff is really nice.

Update: these are lighter than Mateo's cross wheels. In yo' face, Zartan!

Carbon rims and radial trueness

Lateral trueness is easy; radial trueness is hard. I'm always looking for better tools, and this morning I was researching Morningstar tools. They offer a dial-based truing gauge that will fit to a Park TS-2. Slowtwitch was the first review that popped up. Buried within an article on wheel building is a point about the difference between carbon and aluminum rims:

This is also the point where carbon and aluminum wheels differ. Carbon rims are much stiffer than aluminum. Put simply, the amount that you can radially manipulate a carbon rim is MUCH less than aluminum. As such, when adjusting radial trueness, you need to adjust many more spokes. Think of it as shifting the entire rim up or down – rather than bending a part of that rim to be more straight. Instead of adjusting 4 spokes, I might adjust 8 or 10. This also brings up the point that carbon wheels rely much more on roundness of the rim itself for a straight wheel; an imperfect rim cannot be manipulated very much (unlike aluminum). 

This is why cheap carbon rims are a really bad idea. There are plenty of other reasons why cheap carbon is a bad idea--labor conditions in those Chinese factories, for starters. Next up would be a total lack of warranty coverage for manufacturing defects.

Want a legit rim and customer service? See Brandon at the Bike Hub Store. Always great service and they're the only consumer source of Gigantex rims that I've found:

http://www.bikehubstore.com/category-s/124.htm

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!

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....