For my IRO Jamie Roy fixed gear bike, I had never built up the front wheel to match the rear even though I have had the bike for a few years. I have just been using on old road front wheel I had. I finally got around to ordering the correct length spokes to lace up the front wheel with the Surly hub, and a Mavic Open Pro rim. For the record the spoke length is 294 for a 3 cross pattern for that hub and rim combination.
Half build wheel with inside spokes laced up
I don’t build wheels all that often, but it is kind of like riding a bicycle, once you learn and get it down, you don’t really forget how to do it. I worked at a bicycle shop when I was in college and learned a few wheel building tips from a mechanic that at one time worked for the Coors Light Cycling Team.
For some reason I had a harder time than normal lacing up this wheel. I’m not sure if it was the larger flange Surly hub, or just that my skills are a little rusty.
A tip I learned from my wheel building mentor at the bike shop was to align the rim so the label is readable from the right side of the bike (the drive train side), and align the hub so that the logo on the hub is visible through the valve stem hole. These are some of the small details to look for in a hand built wheel.
The finished wheel
If you are interested in building a wheel, the tools you will need are a truing stand, a spoke wrench, and a wheel dishing tool. I recently purchased a Park TM-1 Spoke Tension Meter which has proved invaluable for getting the spoke tension just right. I also used Wheelsmith spoke prep on these wheels.
One of the best resources for learning how to build wheels is Sheldon Brown’s web site, and also the book The Bicycle Wheel by Jobst Brandt
is considered the bible of bicycle wheel building.
For Christmas I got new cycling shoes and pedals. I have been using the same shoes and pedals for quite a while now. All my bikes are set up with the older style SPD road pedals that you can use either road shoes or mountain bike shoes on. I liked that option because I used to commute to work on my bike and using mountain bike shoes were better for hauling my bike up the stairs when I got to work.
Crank Brothers pedals offer the same things I like about SPD pedals in that you can use mountain or road shoes with the pedals, so I ended up getting a pair of the Quattro pedals for my road bike. I thought about getting Look, Time, or Speedplay, but it seemed like the Crank Brothers Quattro pedals also have a great price compared to similar featured models of other brands.
So far I have ridden my indoor trainer with the new pedals twice, and I like them. They seems very easy to clip into compared the my old SPD pedals. The fact that you can clip into either side makes it even better. My old shoes have a big scuff mark on the toe from always kicking over the pedal to clip in. On the Crank Brothers pedals you just step down on them, and your in. The cleats can be set to a 15 degree or 20 degree release angle. I set mine to 20 degrees, and you do have to kick you heel out a little farther than I did with my SPD pedals for them to release.
To go with my new pedals, I was also ready for some new cycling shoes. I have used Sidi and Carnac shoes in the past. My old Sidi shoes were size 46, and sometimes on long rides I would get some pain in my feet. I think this was due to my shoes being just a little too tight (yes I have big feet). Sidi makes a size 46.5, so I opted for the half size increase.
Before Christmas I saw that REI Outlet had the Sidi Genius 5 shoes on clearance pricing, so I sat my laptop in front of my wife, and said, “Here … Order these for me for Christmas.” REI offers free shipping to a local store, and since a new REI store just opened in West Hartford, we had them shipped there, and we picked them up.
I’m looking forward to riding in my new setup this spring, and plan to convert all my bikes to the Crank Brothers pedals in the coming months.
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