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
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