Wheel true on short notice - Scotland

[Borderer]

Hi - I am going to have a bash at fitting a dynamo hub on my wheel. It will then need trued but I don't have the facilities or skills to do this. I have phoned around some of the local bike shops but none of them can do it on short notice and I would love to be able to get out on the bike early next week as the forecast is great.

Can anyone recommend somewhere that I might be able to get this done? Area-wise the Southern Scotland or the central belt would work. Cheers.

[Chew]

Why not get the bike shop to build the wheel for you?

It's less hassle for them to build it from scratch.

[ScotRoutes]

Having worked in a bike shop, I'd rather build it myself than true up someone else's handiwork. I've had too many with wrong spoke threading, wrong length spokes, dodgy nipples etc.

[Borderer]

Yes, that was my first idea, but as nobody could do it in time (they all said it takes a while) I thought perhaps just getting it trued would be easier as it is presumably quicker.

[restlessshawn]

Give Graeme at Happy Trails in Gala a ring 07791 974075. Tell him Shawn said he builds nice wheels and ask nicely. He built the wheels on my Mercian and Inbred. He is a great guy I think he'd probably just want to build the wheel from scratch though as would most mechanics.

[Borderer]

Thanks Shawn, but I have tried him already :(

[Lazarus]

am the only one who finds lacing the wheel harder than truing it?Might be because i started by truing wheels I bought and all wheels need re truing now and agan

A fork and some cable ties from fork to wheel* would suffice to true the wheel

From sides for lateral and from the crown for roundness [ i forget the proper word ]

[AlasdairMc]

Try Matt at Just Bike Repairs in Juniper Green (you’ll find his number online). Great wheel builder.

Alternatively if you have to head that way anyway, borrow my jig or wait around and I’ll tighten it up. No warranty obviously, but I have built maybe five or six wheels and none have died. My current commuter has a dynamo hub I built up myself.

[Borderer]

Try Matt at Just Bike Repairs in Juniper Green (you’ll find his number online). Great wheel builder.

Alternatively if you have to head that way anyway, borrow my jig or wait around and I’ll tighten it up. No warranty obviously, but I have built maybe five or six wheels and none have died. My current commuter has a dynamo hub I built up myself.

Thanks Alasdair that's really kind of you. I have been looking up the spec for the dynamo vs existing hub and I think I might need new spokes after all. The difference is 6mm and one guy I spoke to said that any more than 2mm would mean new spokes being required. This has put a bit of a stick in my spokes so to speak (groan) so I think I am going to have to leave it. Trying to do too much in a rush, as I wanted to try the hub out in real-world conditions but will just have to be patient and do it later.

Cheers for your input and suggestions everyone.

[FLV]

Someone steered you right there mate. 6mm is too much.

Now that you have more time. If you want to learn and do it yourself you can buy roger musson's wheel building book online as a pdf.

It even contains instructions on building yourself a jig from wood.

I used it to learn years ago, its a good book and details not just how but why also, which is nice.

https://www.wheelpro.co.uk/wheelbuilding/book.php

A whole 9 quid.

[AlasdairMc]

Did you try Matt? He often has stock of spokes.

6mm is indeed too much, because the spoke won’t even have that much thread.

I use the lacing and truing guide from Sheldon Brown. It’s about 8 pages long but is all I’ve ever needed.