MTB Wheel Building
Showcase of past builds:
* With increased volume of orders I have been getting recently, I am asking my dear customers to double/triple check the specs of hubs that you want to get, what driver are you looking for? What spacing are you looking for? What rotor mount are you looking for? If you are not sure, you can ask me or ask your friends to make sure. Thank you everyone that has ordered with me, it means a lot for a start up small business!
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Labor: Starts from $50 per wheel for bare rim/bare hub/spokes to length, labor will increase if there is extra work to be done (spoke length calculation, strip down hubs off a wheelset, etc...)
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Process:
Combo selection -> Quote -> 20% non-refundable deposit -> Parts arrival -> Built ->
Full payment/Delivery -> Shred -> 2 years truing/re-tensioning guarantee
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I have suppliers that covers from buget rim/hub combo all the way to high-end stuff.
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Brands that are available but not limtied to
HUBS:
Novatec, Factor components, Fastace, ChrisKing, Hope, I9, Bitex, Koozer, DT Swiss, Shimano, Chosen, Syntace, etc...
RIMS:
Sunringle, Stan's, Spank, Mavic, Hope, DT Swiss, Syntace, Dartmoor, SantaCruz, ATOMLAB, Alexrims, E13, etc...
SPOKES:
Always in Stock: DT Comp 2.0-1.8, Sapim Leader 2.0, DT Champion 2.0 black/silver
Can Order: All DT Swiss, Sapim, Pilar, and CNspokes
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Why should you build my wheels?
# I have professional shop mechanic experience, I used to work as a mechanic in some popular LBS
# I have professional shop level wheel building tools
# I have stable supply, often times, directly from the manufacture in China, Taiwan, which makes my pricing very competitive
# I order parts for wheelset as you order, I don't keep a huge stock level. Things are very customizable. If you want 197/150 fathubs with 29+ summer rims, no problem! Mullet set, no problem! Non-boost rear + boost front, no problem! Your old 26er's wheelset is done? I can still get brand new 26 rims!
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However, this would also lead to a wait time of roughly a month to month and half.
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What tools do you have?
My tool collection exceeds most LBS
Truing stands: Park tool TS-4.2 with TS2DI dial indicator, Park tool TS-2.2P with TS2DI dial indicator, P&K lie truing stand
Other tools: Hozan C-738 spoke tensiometer, spoke tensiometer calibration rig, SuperB wheel dishing tool, PhilWood spoke cutting/threading machine, Unior spoke holder pliar, etc... And my rough hands for spoke pre-stressing (Or stress relieving if you call it that way)
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What is your build quality? How do I know that you build good wheels?
Wheel building requires experience and technique, more importantly, it requires patience and attitude. A wheel can be perfectly true but when you look at each individual spoke tension, it can be all over the place, and such wheel won't stay true for long. A wheel builder can either leave it like that or spend more time balancing spoke tensions. Most people don't have tensiometer at home so one will never know. Attitude and honesty is what I consider virtue of a true wheel builder, craftsman's spirit.
Numbers don't lie.
Lateral/Radial true: better than 0.3mm (Largely depends on rim manufacturing precision)
More importantly: Hitting the spoke tension with a target average tension that ensures stable rear non-drive side and front non-disk side tension, spoke tension balanced per side within +/- 5% of target tension or better. Spokes go through stress relieving procedure multiple times throughout the building process.
I also do my best to ensure the optimal spoke length with my own real-world measurements, however this depends on what's available and measurement accuracy. Spoke thread treatment: Wheel Fanatyk Fix, Boiled linseed oil
All the MTB wheels built by me comes with extra spokes and nipples, fully tubeless taped and valve stems. I can also seat your tubeless tire for free after with my compressor and ensure there is no leak before delivery. 2 years re-tensioning, truing after purchase.
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Some other rant:
What's my end goal of this business? It seems like Ottawa doesn't have a wheel builder that everyone refers too. When I am on the trail, I see people with either stock wheels or super fancy off the shelf stuff. Therefore, I got inspired to start this service as part of my business. I am sure some people want flexibility and customization without breaking an arm off. I want to be the one that everyone tags on FB groups couple years down the road. Do I care how much I make out of this? Sort of but not really, I want to make some money cause building wheels do take decent amount of time. This is a great side hustle for me to not waste my time on useless stuff like video games. I enjoy wheel building, enjoy being a handy man, enjoy sharing my knowledge and enjoy learning new things. I have a day time job and this is just something I like doing. I may not do this for a living but that doesn't mean I can't be better than professionals.
All in all, the goal here is not break your bank and I get to do what I like.