Why Choose Pro Wheel Builder
Many people ask me Why PWB? The answer has many variables, however the best short answer is procedures. Many people can build a straight wheel. The problem with a straight wheel is it may not be right! Below is a list of things PWB takes into consideration when building a wheel.
Our newly designed custom wheel building program takes into consideration the riders weight, intended use and category of use i.e. mtb, road etc. Next, we have assigned strength values to the rims, hubs, spokes and nipples this along with your user values helps us provide you with safe suggestions regarding drilling, spoke type, lacing patterns and nipple choices. Our hope is that this new program will allow a first time wheel builder to feel comfortable specking there custom wheel and give the seasoned wheel builder the freedom to make choices that work for them.
This is often over looked as many wheel builders believe that simply covering the threads at the nipple is good enough. The problem with that is if the spoke does not continue all the way into the rim the entire load is put onto either the brass or aluminum shoulder of the nipple. In every case this will lead to premature failure of the nipple. One of the reasons this is such a popular problem is that there are so many possible spoke lengths that many wheel builders can not keep the exact length in stock. All spokes sold by PWB are cut and rolled to length to insure exact spoke length.
The way a wheel is laced determines how well the wheel will handle and how long it will last. What I am referring to is making sure that the spokes are mirrored and that the pulling spokes are oriented in the proper direction (this insures that while under load the wheel stays under tension instead of trying to loosen). These relatively common rules are more often than not overlooked by new comers to wheel building and even by more seasoned wheel builders.
Most spokes break due to cycling / flex which work hardens an already hardened elbow, swedged end or threaded section. By building to a high tension this insures that there is less flex which will increase the life of the spoke as well as help insure that the wheel remains true. Not all wheels are built to the same tension, we take into consideration the intended use of the wheel as well as the materials being used at the time.
High spoke tension is not enough, as a matter of fact, a wheel built to high spoke tension that is not symmetrical is more likely to fail (a good example is to think of an egg, you can squeeze it in your hand quite hard with out breaking it however if you had pebble in your hand and squeezed the egg it would fail much quicker do to isolated stress). As we repair and service many wheels manufactured by other builders we see large discrepancies in spoke tension (as much as 70% and those wheels were still true)! Making sure the wheel is symmetrically tensioned takes a bit more time but results in a wheel that will out last and out perform most others. PWB makes sure that all the wheels we build are with in 15%.
Wheel stressing is a very important part of wheel building. Even if the spokes are tensioned to a high rate the elbow of the spoke may still not be fully seated resulting in premature needed service. Some of the seating of the spokes is done before the wheel is ever tensioned however the remainder occurs under tension. A wheel can loose as much as 30% of its spoke tension after one stressing due to the seating of the spokes. Spoke tension must be reestablished during every truing which may happen several times. The stressing process also relieves the wind up that takes place in the spoke during the tensioning process. When done properly, the wheel will no longer come out of true nor will it loose any of its spoke tension after stressing.
How a wheel is trued is just as important as all the above. Many wheel builders start off with far too much spoke tension. If the wheel starts off already out of true under significant spoke tension, the rim materials memory has already begun to be affected (in the case of carbon fiber rims this can be far worse). The other problem is that every time the nipple is turned under tension it scores the shoulder which will result in premature failure in either the nipple or the rim. PWB process involves truing the wheel at very low spoke tension. Once trued we then begin the tensioning process. Once the wheel is up to tension very little truing is necessary.
All wheels built by PWB are trued within 0.5mm's horizontally from center and 1.0mm vertically. In some cases we may true too a tighter tolerance depending on the quality of the rim we are working with. In many cases our specifications are higher than many stock wheel manufacturers.