[aljee]

SO, after thinking about it and thinking about it, I decided to build my pugs wheels myself. This IS my first time, BUT I am doing it through a wheel building class. I definitely wouldn't try this all on my own, and I hope that it will go fine under the instruction of a pro. My goal is to get help with the rear and then attempt to do the front at home. Hopefully when i build 'normal' wheels (like a generator hub wheel for my LHT) i will be blown away with just how easy it is compared to the pugs. my ultimate goal would be an alfine 29er pugs set on down the line.

I have researched the wheel threads here, which are great. I have the adapter and the instructions that came with the pug. I contacted the instructor and told him my story and got his approval to register. We are meeting tomorrow for measurements and spoke calc.

My rims are large marge dh, offset drilled, 36h. My rear hub is the alfine, front will be Paul Word disk/fixed.

Couple questions:

I see conflicting info on nipples. Some say 12mm brass, others say 16mm brass. Which is it?

Given that I am going with pretty wide hubs relative to the xt (alfine ctf is 31.8 left, 25.5 right) will i end up with different spoke lengths? I plan to go with black spokes, which i may have to order.

To save some bread, i am thinking of just going straight-gauge on the spokes. The lbs has a spoke cutter. Do straight gauge spokes suck??

Any other things to watch out for or relay to my instructor would be great. I will be researching and reading about other's builds up until the class. If you could point me to some online resources, that would be awesome!

thanks,
Alan

 

[aljee]

Oops.
I made a mistake, the alfine hub has a total flange to flange width of 57.3, which is only slightly more than than the xt ftf width of 57.1
i must have been thinking of xt rear vs ss rear. paul word hub flange to flange width is 68mm

 

[sean salach]

Straight gauge spokes do not suck. I've built many wheels with them that have held up incredibly well.

 

[J-No]

Question of the day: Where did you get the rims?

 

[aljee]

i ordered them from bikeman a little over a month ago. i at first placed the order for 32h, but they called and said they were out of stock, so i switched to 36h. it worked out since the 32h alfines seemed to be out of stock everywhere as well.

 

[coastkid71]

sean, my wheels were built by a pro wheel builder with 12mm brass spokes,i think thats what should be used with large marges and maybe the 16mm nipples are for self drilled rims?,not sure,i too have an alfine waiting to be fitted once my drivechain wears out,and would like to build it myself but have to admit my present wheelbuild hasnt needed a tweak in 12 months/1400 miles abuse!,be a nice feeling to roll on your own built wheels..

 

[aljee]

Straight gauge spokes do not suck. I've built many wheels with them that have held up incredibly well.

thanks Sean. that's really all i needed to hear.
if you have built pug wheels, do you remember if you used 12mm or 16mm nipples? and were you using the xc or dh rims?

 

[mplsmtb]

Hopefully when i build 'normal' wheels (like a generator hub wheel for my LHT) i will be blown away with just how easy it is compared to the pugs.

Granted the Large Marges I built were non-offset, but I found them easier to build than the 700c wheels I've built. My guess is that once you get over the offset issue, you'll find them relatively easy to build.

I used the instructions Sheldon Brown posted on his website. He was the shiznit.

 

[CLONG]

I'm planning on building my wheels too, even though I don't have a great deal of experience.

My spoke length for the Alfine with 100mm ChoppersUS rims came out to ~250mm; ~260mm for the front Surly SS/disk. I'm sure that's not much help, but you should be within a few mm of that with your offset LM's. My rims are offset drilled much more than the LM's

Straight gauge spokes are great, but I'm going with Alpine III's since they were affordably priced (withing $5/box of the 'budget' spokes). Compare prices before you order. That said, I'm a big guy and I've put many miles (km's) on my other straight gauge wheels.

If you've got some time and an old wheel, it's good practice to disassemble an old rim and lace it back together. I recommend reading Sheldon Brown's wheelbuilding tutorial even if you're not going to do a practice wheel.

Good luck, and let us know how you get along!

 

[aljee]

thanks for the info, Clong and mplsmtb

Just got back from the LBS for our pre-class measurements. they do what i believe is the old fashioned way. they have a kit, i think it was wheelsmith, with tools and a big laminated chart for the tables and hub measuring. the problem that arose was that the alfine's flange diameter is off the charts! i think it is 92.5 and their table stops at 90. i left the parts with the instructor who is going to do a bit of research before calcing the spokes. please, take your time, says I. i did have the specific part measurements already that i found on line, so we cross referenced that.
i will be re-reviewing the sheldon guide. i have the zinn book, which i will look over as well.
just the hub and the rim attracted a lot of attention. wait till they see the bike!

 

[aljee]

i emailed Surly today and they got back to me really fast. the nips are 12mm.

 

[aljee]

so, i used the spocalc spreadsheet via Sheldon's site and I got the following values for a 36 spoke cross 3 wheel: left length 245.6, right length 248.9

i put the same numbers in for both the front and rear wheels to see what would happen, but got different lengths (250.0 left, 245.3 right). so i am not sure what happened there.

if anyone has built a similar wheel (alfine+LM 36h), do these values look good?

 

[ward]

Hey Alan, are you taking the class at UBI's new portland "campus"? The "Three Rivers route" you mentioned on the pugs owners site looks interesting. Takin' on any partners? Going to try to make a couple trips to the dunes next year...would love to have some "fat" company... interested? It would be fun to get a few fatties together for a "sand fest". I would be glad to help organize something.

good luck with the build
-ward

 

[aljee]

dude, sounds sweet. i would love to get a PNW Fat Bike Posse going.
for Three Rivers, i was thinking of taking on just the 80mi middle fork of the Willamette for the first time, taking the amtrak down to Eugene and back to Portland. i have a working/law schooling wife and a 5yo, so scheduling will be 'tricky', but it HAS to happen this summer.
the dunes sound sweet as well. haven't even been there yet.

i was at the UBI open house over the weekend and it looked super sweet. but no, i am taking it at City Bikes, cause it seemed more informal and adaptive to my situation. i have a pretty good relationship with them too.

Thanks! we will get something going. i think a PNW fatbike thread will be in order soon....

 

[ward]

Ditto on the PNW FB thread - anyone else in the upper left hand corner please chime in! We'll have to keep in touch, If and when I travel solo to the dunes I can pick you up on the way.