complete weight: 1420g
I gathered the parts together for this wheelset to make myself a strong, lightweight and reliable wheelset for everyday use:
- A2Z XCR hubs ;
- Stan's NoTubes Crest rims ;
- DT Supercomp spokes.
Wheel building
I built these wheels using a handmade steel wheel building stand welded up according to my own design:
There are many sources for wheelbuilding information on the internet but my primary reference was Roger Musson's instructional book ' The Professional Guide to Wheel Building '.
Spoke lengths
- Crest rims have an ERD (Effective Rim Diameter) of 544mm when combined with DT Swiss aluminium nipples.
- Spoke lengths were calculated using spocalc
- I measured the front A2Z hub data as follows:
| WL, width from center to left flange | 22.5 |
|---|---|
| WR, width from center to right flange | 34.0 |
| dL, left flange diameter | 56.5 |
| dR, right flange diameter | 39.5 |
| S, spoke hole diameter | 2.4 |
- I measured the rear A2Z hub data as follows:
| WL, width from center to left flange | 34.8 |
| WR, width from center to right flange | 19.8 |
| dL, left flange diameter | 56.0 |
| dR, right flange diameter | 59.8 |
| S, spoke hole diameter | 2.4 |
Putting this data into spocalc gave me the following spoke lengths:
- Front wheel (all dimensions in mm)
| cross | left length | right length |
| 0 | 243.6 | 253.3 |
| 1 | 246.0 | 254.9 |
| 2 | 252.6 | 259.4 |
| 3 | 262.3 | 266.0 |
- Rear wheel (all dimensions in mm)
| cross | left length | right length |
| 0 | 245.3 | 241.7 |
| 1 | 247.6 | 244.2 |
| 2 | 254.2 | 251.3 |
| 3 | 263.7 | 261.6 |
DT Swiss supercomp spokes were only available in 2mm increments. Ordinarily, you'd round down but 263.7 to 262 (1.7mm difference) is too much of a jump. As a result I ordered the following quantities of spokes:
- front - 16 x 262mm and 16 x 266mm;
- rear - 16 x 264mm and 16 x 262mm;
If you are doing a similar wheelset, always get your rims first and make your own measurements of rim ERD and hub flange dimensions. There is no telling whether the next batch of A2Z hubs or Crest rims will have the same exact dimensions. Getting accurate length spokes will make your wheelbuild so much easier.
Build notes
- The Crest rims were remarkably true and consistent straight out of the box. This made the build all the easier;
- spoke threads were lubricated with a small amount of engine oil;
- nipple holes in the rims were lubricated with anti-seize as this is an aluminium to aluminium interface;
- make sure you align the hub label with the valve hole - you'll probably be the only one ever to notice, but its a nice touch;
