Original Message: ----------------- From: Ted E. Baer wickedsky@sbcglobal.net Date: Thu, 5 May 2005 11:40:41 -0700 (PDT) To: Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org, haxixe@gmail.com Subject: Re: [CR]Top 10 Le Cirque from a rookie: NOW wheelbuilding
"I, in no way, shape, or form consider myself to be an expert wheel builder. But having spent five years of my life building thousands of wheels at the old Wheelsmith here in Palo Alto, I can definitely tell you that MANY factors go into building a "quality, reliable, and long lasting wheel."
Heck, I'm not even an expert buyer of wheelbuilder services let alone spokes. Getting my wheelset built for my '80 (yes 1980!) TI Raleigh Team
Pro has been, well, interesting. With any luck, the adventure ends this Saturday when I pick it up from the shop..
My '73 Cinelli came from Wheelsmith in Palo Alto and was repainted by the previous owner via CycleArt. So I think it must have been Wheelsmith tha t built the wheels... just lovely with Fiamme rims, nice racy spokes a nd tied and soldiered in the rear. Nicest wheelset of any bike I own. I've bee n trying, without much luck, to get it duplicated for my others. So maybe I have Ted to thank for this?!
I will say that wheelbuilding is a mystery to me of the most arcane detail s concerning spoke gauges and measurements, all made more challenging by finding sources for the spokes (finding spokes longer than 300 mm seems quite a challenge) who don't want you to buy a box of 100. All good fun. At least I know that a good wheelset is as essential to a nice riding bike as
the frame. Maybe even more.
Peter Kohler Washington DC USA
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