Garth,
I'm a relative novice at building wheels, and my first few ended up having slight hops. I was perplexed by this until a more experienced wheel builder suggested that as I tension the spokes, that I should first take care of the roundness (using no more than 1/4 turn adjustments at a time), and then increase the tension to near what it should be, and then finally to work on the side-side element.
Perhaps it was beginner's luck, but when I attempted this for the first time, the result was quite satisfactory, despite a small imperfection in the rim.
I have a couple wheels that I plan on revisiting. I have one on the stand now. Step one was detensioning the rim until I achieved roundness. The rest... work in progress. I expect a notable improvement in the end product.
No doubt Earle, and some of the other wheel-building experts will have other tips. Hopefully they'll offer them, as I know I still have much to learn.
Cheers,
John Barry
Mechanicsburg, PA USA
> From: Bianca Pratorius <biankita@comcast.net>
\r?\n> Subject: [CR]building wheels
\r?\n> To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
\r?\n> Date: Saturday, September 27, 2008, 6:24 AM
\r?\n> I just finished the first wheel of my track bike and am
\r?\n> starting the
\r?\n> second. Here's a question would appreciate feedback on.
\r?\n> Why is out of
\r?\n> round harder to correct than side to side wobble? And is
\r?\n> slight out of
\r?\n> round even as important to correct as slight side to side
\r?\n> movement?
\r?\n>
\r?\n> Garth Libre in Miami Florida USA