I’ve always said tie-solder was for looks. Comes from a time when rims were so soft and spokes counts were 32-40 to compensate for lack of possible tension. And those years are long ago.
I don’t know how this got involved on this thread though … having said that given the era where this tradition came from plenty of people rode well, won world champs, medals and records with tie-soldered wheels. Troy might be right about this tradition in today’s applications and with current materials but given the very soft 280-320 gram weight weenie rims, poor quality spokes and OK quality hub designs of long ago I think tie-solder not only had it’s place but did make for a stronger, longer lasting wheel. It also made respoking old hubs to new rims super fucking easy and the had to do if often.
Rider and mechanics have never stuck with something if it’s not working but I will admit the are slow to change. No surprise that tie-soldered wheels are long gone with better materials, design and much higher tensions.
SOrry boss that’s my fault
I asked Troy about trying and soldering wheels to make em stiffer and this was his response.
Interesting I thought so I posted it here
Finally, spokes came in and time to build the rear wheel.
Impressive hub. Oh my gawd light, pared down, pure minimalism. A little fiddly in that it needs to be taken apart so the non-drive side spokes can be inserted but I must admit it’s easy to pull apart and put together again (unlike a lot of other “normal” hubs) and the bearing pre-load is also simple to adjust. Winner !!
Sapim CX-Ray straight pull spokes, threadlocker, suitable tunes. Medo was impressed with the Edge/Enve rim … So was I. It was the only used component and had seem some miles but still built up very well. Look forward to hearing from Kanye how it rolls.
Got the tire glued up. I’ll take it out in the morning for a few hills.
Big props to Spirito for sorting it out for me. It looks great and if it half as straight as the front wheel I’ll be very happy!
He’s recovered and is stable but he’s old and it took a lot out of him being so sick. Just got back the latest blood results and it appears his liver/kidney are back to normal and a bland diet has helped his insides recover. He is on pain killers instead of non-steroidal anti inflammatory drugs for his arthritis/joints but that just means he is zonked out, and with even less activity it’s hard for him to move around. He does like lying in the sun and the warmer weather is good for him although he still sleeps inside at night. Vet says there’s a new anti inflammatory that’s just been introduced to Oz that is better at targeting the joints and less likely to mess with his guts - we might try that out, see how he goes. Just hoping we can make things easy for him and lessen his pain.
He likes pumpkin. Taken 10 years but we have finally found a fruit or vegetable that he likes to eat. It’s a miracle. Now his new diet of boiled chicken & rice just got some flavour. And it’s easy to hide his meds inside of the pumkin. Woohoo !!
I questioned this at the DT SWISS course whilst at UBI. There is no evidence to prove it strengthens the wheels at all, the lecturer gave me a very long winded answer and I can’t remember it to the exact words. There is still so much to learn about the spoked bicycle wheel, much of the knowledge we have today is very old and some of which we don’t even know the origin or why it is fact.
Maybe my dog’s woes are a reminder for me to stop wasting time, visit the doc about my back, do yoga, lose weight and get riding again. For too long it’s been short trips and just around town and my own lack of mobility echoes what my dog is going through. I’ve had enough of my own excuses.
Kanye says something about booze being a contributing factor but I’m very wary of his 7th Day Adventist leanings. I figure it’s easier to finish up that frame in the shed, slap some modern parts and nice wheels on it as inspiration to get rolling again. Maybe even some White Indo hubs (they’ve got steel axles which is good for us fat men) laced up to 28/32h Velocity A23 rims. Not light but light enough for me and a low fuss, reliable option for an all round everyday wheelset. Then, if I lose 20 odd kg’s I can start being a gram counter and get a 2nd mortgage
