New tandem wheels

This little post could easily have just been called "New Wheels" because there really is nothing tandem specific about them. The components arrived a few weeks ago and all that was left was to take some spare time and build them up. You all know what spare time is don’t you, since we all have so much of it laying around.

Just a refresh on component selection, Kinlin TB-25 tubular rims, Sapim CX-Ray spokes, Wheelsmith brass nipples, DT spoke head washers, Shimano Dura-Ace front and rear 32 hole hubs. The wheels built in a 3-cross pattern both front and rear. With a spoke tension of ~115 KgF in the front and a drive side spoke tension of ~130 KgF in the rear.

It is very important that the spoke tension be high enough to make the wheel strong yet still within the rim manufacturers limits. High tension will allow the wheel to carry the extra weight of two riders without the spokes at the bottom of the wheel going excessively slack. Even more important is that the wheel have even tension all the way around. This even tension is what gives the wheel it durability. We are hoping that this wheel set becomes the everyday group ride wheels.

I have to say one thing about the Kinlin rims, they were a joy to work with. Ths is one of the few rims I have used lately that was not only flat, but it also started out round! That is one of the hardest thing to find, round hoops. Usually the rims have a flat spot or slight bulge somewhere, these didn’t. The laced up real easy and were easily brought up to tension and stayed straight. I can’t wait to get them on the road.

This is actually the first wheel set that I ever built up with spoke head washers. What they are is a tiny, and I mean small, brass washer that fits between the spoke head and the hub flange. Since they are brass, they deform just a bit to seat into the spoke hole. I think the idea is that they also make the interface between the J-bend of the spoke and the hub flange just a bit tighter reducing the risk of spoke breakage at the bend. We shall see.

Just a few bits of information for those that are keeping track, The front wheel weighed in at 739 grams, the rear wheel weighs in at 886 grams (1625 grams total weight w/o skewers). Just as a point of reference, the wheels I built last year for the Cannondale tandem were 1913 grams for the set, so here is a savings of 307 grams, that is nearly 11 ounces for the metric impaired. Here are some pictures I took after the wheels were built:

You notice that I said this could have been called just "New Wheels." Well, since we are using just run of the mill, albeit high end, hubs with standard road spacing, I could also use these on any of the bikes that are now making my garage look like a used bike shop. I may use this fact to throw the heel on my single bike just to make sure they are road worthy. The advantage is I can find components all over. I can also use conventional building techniques. The big disadvantage is that with smaller spacing I am building a wheel that will most likely not last as long as a ‘tandem’ specific wheel. That is one trade off I am willing to make as this is a go fast tandem, not a tour the world tandem.