Re: [CR]Conversations on wheel building...are there great wheelbuilders and why are they better than others?

(Example: Humor:John Pergolizzi)

Date: Tue, 1 Jul 2003 21:16:40 -0700 (PDT)
From: "David Feldman" <feldmanbike@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [CR]Conversations on wheel building...are there great wheelbuilders and why are they better than others?
To: Bill Bryant <bill_bryant@prodigy.net>, classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
In-Reply-To: <BB27873C.9361%bill_bryant@prodigy.net>


One thing I remember from Schwinn school's wheelbuilding lesson was that the wheels were deliberately undertensioned so as to absorb shock and protect the bikes during shipping in the long-pack Chicago Schwinn boxes. David Feldman Vancouver, WA Schwinn Sales West graduate, autumn 1975


--- Bill Bryant wrote:


> Some years after developing a pretty good regional
> customer base from my
> wheelbuilding skills, my bike shop employer sent me
> to the Schwinn mechanics
> school to show our customers we were all 'Schwinn
> Certified'. Didn't learn a
> whole lot there that was previously unknown to me,
> but it was certainly good
> training for the new mechanics.
>
> The school's whole aim with wheelbuilding was for
> speed because TIME =
> MONEY. And we never saw anything but heavy steel
> rims; nothing lightweight
> was discussed as I recall. Thus, building "good"
> wheels was not the goal,
> minimizing labor costs was. Period. I dunno about
> that exact 7 minute wheel
> claim but certainly heard similar stories at the
> Schwinn school which were
> supposed to inspire us to become "good wheelbuilders
> who can crank them
> out". We subsequently learned speed-specific lacing
> and truing techniques
> that got them out in about 15 minutes... but they
> were not wheels I would
> sell to a customer back home doing his first
> century. Ick! :-(
> Replacing *crappy factory wheels* is exactly why I
> sold a good many wheels
> to cycling enthusiasts during the 1970s and '80s.
> But you get what you pay
> for, too-- and those heavy steel wheels didn't sell
> for all that much
> either. Indeed, that was the whole point. OTOH, I
> would be very surprised if
> the wheels on Schwinn Paramounts of the same era
> were built in 7 minutes,
> but they weren't all that well-built either.
>
> As to the short, wide woman at the Schwinn factory
> cranking them out in 7
> minutes (probably for piece-rate wages because time
> = money), I'd really
> like to know what would make anyone think her wheels
> were "great"? Did they
> go ride them for thousands of miles? Hell no, they
> were very likely heavy
> steel-rimmed dogs bound for lowly Varsities,
> Suburbans, Continentals, etc.
> And for around town usage they probably held up
> fine-- braking in the rain
> aside. So, by that definition, maybe they were great
> in their own way.
> Funny, though, one sure doesn't see many of those
> "great" wheels out on club
> centuries, doubles, races, or being ridden
> cross-country.
> Apples vs. Oranges, IMHO.
>
>
> Bill Bryant
> Santa Cruz, CA
>
>
>
>
> on 7/1/03 5:31 PM, DTSHIFTER@aol.com at
> DTSHIFTER@aol.com wrote:
>
> >
> > In a message dated 7/1/03 5:00:25 PM,
> tsan7759142@comcast.net writes:
> >
> > << He again said that good wheels are good wheels
> and that if we wanted to
> > talk great wheel builders that he had seen a very
> short woman years ago at
> > the
> > Schwinn factory who was as wide as tall, but could
> build a great wheel in
> > seven minutes. He felt that was the greatest
> wheel builder he had ever seen
> > and
> > that was unlikely to be topped. >>
> >
> > Evening Gang,
> >
> > Seven minutes, eh? Sure would like to have seen
> it in action, because my
> > experience gives me much cause for doubt.
> Especially, the "great wheel"
> > claim???
> >
> > I don't think wheel building should be rushed
> (IMO)!!!
> >
> > Cheers,
> >
> > Chuck Brooks
> > Malta, NY
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> >
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