I figured that, but even as a bit of supplemental income, this would be a lot of work. So how much more does a shop pay for your wheels than a set from the sweatshop, or for those 4 per hour ones done by shop guys at home? I imagine that you clients are mostly the more conscious shops, that don't want to spend their own labor on low end wheels, but don't want to let shoddy product out the door either.
Regards,
Jerry Moos
> From: mrrabbit@mrrabbit.net <mrrabbit@mrrabbit.net>
> Subject: Re: [CR] wheel-building machinery
> To: jerrymoos@sbcglobal.net
> Cc: hsachs@alumni.rice.edu, "Harvey Sachs" <hmsachs@verizon.net>, "Classic Rendezvous" <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
> Date: Saturday, April 11, 2009, 12:04 PM
> =8-)
>
> I have a day job my friend...
>
> =8-)
>
> ...could you spare some Cup-O-Noddles?
>
> Robert Shackelford
> San Jose, CA USA
>
>
> Quoting Jerome & Elizabeth Moos
> <jerrymoos@sbcglobal.net>:
>
> >
> > So Robert, what is a shop willing to pay for a
> hand-built wheel with basic
> > components? Spending an hour to an hour and a half on
> these, I can't imagine
> > you are getting rich at it. I've been building
> all my own wheels for over 10
> > years - I think the last wheelset I had built by
> someone else was a set Bob
> > Lickton built for me in 1998. I've never
> seriously considerd do this for a
> > living, as I figured there really wasn't much
> money in it. Plus I figure
> > that building for myself, if a wheel has a problem, I
> just redo it and don't
> > have to deal with an unhappy customer. Truth is, I
> find wheelbuilding to be
> > kind of therapeutic, almost like a ritual.
> >
> > Like so many things connected with cycling, I admire
> those who actually have
> > the will to build wheels for a living, as I have
> learned enough about
> > bicycles to know that there are many, many easier ways
> to make a living.
> >
> > Regards,
> >
> > Jerry Moos
> > Big Spring, Texas, USA
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > --- On Fri, 4/10/09, mrrabbit@mrrabbit.net
> <mrrabbit@mrrabbit.net> wrote:
> >
> > > From: mrrabbit@mrrabbit.net
> <mrrabbit@mrrabbit.net>
> > > Subject: Re: [CR] wheel-building machinery
> > > To: hsachs@alumni.rice.edu, "Harvey
> Sachs" <hmsachs@verizon.net>
> > > Cc: jerrymoos@sbcglobal.net, "Classic
> Rendezvous"
> > <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
> > > Date: Friday, April 10, 2009, 8:40 PM
> > > Dirty little secret of the wholesale distribution
> basic and
> > > replacement wheel
> > > business...many distributors for the various
> regions of the
> > > US including my own
> > >
> > > do this...
> > >
> > > Lots of distributors will call a 20 minute wheel
> built by
> > > an employee at home
> > > a "hand-built" wheel.
> > >
> > > Typically the employee does 'em on spare time
> for
> > > roughly 8 bucks apiece - so
> > > they are encouraged to do at least 3 an hour.
> Some can do
> > > 4.
> > >
> > > And of course they are passed off as a
> "better"
> > > substitute for the same
> > > machine-
> > > built wheel that was done in 10 minutes - 5 by
> hand and 5
> > > by machine.
> > >
> > > They'll often use two spoke wrenches at once
> - no lube
> > > on the seats - and
> > > literally start off with 2-3 complete turns right
> off the
> > > back before spending
> > > the final 5-10 minutes fine truing - and rarely
> get
> > > anywhere near +/- .002
> > > inches or decent tension.
> > >
> > > ...slick advertising really...
> > >
> > > I.e., like the machine-built wheels - they still
> need some
> > > finishing work.
> > >
> > >
> > > My wheel business is basically:
> > >
> > > The same machine built basic and replacement
> wheel but hand
> > > assembled, lubed,
> > > trued and tensioned, stress relieved, adjusted
> and spun,
> > > for a total build time
> > >
> > > of at least an hour - often 1.5 hours for rear
> wheels.
> > >
> > > Some shops and customers do want to know that the
> wheel
> > > coming off the shop
> > > hook is "truly" a
> "hand-built" wheel
> > > "quality"-wise even though it may be a
> > > cheap basic and replacement wheel.
> > >
> > > For a shop that is really busy during the Summer
> - my
> > > wheels help 'em get low-
> > > end work out fast but right - so the higher-end
> and
> > > higher-revenue generating
> > > stuff such as overhauls and custom bikes
> don't get held
> > > up. I don't sell much
> > > during the winter - nor do I expect to.
> > >
> > > Of course like most builders, I do high end
> wheels as well.
> > >
> > > http://www.mrrabbit.net/
> > >
> > > =8-)
> > >
> > > Robert Shackelford
> > > San Jose, CA USA
> > >
> > > p.s., If the link above is not appropriate Dale,
> let me
> > > know.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Quoting Harvey Sachs <hmsachs@verizon.net>:
> > >
> > > > Jim Papadopoulos, my wife, and I visited the
> Schwinn
> > > works in Chicago in
> > > > the Fall of 1974. At that time, assembly of
> > > run-of-the-mill steel-rim
> > > > wheels was a two part process. Humans spoked
> the
> > > wheels. They were then
> > > > put on a machine that mechanically tensioned
> the
> > > spokes. It was
> > > > certainly "good enough". This had
> been
> > > going on for a long time, so I'm
> > > > pretty sure it was not even
> computer-controlled.
> > > >
> > > > I believe that Jim eventually patented a
> concept that
> > > would do the final
> > > > tensioning in a single pass around the
> wheel.
> > > >
> > > > Harvey Sachs
> > > > mcLean va usa
> > > > +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
> > > > Jerry Moos wrote:
> > > > Kind of amazing that someone could build 6
> wheels an
> > > hour. I guess one
> > > > could get pretty fast at spoking them, but
> the
> > > tensioning is what takes
> > > > time. I've read a few places that In
> The Day
> > > inexpensive wheels were
> > > > tensioned "by machine", but
> I've never
> > > seen a description or photos of
> > > > the machines used. Is JB using some sort of
> > > tensioning machine? If
> > > > these guys are spoking and tensioning 6
> wheels an hour
> > > by hand and
> > > > sustaining that all day, its amazing they
> can even get
> > > them true enough
> > > > to not drag on the brake pads. I'll bet
> some of
> > > these guys get good
> > > > enough that they could probably build some
> really
> > > excellent wheels if
> > > > they were ever given the time and decent pay
> for doing
> > > so.
> > > >
> > > >
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