I want to help cycling industry entrepreneurs, employees and cyclists alike learn more about the bike industry and grow their skill set. Our channel will be regularly updated with content focused on bicycle pro tips, how to videos, bike industry interviews and anything else cycling related we find interesting.
My experience is built on more than a decade of industry experience specializing in boutique service, custom wheel building, high level track cycling and most other often forgotten cycling niches. I am partnered with 3 time Olympic coach, Andy Sparks of Performance United who has been critical in my growth as a company and entrepreneur.
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Anniversary of Iohan's death today and it's still painful to watch his amazing videos. He is greatly missed and his RU-vid content must live on for others to appreciate what a great man he was.Three years and always remembered. Ride free Iohan.
Hi Chris, thanks for this great video! I'm currently bikepacking from Alaska to Argentina (in Peru at the moment) and also been learning how to build wheels by myself since it's not always easy to find the right bike shop in Latin America. I have a question when lacing a wheel with a used hub. You said you match the original lacing pattern if it's a used hub. Is there a reason why? I remember when I got a wheel laced in Canada, the bike mechanic used the same old hub with new spokes and rim but intentionally reversed the side (head-in and head-out) to not use the same grooves made on the hub flanges. He actually explained that to me but I didn't have much knowledge at the time so accepted without thinking or asking why, but now that I saw the way you lace wheels, I'm curious. What are the benefits of matching the lacing pattern for a used hub?
Hi, I'm a wheel builder, actually, I'm an inventor. I have been looking for road hubs, 130mm, which have approx. the same flange offsets (from center) as do typical Shimano Dura Ace hubs, the ones that use loose balls. However I am looking for a supply of 40 hole hubs. Yes, 40 hole. I think the drilling of holes so close together will not compromise the strength of the flange, meaning, there will likely be enough "meat" on the flange between the holes, still. For that reason I have a slight preference for hubs that have a slightly larger diameter for the hole layout. Actually I'm also looking for only rear hubs of this variety, but I will eventually want a supply of 28 hole fronts to accompany the 40 hole rear. I know this may sound very strange, but I have my reasons for seeking the 40h. It seems that these hubs have the sort of weight and performance that I'm looking for. Do you know if I could get a supply of these in 40h?
I noticed two things, which I would try to do differently. First, the bottom brackets you're using are the sealed cartridge kind. Well it turns out, that the 9-spd Dura Ace road bottom brackets, the ones with the roller bearings inside, which can be serviced, have the exact same dimensions and interfaces as do the cartridge bb's that you're installing. I find the roller bearing bb's to be more efficient, esp. under load, e.g. the stoker bottom bracket AT LEAST could really use that particular bottom bracket. The second thing you may consider is somehow placing both chains on the same side of the bike. This may not be allowed for safety reasons on velodromes, because you have to be really careful that the chains don't touch; if they do, the results could be absolutely catastrophic, and may cause an accident esp. on a fixed gear bike. If you do that, if you place both chains on the same side of the bike (which is more efficient for transferring power from the captain's cranks), you can try to make both chain rings on the stoker's crank more or less having the same tooth count, same size that is. This way, the chains have zero chance of interfering with each other, they will never touch, so long as the lateral distance between chain rings on the stoker's crank is sufficient, with a couple of mm's to spare, for the chains to not touch.
There is one thing I have to warn you about, because I implemented a similar drive train with two chains on same side of bicycle, which is an extremely efficient way to deliver captain's power to the rear wheel, by the way. The two chains may "touch" while you're pedaling and going over bumps and if they do, bad things will happen. It will either make a loud noise or, at worst, one or two of the chains will completely get destroyed. The possibility of the two chains touching, where they overlap just in front of the stoker's bottom bracket, is dependent on two things: (1) the difference in tooth counts of chain rings on stoker's cranks and (2) the lateral spacing between chain rings on stoker's cranks. If I recall correctly I used a 42t for the connecting chain rings (on 144 B.C.D. b/c I had track crank up front), and w/ 50t drive ring I had little problem but when I upped the drive ring it to 55t, I had to put significant spacers between chain rings to increase lateral distance to prevent touching during riding. Of course you can do your best to prevent this 'malfunction' also by tightening the connecting chain adequately, and by manufacturing some sort of a "chain guide" that prevents touching. I think the best strategy, if I could do this all over again, would be to use a large connecting chain ring size, upwards of 45t. That way the tooth difference between 2 chain rings is reduced and chances of chain touch are greatly diminished, even with a 55t or so drive ring. But this sort of drive train, w/ 2 chains on same side, it makes all the difference in efficiency.
Hey there! I'm 13 years old now, and looking to get a job next summer when I'm fourteen at my local bike shop. Super cool older guy that runs it, and it really seems like a nice environment. I've always been interested in simple mechanics since I was little, so yes, I think this would be a great job for me. I'm not looking for money. I really want to just have something to do that I enjoy. I also have a program that I am in that requires service hours. I was thinking (thanks to this video) that maybe this winter I could volunteer there for a couple hours on a Saturday (in winter of course), that way they know me, they know my work ethic, and I think that would give me training, knowledge, and overall a better shot at getting the job summer 2025. Please let me know if there's anything I missed or anything I could do differently or better to in a sense secure the job. Thank you for the video, and please reply if you can.
i see u might've been a bit nervous with the camera but great info and tour of the different set ups you do. thanks for the inspiration boss keep it up 👍😁
I wish searching was possible on youtube comments because it must have been asked before. You said you are tightening the spokes for low spots and loosen them for high spots. Isn't that supposed to be the other way around?
Just bought the Pro 5 Trial/SS hub. I have the Pro 4 SS/T and it has been great but since I was building up a new wheel set I decided to get the Pro 5. Probably give the Pro 4 to a friend
Amazing video very informative but I’m having a problem. So I did everything I wanted to and went to print it and it paused fine (fyi I’m using a ender 5) and I take the filament out and a notification pops up and says out of filament so I put the new color back in and then press continue. It ask would you like to resume print and I press yes so it unpauses but the nozzle just stays ing the corner I put it and it just stays there the entire time so I just have to end it. Any suggestions?
Congratulations on producing this video, it certainly helped a lot, for many who had doubts about assembling wheels, one of the most complete videos I've ever seen, very Top.
I just made my first attempt at lacing a wheel ( don't ask lol) so I recently watched quite a few how-to videos on the subject. Wish I had found this video first! Awesome video, i gained WAY more clarity on the subject, I tip my hat to you Sir and immediately subscribe. A couple questions, I'm lacing a 20 x 4 1/4 in. rear wheel on a OCC chopper, so i don't have to alternate head and shoulder inside and next spoke outside???
Hello Chris, I want to upgrade my tandem to a racer. I want to install a Shimano 105 crankset. How do I do that with the crankset? Do I use a 2x11 and add another inner chainring for the connection chain and for the front crankset only use the inner ring? Can you point me in the right direction? Cheers Daniel
I have the same tandem bike. It uses a special small chain ring that is machined to include a timing chain ring as well. I find this design superior as it doesn’t make the bottom bracket of the Stoker twist and flex so much like the comotion tandem. If you do not want to go with the custom small chain ring, You can run a regular 2x crankset and use the small chain ring as your timing sprocket, and treat the whole system as a 1x. I have done this on my previous tandem bike and it works great. Only downfall is, you’ll need a large cassette in the rear to get a granny gear.
Its still not easy to watch. I guess i hoped Iohan would ride with us forever. But i think he will be were he always was: just out of sight, just around a corner, on a far away road i could only dream of. Thank you Chris.
One thing you didnt mention at all was bearing quality and manufacturing quality. We roll around on our hubs. These are the very first aspects Id consider on any hub. Quality is proven. It needs to be inspected. We cannot assume quality based on any price. Knowing that quality control is an overpriced, inconvenient joke in this bike industry makes me all the more suspicious. Bearings , seals and the tolerances used in manufacturing to install bearings will determine how well they can possibly roll. There are well proven engineering/manufacturing standards regarding 'interference fit' for cartridge bearings. Any competent mechanical engineer or machinist recognizes this. Many blingy, noisy, overpriced hubs with numerous engagements use cheap over the counter Asian made bearings. Many Ive precision inspected dont bother to inspect tolerances or overlook the thickness of anodizing . This is a very common mishap in the manufacturing of many precision products. Plating or coatings need to be accounted for when machining a part that accepts a precision bearing intended any sort of fit, interference or otherwise. The required tolerances for a high end bearing can be within tenths of thousandths of an inch. These are the standards used in high end manufacturing. They are critical to proper function and service life of the bearing. If the interference fit is too much, it forces the races to crush the balls and lessens their service life. If its too little, the bearing can move in its housing out of alignment and or damage it housing. I always measure both bearings and the parts they are pressed into as a matter of machinist practice. I do it before I install the bearings. You will need some fairly expensive measuring instruments to measure interference fits. It cannot be accurately inspected with mere calipers which can barely measure within .001". A very high degree of accuracy is required. In the case of Chris King, they make their own stainless angular contact bearings. Even the individual balls! No other manufacturer i'm aware of manufactures their own bearings. These particular bearings use circlips and rubber seals, so theyre serviceable for life. You dont throw these bearings away. You simply service them. They are infinitely adjustable for preload and wear (angular contact) which is an excellent feature that can greatly increase the life of bearings. Its basically the same system as a cup and cone or loose ball hub. As a machinist, mechanical inspector and professional wheel builder, Chris King makes the best hubs on earth. Theyre the best value IF you ride lots and keep your gear more than a few short years. Theres a good reason they're prohibitively expensive. IF you take them apart, analyze their mechanisms and inspect their build tolerances. The King's ring drive mechanism is incredibly strong if you'd look at it closer. Its not complex at all. Its Just different than anything else. Its sort of a helical ring gear and screw . It grips harder (thru screw action) the harder you pedal. The strength of the hub shell is the limiting factor. In about 25 years of owning King hubs Ive never replaced a single bearing. Ive put well over 100000 dirty miles on all my King hubs. I service my hubs every other year or whenever the axle starts to feel the tiniest bit gritty. Theyre almost maintenance free hubs. The driver actually requires service more often than the bearings, but quite simple (if time consuming) to flush out and re-lube. I've serviced well over 100 Chris king hubs for customers and I've never replaced a single bearing in decades. Ive bought several badly neglected used King hubs with seemingly wrecked bearings and all they required was a flush with tri flow, blow out with compressed air, and repacking. Then they were perfect again. Same goes for my customer's abused hubs. You'll want to take care of these bearings. They cost $70+ per bearing.
Thank you for all this effort. It seems though something's wrong with the hub sound recordings. If you still have the hubs maybe you can do a sound only one? More hubs to consider: Nonplus, Syntace, Newman ... :) Cheers!
Hey there. I'm 29 and just picked up mtb (specifically emtb). This is the hobby of my dreams and I love it. I feel so alive since I discovered it. Am I too old to work in a bike shop? I mean I have tons of customer service, years and years. I already have a connection with the manager because he is my personal mechanic, and our chats last at least an hour every visit. I feel I have the attitude for it but I also feel my age will hinder me from actually snagging a side job there.
Your teaching has really improved my skills. Thank you. Turning specific amounts on each side for the whole wheel make that much quicker. I have a couple questions.. 1 Is retentioning spokes frequently required if you jump lots? 2 Is it acceptable on the bike to just blast thru a rim that needs tensioning with the tire on? Thank you
