Racing

How to Spoke a Wheel - Dirt Rider Magazine | MiniRider.com

April 16, 2010

The other night I was watching one of those chopper shows with my dad. They were spoking wheels and acting like it was super hard to do. Actually, once you've done a few, it's not that tough. I've been doing it for a couple of years.

Step one Start by separating the spokes by inside and outside spokes. They usually come bagged separately. You can tell a slight difference by looking at the spoke heads. Outside spokes have a shorter head and slight angle. Inside spokes have a longer head and almost a 45 degree angle.

Step two Lay out the rim, hub, spokes and nipples.

Step three Start with one of the outside spokes (shallow bend on the head) and push the spoke down through the top of the hub. Put the spoke in one of the outside holes that point upwards on the rim. Screw the nipple on a few threads, just enough to hold it on.

Step four For the second spoke that goes in, skip one hole on the hub and skip three holes on the rim. Work your way all the way around on this side of the rim.

Step five Flip the wheel over and start with an outside spoke. Drop it down through the hub and put it in the hole in the rim that's next to the a spoke you already put in from the other side of the wheel. Work you way around, skipping one hole on the hub and three on the rim. Once you have all the outside spokes in on both sides, grab the hub and rim and twist it to pull the spokes into the place.

Step six Now grab an inside spoke, push it up through the bottom of the hub and cross over to a hole in the rim, making an X pattern and leave one hole in between. Work your way around the wheel, skipping one hole on the hub and three on the rim.

Step seven Once you've worked your way around one side of the wheel, flip the wheel over and repeat steps one through six with the inside spokes.

Step eight Once all of the spokes are in place, screw the nipples down until you see just one thread on the spoke. Put the axle in the hub and clamp it to a vice, or put it on the bike to tighten the spokes. Carefully give each spoke nipple 1/4 turn, working your way around until they are all snug. Hope this helps!