Handbuilt Wheels

We often get asked, "What are the best wheels you have?". Our answer is always the same, "It depends on what you need".

We are huge believers in handbuilt wheels and offer competitive and efficient wheel-building services in store to help you get the perfect wheels for your ride. Here at GEAR Shop Brisbane, we believe that wheels are the single best upgrade you can make to a bike, providing an increase in performance, aesthetics, and ride quality. You don’t need to break the bank to produce a quality wheel.

You can check out a gallery of some of our Custom Wheelbuilds here. The gallery is being updated regularly and if you see something you like, reach out and we can talk you through it.

BT Edge Track bike with Velocity Handbuilt wheels

WHY CUSTOM?

The answer isn’t always simple – but we will try to answer it in these 3 stages.

  1. One Size Fits All? Not a chance.
  2. Handbuilt Quality
  3. Serviceability

ONE SIZE FITS ALL? NOT A CHANCE
A few months ago whilst out for a ride, a friend mentioned that they were thinking about buying a new bike. At 6’4 they are outside the bell curve of the “standard” cyclist, in both height and weight. After reviewing the manufacturers specifications, the total rated weight on the XL bike they were considering was 100kg. This is what we call “System Weight”. If our rider is 100kg maximum, once you factor clothing, accessories, the bike itself… All of a sudden, we are exceeding 110kg and are over 10% over the rated weight – voiding the warranty on the wheels, reducing ride quality and most importantly…. Putting the rider at unnecessary risk of failure.

Many manufacturers don’t always consider that the requirements of a taller or shorter rider may vary. A wheelset built for someone who is 100kg+ will not perform great for someone sub 60kg and who loves riding hills. This is where the “One Size Fits All” conversation is moot.

A custom build wheelset allows us to build a wheel to suit your build, your desired ride quality and more importantly, keep you safe. You wouldn’t ride a bike 3 sizes too small, so don’t ride wheels designed for someone else.

HANDBUILT QUALITY
When a handbuilt wheel is pieced together, we have the ability to provide a high quality of care in all parts of the build process. We are in the position to ensure the correct spoke length, spoke tension, and we can choose the best spoke & nipple configuration for your custom build. Our ethos is pretty simple, “Do it once, Do it right!”.

Each wheel is hand built, hand trued, dished and checked. There is no room for machine error or incorrect placement. More-so, if something isn’t right such as a nipple that’s damaged, or an imperfect edge on a rim, we can catch it before the build even begins.

Lacing Pattern, Spoke Count, Rim Depth, Brake Type, Tyre Size…. It all plays a vital part in the selection process. Like all things in the universe, it’s about balance. We can help you balance it out to ensure you get the ride quality and longevity you desire from your wheels.

SERVICEABILITY
Many of todays modern wheels are shifting towards proprietary spokes, nipples and interfaces. The “Standards” being used are prolific and ever increasing. With a custom built wheel, we can select options which would allow any workshop, anywhere in the world to repair or replace a broken spoke or nipple on the spot without the need to order anything in for you custom.

Second to the above, we lubricate under the nipple heads on the rim interface on all of our builds, providing a frictionless surface to allow for a precision true – should the wheel ever need it. Lastly, we typically only use Brass nipples, meaning the likelihood of galvanic corrosion is reduced to almost zero. A plethora of tubeless sealants on the market are known to be alkaline which can mean if you build with alloy nipples you risk corrosion if you get a sealant leak in your rim.

Lastly, we thread-lock all our nipples to prevent unwanted loosening in harsh riding conditions. This means you’re less likely to need to come in for a wheel true – even if you have a hard impact on terrain outside the intended riding conditions of your designed wheelset.

If you have been considering a custom built wheelset, please reach out and let us find out how we can help YOU perfect your ride.