WHEEL BUILDING GUIDE
***Important, please read carefully!***
WARNING
If the product is significantly damaged during shipment, please contact us within 7 days after signing and keep the original waybill, packing boxes, etc. If the product does not match your order, please contact us within 7 days after signing for the package.
• Avoid Improper Storage and TransportMake sure to transport and store the rims away from extreme heat. If you are transporting the bikes on a rear mount vehicle, make sure the wheels are not in the line the exhaust fumes from your car. This heat can damage the resin in your rim and is not covered by warranty.
• Choose the right spokesDO NOT use the straight gauge 2mm or thicker in diameter spoke when building the wheel. Doing so will void the warranty. Straight Gauge spokes are too stiff to build with LB carbon rims and can cause the rim to crack prematurely. The thickest spokes that can be used on our rims are double butted 2/1.8/2mm. For more issues regarding warranty please visit our official website.
A professional carbon wheel builder will use a tension meter and ensure that the wheels are built with a very even tension and are properly stress relieved.
• Follow the spoke direction shown on arrow sticker.The rims have angled nipple holes that alternate left/right/left. Please lace spokes in the correct direction to avoid spoke hole damage. The direction is shown on arrow sticker near the valve hole.
• Asymmetric rims building tips.
For asymmetric rims, there are shorter and longer arcs. When viewing from the rim channel, it's easiest to find the shorter side and longer side by looking at the valve hole in relation to the nipple holes. Please make sure the rim is in correct orientation - It is different for front and rear wheels!
Front Wheels: shorter side for drive side, longer side for non-drive (disc) side
Rear Wheels: longer side for drive side, shorter side for non-drive (disc) side
• Build the wheelset with the suitable spoke tension.
Bring the spokes to an even tension, with a maximum tolerance 5% for all drive side and all non-drive side. For our recommended spoke tensions, please see the chart below. During and after building, have the wheel stress relieved properly. If a spoke develops a sharp bend in it while building, please replace the spoke.
We apply the following spoke tension range while building wheels. The following spoke tension chart is for your reference.
| front wheel non-drive side | rear wheel drive side | |
|---|---|---|
| MTB/road disc wheelset | 120-130 kgf | 120-130 kgf |
| road non-disc wheelset | 100-110 kgf | 125-135 kgf |
| fatbike wheelset | 100-110 kgf | 100-110 kgf |
*It is better to make sure the max spoke tension less than 135 kgf while building wheels.
Put either side of the tire bead COMPLETELY into the deep centre (quite important to ensure gap space for smooth mounting), then push the other side of the tire into the rim deep centre. And then go on.
Check out how to install a tight tire on our YouTube video.
Before reaching out to us for more assistance, please double check:
- A) Recommended tire width?
- B) Intended tire (Tubeless/Tubed)?
- C) Too thick tubeless rim tape?
• Use a plastic tire lever. We recommend using a plastic tire lever. DO NOT use any stronger (metal) tire lever as that may lead to rim damage.
• Tubeless compatible wheelset set-up. All of our wheelsets are tubeless compatible with the addition of tubeless rim tape, a tubeless valve stem, sealant, and a tubeless compatible tire. To set up the wheelset tubeless, you will need to install tape, install the valve, mount the tire, add sealant, and inflate. The rim must be completely cleaned and dried before installing rim tape. Apply 1 or 2 laps rim tape and be sure the nipple holes are well covered. The rim tape should be overlapped about 2 inch from where you started.
• Having trouble mounting your tires?
Installing road tires on tubeless compatible rims can seem like a challenging task, but the use of proper technique makes the job significantly easier. To learn the technique we used to mount a Continental Gatorskin, a tire infamous for being a challenge to mount, without the use of tire levers, please have a look at our tire mounting video.
If you are still having a problem mounting your tires on our rims it may because you are using regular tires that are intended for use with tubes. Our rims are designed for tubeless tires and, as a result, the tolerances are a little bit tighter. Non-tubeless compatible tires usually have less consistent tolerances on the bead diameter so it is really hit and miss on how they will fit on a tubeless rim. Some might work, but generally they will fit too tight and it will be a challenge to mount the tire. If that is the case, we recommend using a tubeless compatible tire and you could still use a tube in those if you want.
• Schwalbe Tire TestWe wanted to ensure that our rim tolerances did not make mounting tires too much of a challenge, so we sent a number of rims to Schwalbe to be tested. Each one of them came back rated as "Simple, By Hand" when it came to mounting the tire.
- 1.Read all of the instructions first before starting the application so you understand the entire process.
- 2.Clean the rim with isopropyl alcohol and let it completely dry before applying the stickers.
- 3.You can count your spoke holes and divide by 4 in order to figure out the 90 degree orientation to the middle of the sticker. If you have a 32h rim, the middle of the sticker should be 8 counts from the valve sticker.
- 4.You can fold the sticker in half to double check where the middle is, just be sure not to press down to hard to avoid making a crease.
- 5.Leave a 1.5-2mm gap along the outside of the rim.
- 6.Pull the sticker off the backing and apply from the outer diameter first so that you get the correct gap along the outside of the rim. Smooth the sticker on with your finger going back and forth across its length and work your way to the inner diameter.
- 7.Watch out for any air bubbles as you apply. If a bubble forms, gently lift the sticker to open up the spot with the bubble, and apply pressure to work it out. Do not handle the sticker too aggressively or it can stretch out.
- 8.Be sure to use clean hands when working with stickers, and if you must touch the back (sticky part) then it is best to use a piece of the wax paper so you do not contaminate the sticker.
- 9.If there is a contaminant on the back of the sticker, you can try a drop of water on that spot to work the debris off of it. If left on, it may show through.
