How are cycle wheels manufactured?

[Fastpedaller]

Robot computer build wheels are probably far better than hand built wheels.

I'll be the first to dispute that comment
They aren't stress -relieved (as far as I'm aware), so a handbuilt wheel that is stress-relieved is likely to be much better. My only experience of machine-built wheels is when I bought a new mountain bike - within a month, 3 or 4 spokes had broken in quick succession on the rear wheel. I rebuilt the rim into another hub, and all was well for years until I gave the bike away. I could have (but didn't) stress-relieve the original wheel before use. There is a caviat, in that the machine-built wheels will invariably have cheap hubs with thin flanges which (along with any lack of stress relieving) will make spoke breakage more likely.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Got to be careful with what our robot overlords come up with

 

[rydabent]

I'll be the first to dispute that comment
They aren't stress -relieved (as far as I'm aware), so a handbuilt wheel that is stress-relieved is likely to be much better. My only experience of machine-built wheels is when I bought a new mountain bike - within a month, 3 or 4 spokes had broken in quick succession on the rear wheel. I rebuilt the rim into another hub, and all was well for years until I gave the bike away. I could have (but didn't) stress-relieve the original wheel before use. There is a caviat, in that the machine-built wheels will invariably have cheap hubs with thin flanges which (along with any lack of stress relieving) will make spoke breakage more likely.

Well my three rides, a recumbent, and two trikes, for sure have computer built wheels. The bent bike is a 2008, and the wheels are still absolutely true. I have never had to lay a spoke wrench on them, or the 2011 trike, or the 2023 trike.

 

[Dogtrousers]

the machine-built wheels will invariably have cheap hubs with thin flanges which (along with any lack of stress relieving) will make spoke breakage more likely.

It's the fact that "hand built" will use standard sapim or similar spokes and hence be easily repairable.
A significant number of factory built wheels will use proprietary spokes etc rendering them pretty useless when you snap one.

These two are property of the materials (thin flanges, cheap hubs, proprietary spokes) not the actual building method.

So if you can get machine built wheels made with good components, and "stress relieve" them before use (if that's possible - I don't actually know what it means) then you should be ok?

 

[Jameshow]

It's the fact that "hand built" will use standard sapim or similar spokes and hence be easily repairable.
A significant number of factory built wheels will use proprietary spokes etc rendering them pretty useless when you snap one.

That's generally true.

But I've never snapped a factory built wheel.

And some stock wheels are awful tbh. Cannondale comes to mind.

Learning to true and tension a wheel is a useful skill tbh.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

If you build your own wheels you get to choose the hub, rim, number and type of spokes. You’ll often get something much better than you could get off the shelf from a robot. Plus no massive marketing markup. At the expense of a bit of your time. Plus you’ll also be equipped to deal with and prevent any major issues with the wheels you built.