How are cycle wheels manufactured?

[dicko]

I don’t think factory produced cycle wheels are manufactured by robots but who knows? I expect they are assembled in a wheel building jig by hand but that would mean employing a workforce which have to be paid. The more I think about it machine built wheels make sense and building to standard wheel sizes would be cost effective too but just how are wheels made?
Not the carbon wheels just ordinary cycle wheels with spokes.

 

[Drago]

The means by which they are assembled in a factory does not differ significantly to those built on a workbench by an artisan.

Greater use of power tools and jigs to speed the process and a target of wheels being built to an average specification instead of the best they can be, but in essence it's little different.

The factory built wheels undergo automated processes for things such as inserting ferrules into the rim, but the actually assembly is still fundamentally a human job. They're not machine built to any great espxtent.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

View: https://youtu.be/mZVJBsBfrnA?feature=shared

 

[Ming the Merciless]

View: https://youtu.be/02bcAjP_Cdk?feature=shared

 

[Drago]

View: https://youtu.be/02bcAjP_Cdk?feature=shared

Are they any good, do you think?

 

[dicko]

Thank you for your replies I will watch the videos later, many thanks

 

[Fastpedaller]

That's a lot quicker than I can lace a wheel!

 

[Dogtrousers]

I've often wondered what's so special about wheels. "Get yourself a good pair of hand-built wheels" is often the advice on here. Indeed it's advice that I myself have followed, and generally not been disappointed. So I'm not complaining.

But we don't get the same advice for other components. You never hear anyone recommending artisan hand-filed chainrings or anything like that. What is it with wheels?

Mind you, I did meet a guy once who made his own leather saddles.

 

[MontyVeda]

I've got hand built wheel on the front and a 'factory' wheel on the back. Both seem to be doing their job perfectly well.

 

[Jameshow]

I've got hand built wheel on the front and a 'factory' wheel on the back. Both seem to be doing their job perfectly well.

That's why the weather changed this weekend! 🤣🤣🤣

 

[si_c]

I've often wondered what's so special about wheels. "Get yourself a good pair of hand-built wheels" is often the advice on here. Indeed it's advice that I myself have followed, and generally not been disappointed. So I'm not complaining.

But we don't get the same advice for other components. You never hear anyone recommending artisan hand-filed chainrings or anything like that. What is it with wheels?

Mind you, I did meet a guy once who made his own leather saddles.

Machine built wheels can be reasonably good - but the machines will true the wheel without too much regard for even spoke tension (edit to add: also less likely to have been properly stress relieved). This means that someone who knows what they are doing (not an overly complicated task) can build a wheel which is more durable and less likely to go out of true.

 

[rydabent]

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

 

[matticus]

But we don't get the same advice for other components. You never hear anyone recommending artisan hand-filed chainrings or anything like that. What is it with wheels?

You know what they say: If you have to ask ...

 

[fossyant]

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

Fight.....

 

[T4tomo]

I've often wondered what's so special about wheels. "Get yourself a good pair of hand-built wheels" is often the advice on here. Indeed it's advice that I myself have followed, and generally not been disappointed. So I'm not complaining.

But we don't get the same advice for other components. You never hear anyone recommending artisan hand-filed chainrings or anything like that. What is it with wheels?

Mind you, I did meet a guy once who made his own leather saddles.

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.