Another day of wheel work (and so on).
I took in a wheel build from a customer featuring Planet X rims.
The customer wanted a rebuild, so I'm only keeping this Chris King hub.
It's built CX-RAY outpoke radial with decent tension, but it could still be tighter.
Also, based on the rim's label orientation, the front hub is facing backwards.
With White Industries and XtraLite front hubs, when you position the bearing adjustment mechanism on the left side,
some models will have reversed hub markings
(XtraLite even has instructions saying to put it on the left this way),
but following that logic, the orientation in the photo above is still wrong.
Moving to the rear wheel.
The customer thought this rim was a Gigantex, but it's actually an Equinox WH-005.
Apart from the brake zone finish and rim side gloss, it's the same rim as the Nomu Lab Wheel 2.5.
This one is 24H CX-RAY 4-0 lacing.
The rim is slightly off-center toward the freewheel side, but
since the front wheel was dead center,
it likely went in perfectly centered and shifted over time with use.
Both wheels have decent tension, and this is a nice example of how
with equal-flange hubs and 4-0 lacing, the non-drive side can get this slack
even with proper drive-side tension (not that I use this lacing pattern myself).
Looking from the outside before disassembling the front wheel,
the spokes appear extremely short.
Disassembling progressively and leaving about 4 spokes with untouched nipples,
I can observe the nipples pulled out from the rim.
No matter how you look at it, they're too short.
The rear wheel is built as an inverted rim.
The holes on the inside of the rim don't have much hole offset, so
with external-threaded nipples there's no real issue, but
with internal-threaded nipples it's a problem.
The tool hangs along the extension of the spoke angle, and
there's quite a bit of hole offset on the outside.
Rim height is a factor here too—this is a 50mm rim, but
the 38mm version of the same rim wouldn't have this much offset.
This offset is machined into the correct-side rim, so
For example, in the image above, the spoke extends to the right
and the rim hole is offset right too, but
↑it ends up like this.
Even if someone built it with reversed hole offset during initial lacing,
they'd usually give up due to how hard it is to get a wrench on the nipples.
But someone powered through it anyway.
Starting to loosen the nipples was difficult enough with the wrench,
so honestly I'm baffled how they got a wrench on them at the end during building.
They must have noticed something was wrong.
One spot had slight wobble that I noticed, but
when I released tension, the spoke at that phase was bent.
This too—one of the final untouched nipples—
has the nipple oriented correctly, but the spoke is too long
and essentially can't be tightened further.
With the nipple oriented correctly, there's a small amount of clearance inside,
so even if it looks like the threads are maxed out, that's fine.
But this is too long. There's 4-5 threads showing past the nipple.
If spoke length is considered correct when flush with the nipple end,
then additional tightening of a properly-tensioned wheel by 4 more turns is impossible,
so the threads won't fully engage.
Next, the front wheel where the rim is being replaced.
ENVE 1-45 rim, and
the hub is a DT 240S
and spokes are number 14 plain from mac spokes (a CN spoke brand).
It's built slack—right at the minimum for a functional wheel—
but it should still be rideable.
The spoke length looks right, but I have a bad feeling...
A hexagon visible from the outside means...
Yep, the nipple is reversed.
From this side it's threads right away, so
there's maybe one more turn available, if that.
The reason it had to be built so slack might be that
some other spots maxed out the threads,
but the wrong nipple orientation is a dealbreaker to begin with.
Now for the rear wheel.
This is an EDGE 45.
24H black CX-RAY with the unusual 6-6 lacing pattern.
The spoke length is "in this state" appropriate, and the nipple orientation is correct.
However, it has even less tension than the front wheel—barely a functional wheel,
and you'd swear it was mid-build.
If you tighten it up as much as this lacing pattern allows,
the spokes will definitely protrude past the nipples,
so the spoke length isn't appropriate—it's on the long side or too long.
Looking through the valve hole at the hub phase—
it's supposed to show either the logo or be 180° opposite—
that's hand-built wheel etiquette in my book.
But this is off, which feels pretty amateurish.
I haven't asked, so I don't know,
but if the customer or their friend built it, my apologies.
I don't care what mistakes amateurs make.
If it was a fellow pro, though...
The nipple is the early EDGE model
with the plastic anti-rattle insert.
From EDGE through ENVE, the rim-supplied nipple has changed multiple times—
we're on the fourth generation now.
There's an article that goes through generations one through three (the latest at the time)
and details what happens when you reverse the nipple—
check it out for details (→here).
The customer asked me to weigh the rims and wheels, so
here are the numbers.
The ENVE 1-45 rim averages around 295g and the EDGE 45 around 274g,
so the ENVE is slightly light and the EDGE is quite heavy for its type.
The EDGE might have had ENVE's final-version sticker swapped on,
but considering the early nipple type was used,
I'm leaning toward no.
The rear rim is definitely from the EDGE era.
The "45" in 45mm rim height predates the split into the light 1-45 and
the sturdier(heavy, euphemistically) 2-45.
Also, as shown, there's no rim cement bed,
so that weight isn't being added on top.
Built them. The customer said I can build them however I want.
Excluding silly experimental stuff,
the front is 20H CX-RAY outpoke radial,
and the rear is 24H semi-comp 4-6 lacing with cross-lacing in silver,
which is the serious conclusion.
Front wheel
Rear wheel
The wheel weights above.
I took in a wheel build from a customer featuring Planet X rims.
The customer wanted a rebuild, so I'm only keeping this Chris King hub.
It's built CX-RAY outpoke radial with decent tension, but it could still be tighter.
Also, based on the rim's label orientation, the front hub is facing backwards.
With White Industries and XtraLite front hubs, when you position the bearing adjustment mechanism on the left side,
some models will have reversed hub markings
(XtraLite even has instructions saying to put it on the left this way),
but following that logic, the orientation in the photo above is still wrong.
Moving to the rear wheel.
The customer thought this rim was a Gigantex, but it's actually an Equinox WH-005.
Apart from the brake zone finish and rim side gloss, it's the same rim as the Nomu Lab Wheel 2.5.
This one is 24H CX-RAY 4-0 lacing.
The rim is slightly off-center toward the freewheel side, but
since the front wheel was dead center,
it likely went in perfectly centered and shifted over time with use.
Both wheels have decent tension, and this is a nice example of how
with equal-flange hubs and 4-0 lacing, the non-drive side can get this slack
even with proper drive-side tension (not that I use this lacing pattern myself).
Looking from the outside before disassembling the front wheel,
the spokes appear extremely short.
Disassembling progressively and leaving about 4 spokes with untouched nipples,
I can observe the nipples pulled out from the rim.
No matter how you look at it, they're too short.
The rear wheel is built as an inverted rim.
The holes on the inside of the rim don't have much hole offset, so
with external-threaded nipples there's no real issue, but
with internal-threaded nipples it's a problem.
The tool hangs along the extension of the spoke angle, and
there's quite a bit of hole offset on the outside.
Rim height is a factor here too—this is a 50mm rim, but
the 38mm version of the same rim wouldn't have this much offset.
This offset is machined into the correct-side rim, so
For example, in the image above, the spoke extends to the right
and the rim hole is offset right too, but
↑it ends up like this.
Even if someone built it with reversed hole offset during initial lacing,
they'd usually give up due to how hard it is to get a wrench on the nipples.
But someone powered through it anyway.
Starting to loosen the nipples was difficult enough with the wrench,
so honestly I'm baffled how they got a wrench on them at the end during building.
They must have noticed something was wrong.
One spot had slight wobble that I noticed, but
when I released tension, the spoke at that phase was bent.
This too—one of the final untouched nipples—
has the nipple oriented correctly, but the spoke is too long
and essentially can't be tightened further.
With the nipple oriented correctly, there's a small amount of clearance inside,
so even if it looks like the threads are maxed out, that's fine.
But this is too long. There's 4-5 threads showing past the nipple.
If spoke length is considered correct when flush with the nipple end,
then additional tightening of a properly-tensioned wheel by 4 more turns is impossible,
so the threads won't fully engage.
Next, the front wheel where the rim is being replaced.
ENVE 1-45 rim, and
the hub is a DT 240S
and spokes are number 14 plain from mac spokes (a CN spoke brand).
It's built slack—right at the minimum for a functional wheel—
but it should still be rideable.
The spoke length looks right, but I have a bad feeling...
A hexagon visible from the outside means...
Yep, the nipple is reversed.
From this side it's threads right away, so
there's maybe one more turn available, if that.
The reason it had to be built so slack might be that
some other spots maxed out the threads,
but the wrong nipple orientation is a dealbreaker to begin with.
Now for the rear wheel.
This is an EDGE 45.
24H black CX-RAY with the unusual 6-6 lacing pattern.
The spoke length is "in this state" appropriate, and the nipple orientation is correct.
However, it has even less tension than the front wheel—barely a functional wheel,
and you'd swear it was mid-build.
If you tighten it up as much as this lacing pattern allows,
the spokes will definitely protrude past the nipples,
so the spoke length isn't appropriate—it's on the long side or too long.
Looking through the valve hole at the hub phase—
it's supposed to show either the logo or be 180° opposite—
that's hand-built wheel etiquette in my book.
But this is off, which feels pretty amateurish.
I haven't asked, so I don't know,
but if the customer or their friend built it, my apologies.
I don't care what mistakes amateurs make.
The nipple is the early EDGE model
with the plastic anti-rattle insert.
From EDGE through ENVE, the rim-supplied nipple has changed multiple times—
we're on the fourth generation now.
There's an article that goes through generations one through three (the latest at the time)
and details what happens when you reverse the nipple—
check it out for details (→here).
The customer asked me to weigh the rims and wheels, so
here are the numbers.
The ENVE 1-45 rim averages around 295g and the EDGE 45 around 274g,
so the ENVE is slightly light and the EDGE is quite heavy for its type.
The EDGE might have had ENVE's final-version sticker swapped on,
but considering the early nipple type was used,
I'm leaning toward no.
The rear rim is definitely from the EDGE era.
The "45" in 45mm rim height predates the split into the light 1-45 and
the sturdier
Also, as shown, there's no rim cement bed,
so that weight isn't being added on top.
Built them. The customer said I can build them however I want.
Excluding silly experimental stuff,
the front is 20H CX-RAY outpoke radial,
and the rear is 24H semi-comp 4-6 lacing with cross-lacing in silver,
which is the serious conclusion.
Front wheel
Rear wheel
The wheel weights above.