Another day with wheels (and so on).
Today I improvised and built a wheel.
I was rebuilding the wheel that came on the bike I rode in on,
so once I'd taken it apart, I had to reassemble it on the spot.
Originally, it was a wheel the customer had built themselves.
Sorry for sounding condescending, but honestly, they'd done a decent job.
Better than a lot of mediocre bike shops, you know ××× (self-censored).
But they wanted me to rebuild it in a 4-cross lacing pattern.
The spoke tension difference between left and right came down quite a bit.
That's not because I'm some master builder—it's just how physics works.
I thought the front wheel might just need a tension check and truing,
but I ended up rebuilding it with a 6-cross lacing pattern and new spokes.
This wheel uses an MTB-standard 26-inch rim
（a Mavic XC rim, to be specific）,
and the bike itself is a rather charming randonneur.
Between the frame and all the components, I was really taken with this bike when I saw it.
The 650A wheel is nice for serious riders, sure,
but thinking about tire and tube availability out on the road,
this setup makes a lot of sense too.
You can tell from the hub being a Shimano 5700-series 105
that this isn't just chasing aesthetics—the parts selection shows real thought
about keeping trouble-free in actual use, and making any issues easy to fix.
Photos? I'm scared of getting torn apart by the gear critics, so I didn't take any (laugh).
Today I improvised and built a wheel.
I was rebuilding the wheel that came on the bike I rode in on,
so once I'd taken it apart, I had to reassemble it on the spot.
Originally, it was a wheel the customer had built themselves.
Sorry for sounding condescending, but honestly, they'd done a decent job.
Better than a lot of mediocre bike shops, you know ××× (self-censored).
But they wanted me to rebuild it in a 4-cross lacing pattern.
The spoke tension difference between left and right came down quite a bit.
That's not because I'm some master builder—it's just how physics works.
I thought the front wheel might just need a tension check and truing,
but I ended up rebuilding it with a 6-cross lacing pattern and new spokes.
This wheel uses an MTB-standard 26-inch rim
（a Mavic XC rim, to be specific）,
and the bike itself is a rather charming randonneur.
Between the frame and all the components, I was really taken with this bike when I saw it.
The 650A wheel is nice for serious riders, sure,
but thinking about tire and tube availability out on the road,
this setup makes a lot of sense too.
You can tell from the hub being a Shimano 5700-series 105
that this isn't just chasing aesthetics—the parts selection shows real thought
about keeping trouble-free in actual use, and making any issues easy to fix.
Photos? I'm scared of getting torn apart by the gear critics, so I didn't take any (laugh).