We Have Wheels

The spokes ordered in the last post arrived.  I finished lacing and initial tensioning.  The spoke lengths I ordered seem to be spot-on.  They have good thread engagement and there is no protrusion of the spoke through the bottom of the nipple.

  I used Sapim Leader straight gage (2mm/14ga) stainless steel spokes and 12mm nipples.  The rear wheel is laced 3X, and the Dynohub wheel is laced 2X on Dyno side flange and 3X on the smaller flange.  Because these are modern spokes I had to used spoke washers with the thinner Sturmey Archer flanges.

Using spoke washes is a nuisance, especially on the special key-hole spoke holes on the small flange of the Dynohub.  Next time I'm going to put more effort into saving the old spokes.  Raleigh started using stainless steel spokes as far back as 1939, they were advertised as "Staybrite" spokes.  Even though the old spokes looked dull and corroded, they would probably clean-up real nice with a little effort.

I used 10mm rim tape with the CR-18 rims, the rim holes are located in a very narrow channel in the bottom of the rim.

Just need to finish the final tensioning, truing, and dishing of the wheels, then mount the tubes and tires.

Please share your comments and experiences.