9C motor wheelbuilding help in Seattle

So my yescomusa 48V 1000w 9C rear wheel self-destructed some time ago, slicing my tube open and left me stranded, not to mention Slime everywhere.
So I'm trying to decide what to do next.
1) Where is a good place to bring it to to get it laced up in Seattle, WA? Would regular bike shop have the experience in building electric hubs?
2) Would anybody with experience willing to help me and teach me how to lace it up including new rim and spokes here in Seattle?

Can you get up to Vancouver? If so, take it to Grin Tech / ebikes.ca.

If nothing else, you can source your new rim and spokes from Grin. Then shop around for the best shop to get it laced.

Anybody know which bike shop in Seattle is good? Won't freak out on a motor lace?

The Downhill Zone laced up a few hub motors for me.
But they left the U district for Issaquah.
I`ve been building my own since then.
A spoke calculator sure helps to get the right length spokes.
Then it is just a slow repetitive process for me.

It aint rocket science.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=how+to+lace+a+hub+motor
Just start with a decent rim and spokes. I'd suggest a rim with a minimum 25mm inside width for up to 2.25in tire. I found 32mm works best for 2.0" - 2.5" tires.
Any spoke calc to get the proper spoke length. Type golden in the hub search here for the proper hub measurements.
https://leonard.io/edd/

Check out Henry Kellogg at Liontails cycles. I've had him build me an electric hub motor wheel. Good guy and fair prices and lots of experience with electric hub motor builds.

Try this. http://kinaye-motorsports.myshopify.com/collections/all

It is pretty easy to build a wheel, once you understand the 4 spoke pattern lacing is not hard.

Truing another thing, but once laced, and lightly tensioned, just about any shop should be willing to true it. And one thing not always obvious, truing a bent rim wheel is very hard, even impossible. But it goes pretty easy when you start with a straight rim. Give it a try!

It may seem obvious but I find myself often repeating the advice of practice, practice, practice wheel truing. And it doesn’t need to be only hub motor wheels.

There’s always a bicycle wheel out there perfect for learning and “practicing” how to true spoked wheels.

Once a person understands the process and how to shift the dishing around a bit, it makes life so much easier/better.

Then you can move on to doing lacing which for single cross (majority of hub motors) is very easy. In fact, 1 cross hub motor wheels are perfect for beginner wheel lacing IMO. Much easier to wrangle than a 3-4 cross pattern.

http://www.wheelpro.co.uk/ A good book on wheel building, excellent ERD measuring technique along with how to make all the tools you need for super cheap and other good bits.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004H1UA9Y/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B004H1UA9Y&linkCode=as2&tag=xbnijgbr-20&linkId=6PRTE64I2OMBM6IM
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00H49Q4KU/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00H49Q4KU&linkCode=as2&tag=xbnijgbr-20&linkId=7Z2ULAQHCZ6GKO3F
Great wheel building videos really worth watching.

Here's a post on my version of the WheelPro truing stand described in the Musson's Wheel Building book and a few notes on other ES threads, commercial stands, tension meter, etc.

So I've decided to buy the parts from ebike.ca, seems like it's the only place that sells custom length spokes with my short search.

Alex DM24 26" rims and 166.1-166.6mm spokes depending in/out or 1 cross alternating (how it came from the factory). Somehow I remembered that it wasn't centered correct and thought I had to dish it correctly with a rebuild, but just tried it on again and it seemed to be centered with same number of spacers on both sides.

Would 13g spokes be enough without modifications?
Should I buy 167mm or 166mm?

Still can't believe that I shattered part of the rim that easily while riding top speed, hopefully it was just the cheap rim from the factory. I didn't remember hitting anything hard. I hope it'll be worth my time and money rebuilding this hub motor.

1-2mm too short spoke is better than 1-2mm too long IMO.

I also avoid 13ga straight spokes because they don’t tension enough for my taste plus it rules out any emergency “repair” possible using scavenged 14ga spokes. See photo.

Need a temporary spoke? Good luck finding one that matches 13ga nipples. 14ga nipples? Plenty junk/old wheels laying around with enough spoke length to perform a ghetto repair similar to the wheel in my photo.

Danscomp is the USA place I order custom 13/14ga Sapim stainless single butted spokes. https://www.danscomp.com/shop-PARTS/group/BMX+Spokes.html

They’re not listed on the spoke page and you must ask for them by name when you call to order and provide your length. They’re 50 cents each - I just ordered and received a set of 36qty last week shipped fast under $25.

Remember, you’re not going to “nail” everything on a maiden wheel build but if you’re careful, methodical and have decent mechanical aptitude, you can do a good enough job for 1st attempt.

Lotsa advice out there. All I can say is I've now performed over dozen motor wheel builds plus a couple regular 3 cross. My last motor wheel absolutely nailed overall length(s) and slightly different L/R length to account for dishing. I'd built the same exact motor/rim before and remembered how spoke lengths' could be adjusted to fit better. This go around, perfectly filled nipples without any excess sticking out.

Oh, and don't forget a layer or two of cloth hockey/sports tape or cloth Gaff tape for rim strip...

puregsr said:

So I've decided to buy the parts from ebike.ca, seems like it's the only place that sells custom length spokes with my short search.

Alex DM24 26" rims and 166.1-166.6mm spokes depending in/out or 1 cross alternating (how it came from the factory). Somehow I remembered that it wasn't centered correct and thought I had to dish it correctly with a rebuild, but just tried it on again and it seemed to be centered with same number of spacers on both sides.

Would 13g spokes be enough without modifications?
Should I buy 167mm or 166mm?

Still can't believe that I shattered part of the rim that easily while riding top speed, hopefully it was just the cheap rim from the factory. I didn't remember hitting anything hard. I hope it'll be worth my time and money rebuilding this hub motor.

Click to expand...

puregsr said:

So I've decided to buy the parts from ebike.ca, seems like it's the only place that sells custom length spokes with my short search.

Click to expand...

I wish I'd noticed this thread earlier. Your first resort for wheelbuilding needs (and pretty much any other bicycle related needs) should be Aaron's Bicycle Repair in White Center. Aaron Goss has a spoke cutting machine plus more expertise than anyone in, well, the continental USA more or less. Don't hesitate to consult him in the future.

You can't go wrong dealing with Grin, but Aaron is local to you and that's an advantage.

So is there any disadvantages using 14g spokes instead of 13 or 12 besides the need for washers? Just seems to be a lot of trouble to use and find 12g or 13g.

puregsr said:

So is there any disadvantages using 14g spokes instead of 13 or 12 besides the need for washers? Just seems to be a lot of trouble to use and find 12g or 13g.

Click to expand...

There are only advantages to thinner spokes, down to about 15ga. Thinner spokes allow the same rim to carry bigger loads more reliably, because they spread forces across more spokes at a time and they resist unscrewing.

Aaron's Bike Repair has 13-14ga, 14ga, and 14-15ga blanks. If you want to do the build yourself, Danscomp.com has the same gauges and cuts to order for amazingly cheap prices.

I only bother with 13/14ga butted spokes because I’m unsure about where to find the right size/material washers to fit under the spoke head in the motor flange.

One of these days I intend to solve the washer conundrum and use plain 14a spokes which only cost 20 cents each. But for now, I use 13/14ga 'cause they “fit” my current needs.