One of my favorite books in the bicycle-library is The Art of Wheelbuilding by Gerd Schraner. The book is a manual on all things wheels from Gerd’s experience as a master wheelbuilder, having laced up wheels for amateurs and racers for some 40+ years. As one would image, the bulk of the book is about the wheelbuilding process itself and the mechanics at play that make it all possible. Each section has references to Gerd’s extensive experience, with various tricks, bits of wisdom and home-made tools that only a life long builder could share. Beyond the actual process of wheelbuilding there is a lot of technical info at hand, along with anecdotes of great riders and mechanics from through the years. The book is as much a favorite for its technical information as it is for the anecdotes throughout. For example, on the subject of twisted spoke lacing and young bike freaks—”It’s better to see them rolling spokes than rolling joints.” When it comes time to actually lace up your own wheels, the steps are illustrated full-page for easy reference, and the spiral binding allows the book to lay flat by your side. Mine is marked up with greasy fingerprints, and that’s the only way to truly understand the words inside.
Like any technical book there are points to disagree with, or techniques that just don’t work for people other than the author. Given the book first published a decade ago the perspective and some of the information is certainly aging, but the book retains its charm is is recommended reading for anyone seeking a better understanding of spoked wheels. The overall ride quality, weight and serviceability of a good, handbuilt wheel is still hard to beat and that’s one thing that’s not changed much in this past decade.
“The Bicycle Wheel” by Jobst Brandt is also another delicious book. I love Brandt’s explanation of the forces involved in a bicycle wheel.
folks should be allowed to roll both.
I’ve bought this book about 7 or 8 years ago when I first started cutting and threading spokes to build wheels. I highly recommend this book to everyone.
I’ve read Brandt, but Sheldon Brown’s page on Wheelbuilding was more useful to me when it came time to build my first wheel.
This book is amazing. I only wish I didn’t lend my copy to Stick…
I encourage anyone who has interest in building their own wheels or training mechanics for custom builds to pick up this book. It is extremely helpful to beginners or experienced mechanics. After using this as a reference for about 100 wheel builds it becomes a part of routine and I’ve tried other methods more recently in my own builds and it only confused me. Schraner is the way.
Let me judge this book by it cover.
Radial spokes? I don’t trust it.