Master Wheelbuilding

I contacted Mr. Mould to take his class in the Washington DC area. I had broken a spoke on my PowerTap and it was going to cost me a good chuck of change to box it ship it out and back to a builder in another state. So, I found him locally as a the premier wheel builder and then saw his classes decided the class seemed like a neat thing to do in the winter. Through a series of scheduling issues, I was a few weeks out from being able to make it in. So, he recommended I at least grab his video as pre-work since it would help move things along during the session. Well, I watched the video and realized it was essentially a step by step tutorial on how to build a wheel. So, after watching the video, I ordered the tools and found a good online spoke calculator and ordered the spokes, nipples and rim tape in the colors I wanted in preparation for his class. Everything arrived and I had a slow weekend, so, I figured I would give it a shot and when I got stuck, I'll be able to go in and he can straighten me out during the session. Well, it turns out, I was able to put my rear wheel together over about 4 hours on Saturday and finish it up in another hour on Sunday morning. I then spent about 2.5-3 building a second front wheel on Sunday for a great looking set.I watched the video one evening then ordered a tensiometer, spoke wrench, dishing tool and used zip ties on my rear triangle as a truing stand but if you have the money, a truing stand is the way to go. The nice Park one will be my next big purchase. I went and ordered the right size spokes for my rim and hub that corresponded to the 2x lacing pattern that I had chosen. Once everything arrived, I disassembled the broken wheel and decided to give it a go. So I watched the video pausing it along the way and went step by step along with the teacher. He goes step by step and before too long, I had a very nice solid wheel. He makes a 28h 3x rear wheel in the DVD. So, if you plan on building something similar, you can follow right along. Mine was a 2x lacing pattern and I then built a front wheel on my second attempt. In both cases, there are little notes that pop up for disk wheels or different variations so you can adapt your build to his instruction. Different lacing patterns and disk brake vs. rim brake wheels. Essentially a screen telling you that at this point if you have a 1x lacing pattern you need to do this in stead.You can tell the guy has done this thousands of times and he is just a wealth of knowledge. He does an excellent job of describing what you need to do and how to go about it throughout the video. A piece of constructive feedback, with the front wheel for example. I had to make a couple of assumptions that are very clearly common sense but when I was used to his detailed step by step instructions, I was feeling uncertain. For my front wheel, it was actually much simpler than the rear but I had to essentially apply his principles as opposed to him instructing overtly. He conveyed the principles well but there was a spot or two where a little more practical advice would be beneficial. Another pop up bubble or instruction screen might be helpful in an instance or two. Then again, there are so many variations of wheels, I'm sure you have to draw the line somewhere. Plus if you pay attention to what he is saying, the answer is there. I guess I am just suggesting it could be dumbed down a little more to accommodate someone as dense as I can sometime be. For anyone with the same question when building a front after completing a rear. A simple note on tightening one side then the other in equal increments for the front somewhere along the way would have been nice. When building a rear, you essentially work on the drive side and then the non drive side reaches an optimal tension after you dish the wheel. For the front, I was initially unclear if I still needed to work on one side first in a similar fashion. A silly thing to wonder in hind-sight but his instructions were so precise for the rear. I was left a little confounded when I had to think on my own for the front. In the end, it worked out great. I tightened the right side then the left in even increments, taking readings along the way and never even had to dish the wheel.I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this. I never thought about building a wheel until my spoke snapped and I was looking at $150 for the repair plus $30 shipping each way just for the rear. I built both my bikes, so, am not totally unfamiliar with a work bench but always thought building a wheel was out of my league. If you have ever even kicked the idea of building a wheel around, the DVD alone is worth the investment mainly to see what is involved in the process. It was a little time consuming but I enjoyed it and with this DVD was certainly not as tough as I made it out to be in my mind. I just finished my first set and I've already got a set of pink and white ones specked out to match my wife's bike.

Great video from an expert in the field!Would give 10 stars if I could!

First of all, Mr. Mould gets 10 stars for his knowledge and teaching skills. I can imagine his classes must be incredible. It's also impressive that he reads and responds to his reviews. It makes him real.But the video production of this CD is not up to par with the information. That's why I had to give it 4 stars.The Good: Mr. Mould builds a wheel and explains all the details in an interesting and easy to follow way. It is well worth the money spent if you want to get the whole picture of his build. His verbal presentation allowed me to visualize what he was doing since I couldn't see it clearly some of the time.He covers all types of possible mistakes/errors and passes his experience over to you. His skills and training make this video well worth the money despite the production issues.The Bad:1. Mr. Mould wears a dark shirt while working on a red rim with black spokes, he also used a dark tablecloth and backdrop. With no contrast, it was hard to see the details of what he was doing. Mr. Mould, you should have used white or light colors.2. Most of the Video is taken from far to include the whole set, sometimes, not allowing for closeups when needed. Mr. Mould also looks and speaks into the wrong camera at times. Mr. Mould, maybe you could have used a helmet cam or Point Of View (POV) cam so we can see what you are doing.3. During the video, instructional screens would interrupt the presentation, make a loud annoying "click" sound and stay for longer than necessary. (we can stop the video to read if needed) Maybe use a split screen so both can be seen?4. The audio had a hissing sound and sometimes roaring sound, and distracting music would be added when Mr. Mould was speaking and take away from the focus of the class. It should have been lower if anything.5. It doesn't really show you how to use/maintain/calibrate a truing stand, it just includes an unreadable screen with some instructions in the appendix.BOTTOM LINE: If you want to build wheels, get this video. It's worth the money. Mr. Mould's clear verbal presentation carries it so well that you almost don't need to see what he's doing. I listen to it while I do other things and can still follow the class. Remember, this is HIS way of doing things. I would call it Old School. (no offense Mr. Mould) It will give you a great foundation of wheel building knowledge.Thank you Mr. Mould. I hope to take one of your classes some day.