Wheel builder

[mel0]

Hi guys,
my second post in a day 
I'm looking for a wheel builder around a Rohloff. I didn't get the hub yet 'cause I'm trying to get as much info as possible before to go, but I know myself and it's just a matter of time. Anyway. Do someone know a good wheel builder? I know the obvious answer is SJS but I live in London and I would prefer someone local. Last year I used Condor Cycle for a pair of Mavic and I'm very happy with the job. Do Rohloff require different skills or any good wheel builder could do it? Any experience with Condor?
Thanks guys. The forum is really helping me with many information!

[steve216c]

I believe any good wheel builder should be able to build a wheel for you. The principles involved in wheel building are transferable.
I bought myself some Andra rims for Christmas and found some good online resources where you put in hub and rim. The software then tells you the suitable spoke patterns you can use for that combination as well as the appropriate spoke length.
I am not suggesting you need to do this yourself, but a decent wheel builder should be using similar software to match hub, spokes and rim.
If you didn’t already buy your hub, have you considered ordering it already on a suitable rim? Then you don’t need to do anything special on a wheel build with a new hub.

[mickeg]

In my post on the other thread you started I suggested you make sure that the wheel builder has read the instructions for a Rohloff.

A Rohloff has wide flange spacing, thus the spokes enter the rim at wider angles than usual.  For that reason, brass Sapim Polyax nipples are probably a good idea.  Those nipples can accommodate a wider angle than nipples from some other companies.

The spokes are unusually short due to the large diameter of the flanges.  Some sellers that sell Rohloff hubs will also sell a package of Sapim nipples and spokes at the lengths that are more common for a Rohloff.

A bike shop that has a sizeable number of bike touring customers would likely have a better wheel builder with Rohloff experience than other bike shops. 

I have never been to London, I can't recommend.

I built up my own Rohloff wheel, but I have built a number of wheels before, worked in a bike shop years ago, etc.  And I was careful to follow the instructions in the Rohloff manual for wheel building.

[PH]

There won't be anyone else in the UK who has the experience that SJS have.  Not just in relation to the number of hubs, but also the user feedback and the relationship with Rohloff.  I don't know if they're offering wheelbuilds at the moment, if they are, they'd be my first choice despite the distance.  If not SJS then I'd use another Rohloff service centre, I don't know of one in London.
What I wouldn't do, if I could in any way avoid it, is buy a hub from one supplier and have it built by another.  In the unlikely event of an issue, the most common of which is a flange breaking, you want one supplier taking responsibility for getting it sorted. The last thing you'd want is the hub supplier blaming the wheel builder...
SJS weren't building wheels when I bought my Ogre hub last year, so I built it myself, using my Thorn wheel as a guide I've copied the spoke pattern (Which isn't the same as in the Rohloff manual) and the exact same tensions.  I probably spent four times longer building it than any other wheel and it still makes me nervous to think about it!

[B cereus]

Pactical Cycles in London specialise in IHG wheel builds, including Rohloff. I've used them for parts but I've no personal experience of their wheel building.

[martinf]

I reckon SJS are the main Rohloff experts in the UK, so if based in the UK I would get the wheel from them if they still offer a wheelbuilding service. Then they would deal with any warranty issues.

I live in France, and now have 3 Rohloff bikes.

First one I bought the complete bike from SJS.

Second one just the frameset (nothing equivalent available here) and rear wheel  from SJS (about 100 Euros more expensive than doing it myself with hub/rim sourced in mainland Europe). That was before shipping charges from the UK got very expensive. I then built up the rest of the bike myself, mostly from parts I already had in stock.

The third one was a conversion of an existing bike. I ordered a hub direct from Germany and built the wheel myself because shipping charges from SJS to Europe were very high with Covid and Brexit, and I reckoned I had gained enough information about the special characteristics of Rohloff builds from this forum and other sources to risk doing the build myself.

[Aleman]

SJS are currently not offering wheel builds at the moment, although when I said Rohloff and Andra 30 in 700c that changed to "We could possibly do that for you" ... I've no experience wheel building, but the wheels I have from SJS are solid

[mel0]

Thanks guys for the tips!

What I wouldn't do, if I could in any way avoid it, is buy a hub from one supplier and have it built by another.  In the unlikely event of an issue, the most common of which is a flange breaking, you want one supplier taking responsibility for getting it sorted. The last thing you'd want is the hub supplier blaming the wheel builder...

That's a very good point!
Hope to get all sorted from SJS

[davefife]

https://twitter.com/WheelBuilding london based, never met him but has a good reputation. D