The Bicycle Wheel

by Jobst Brandt

The 'Bicycle Wheel' is a book for every cyclist, from novice rider to experienced wheel builder, going beyond the most commonly asked questions. This volume answers questions such as: Should I use low- or high-flanged hubs for touring * Should I spoke crossed-four or crossed-three? Are radially spoked wheels stiffer than crossed-four? * How can I build a 32-spoke crossed-two wheel? * Should I use butted or straight sookes? * Does tying and soldering give a rough ride?

Based on years of experience, the author has divided the book into three parts. Part One, Theory, explains how wheels respond to loads. It discusses the merits of various designs and components, and explains what causes failures. Part Two, Practice, gives a step-by-step guide for building front and rear wheels and wheels with different patterns and numbers of spokes. Part Three, Data, contains test results and formulas for computing spoke lengths and other wheel dimensions.

Genres: Cycling, Reference, Nonfiction, Bicycles, Science, Outdoors

150 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1993

Reviews

[Gary Brumagin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Overwhelmingly complete! I'm a real newbie for bike repair overall, so this book is a bit (to say the least) advanced for someone like me, at least to digest at one swing. It is more of a reference book than a read for entertainment or general advice.

I would say that I got a fair amount out of it. I have never built a wheel, although I am preparing to true one shortly and the information garnered from this book should help.

Certainly the most complete and technical book that I have come across at this point.

[Christopher Grande · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jobst Brandt's application for this book focuses primarily on older wheel design--the language for some the more detailed-oriented sections needs to be updated. All the basic premises are spot on, but the reader should be aware that this is mainly in application to rim-brake specific, freewheel equipped 700c wheels (as demonstrated by most of the illustrations.) Cassette hubs, hub-actuated brakes, certain aspects of generator hubs could all change some of the absolutes he proposes. Otherwise a solid place to start despite the sometimes lofting lingo necessitated by wheel theory.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've built several wheels since getting this book and it's invaluable as a reference for that. But, moreover, it's not merely just an algorithm for wheelbuilding; it explains why you should do the things that it recommendation doing through physics. But this book and go build a bicycle wheel

[Samuel W. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three fourths of the book is the technical why everything work the way that it does. The last section explains steps in building and some design considerations. I read this to determine if I could handle it as a do it yourself project. It should speed up the learning curve. For being very technical, it is very well written and readable for the average person. If you enjoy working on bikes, I think you will be pleased to have this as a reference.

[Robert Meade · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book for every bicycle mechanic and enthusiast and their reference book shelf. Everything you want to know about the science , physics, engineering and mechanics of the bicycle wheel and what makes it roll is in this book that As far as I know. But any mechanic and bicycle wheel builder knows nothing beats hands on experience.

[Richard Kendrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a brilliant technical and practical manual about the bicycle wheel and wheel building. It's a shame that it's so old, though. I would love to see an updated version that looks at modern trends in wheel design with the same no-nonsense and data driven perspective.

[Glyn Hanmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oldie but goldie.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little dated by now, but certainly demystified building a wheel enough to make me feel comfortable building my own.

[Andre Jute · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Bicycle Wheel by Jobst Brandt is by several lengths the best book on the subject ever written, and not likely to be superseded in this life, given that the reader pays attention and doesn't mind stretching his mind a little, because Jobst takes no prisoners. The best wheels can be built by those who've thoroughly assimilated The Bicycle Wheel; Sheldon Brown, the great bicycle mechanic, believed it too, and collated Jobst's thoughts on other matters of importance to cyclists at http://sheldonbrown.com/brandt/.

The Bicycle Wheel is in print and for sale many places -- try http://www.wheelfanatyk.com/store/job... -- and every serious cyclist should at least read it, even if he doesn't venture beyond the foothills of the math. Here's a tip: Read a section from a heading to a heading -- they're all short, because Jobst doesn't waste any words -- and ponder his points on your ride. You'd be surprised how much juice is to be squeezed out of a short paragraph by the cleverest engineer to take an interest in bicycles since Mikhael Pedersen.

I've added a personal recollection of Jobst as the second message at http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/i...

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

5 stars for the last section of the book: equations
5 stars for the first couple sections about theory
4 stars for all of the opinions in the book. I like opinions, but not when it's a book about theory and application. In order for people to make informed decisions regarding the subject being written about, the tone has to be objective. Jobst Brandt is well known in the bicycling community, and this is _the_ book on wheel building, so it's hard to give it anything less than 5 stars for that. I'm just a bit turned off as a newbie bicycle builder to hear "what not to do" more than "this is how it works...make your own decision". I plan to learn from my failures, but now I don't have to with wheel building :). I guess that's a time and money saver.

I suggest anyone serious about bikes who hasn't already read this to read it immediately. It's quick and easy, and you'll learn way more about bikes than you thought you could know.

[Dan W · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's really only one reason to read this book, because you want to build bicycle wheels and you want to build them well. You'll learn the parts of the wheel and how they work in concert to make one of the most misunderstood and gloriously simple parts of everyday life.

This book also explains how to build a pair of your own. I used it to build two pairs of my own wheels and here we are 5 years later & they haven't turned into any pesky ellipsoids as of yet. Jobst Brandt, former Porsche engineer has helped me build wheels that remain round even under the enormous strain of carrying my giant body around for no particularly good reason.

A classic, and required reading to build bike wheels.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slightly verbose. Excellent diagrams (but not all referenced and explained in the copy). Hoped for additional cross lacing patterns and algorithms; Instead I got to under why I ought not re-invent the wheelbuilding process.

My take-away (now with an improved understanding of why, and how it is affected by some other variables--such as flange height): "In summary, a strong wheel is one with a large cross section rim and many thin, swaged spokes at high tension."

Shortly before this book I read Mike Tierney's wheelbuilding web page. They complement one another rather well.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is easily the best book written on the physics of bicycle wheels. It is also the best manual for building your first or current bike wheel. Step-by-step images from the first spoke to the last nipple tweak ;)

I would never recommend any other book, and would recommend this for anyone interesting in putting together a bike wheel. Its the no fail end all guide.

Also, the author is a regular on the bike newsgroups and you can ask him anything you want. He is kind of a genius, so don't take offense if he makes you feel like an idiot. It has happened to me multiple times.

[Josh Dalzell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a pretty good book. It has quite a bit of info about how the different components of a wheel interact, what is really important to structural integrity, and what is really not important in how wheels are usually marketed. It then follows up with clear directions for assembling wheels and repairing damages to wheels. The final part of the book has the formulas for calculating things like spoke length, spoke stretch, spoke windup, failure tensions, and other such goodies.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nicely organized and an easy read; will tell you more or less all you need to build successfully. The tradeoff is that technical matters are not addressed as thoroughly as someone with a lot of free time might desire; some debates are addressed by declaration rather than demonstration. Required reading for anyone with a truing stand.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably does as good a job is possible describing how to do something that is best taught by showing. Look forward to giving it a try. Still, some parts were repetitive and others were very difficult to understand without more explanation. I also would have liked descriptions of other types of lacing besides 3 cross, but still it was quite good for what it was.

[Richard Hakes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I ticked the read box but I haven't read it all it is not that sort of book. Informative and almost a work of philosophy but still practical. I will keep this book and some notes hany on my wheel building.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

The authority on bike wheels. All encompassing and a bit technical look at bike wheels. Explains the mechanics, physics, and beauty of hand built wheels.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

pretty dry, good info

[Carlon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to follow instruction for lacing up a bicycle wheel for those with no experience.

[alissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book keeps me up at night! It's fascinating...

[Bill Seliger]

An awesome book if you ever considered building your own bicycle wheels or were just interested in the finite element analysis of bicycle wheels (and aren't we all interested in such arcania?)

[Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great must have manual for any wheel builder.

[Jeff Youngstrom]

my review

[Trevor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome book about the bicycle wheel. Scientific and practical. I used this book to build two wheels for my bike with little fuss.

[Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just dense enough, and dry, like a good red wine. Time to build my own wheels...

[Woody Gregg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Literally a stand alone reference for successfully building a bicycle wheel.

[Tommy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Former Porsche Engineer. So grouchy, so awesome.

[Christian · Rating 4 out of 5]

mastering my skills

[Laniel Gonzalz]

excelent