Wheel Building

We are the most diverse wheel-building workshop in Melbourne. There's no wheel we cannot build whether it be a dynamo hub, road, gravel or MTB racing wheelset, replacement of a cracked rim or a hub motor being laced up for a new electric bike conversion. Handbuilt wheels have been part of our workshop services since we opened. We pride ourselves on our attention to detail as well as the wide array of parts we have to build you the perfect wheel. Most wheelbuilds will cost $175 in labour, plus parts.

This is VERY common. It might be time for that wheel to rebuilt by hand. Usually down to a few factors such as cheap spokes and nipples, poor choice of lacing pattern, low tension or high tension. We stock quality Pillar and DT Swiss spokes with a huge variety of quality rims. Ryde and DT Swiss rims are our favourite for hub motor builds, but Mavic and Alex Rims are another great choice, depending on the build.

With our state-of-the-art Cyclus spoke cutting and rolling machine, there is no spoke we cannot thread and no wheel we cannot build. We have the ability to cut and thread straight gauge, butted, J-bend, straight pull, 13g, 14g and 15g spokes. We have stock of silver, black and rainbow and can offer bulk services. We also build some hub motors that are drilled for 12G spokes too. Ask us how! We favour either DT Swiss or Pillar for our custom wheel builds, or Sapim if you just won the Tattslotto. Most spokes are $3 each. The specialty ones can be a little more.

We love most different makes of rims and hubs at Melbourne Powered. If it's a dynamo wheel you're after we'd prefer to use Shutter Precision or Schmidt SON. If it's a road, gravel or MTB wheel then we're more likely to use DT Swiss, Chris King or Hope. If you're going touring I might recommend Shimano hubs for easy servicing and better load bearing. In terms of rims, Ryde and DT Swiss make for the strongest and most reliable that we've used. Easton and Race Face are doing some good rims too, with Mavic and Alex Rims being another good option. Most hub motors are 36H, so this may limit choice when lacing a hub motor into a wheel.

Pre-built wheels are ones you pull out of a box that are ready to go - built by a robot in a factory overseas. Options include Fulcrum, DT Swiss, Stans, Hope, Sunringle, Zipp and many others. These can be a cheaper option and we can get you any of these, but if you want the joy of bragging about your custom built wheels at the coffee shop have a chat to the team at Melbourne Powered.