The Bicycle Wheel
by Jobst Brandt · first published 1985
9mentions
6recommended by
8HN commenters
2015–2025first – last mentioned
75% recommend25% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Reference guide to building and truing spoked bicycle wheels, with in-depth coverage of spoke and tension mechanics. It is considered the top resource on the subject and a standard for anyone building wheels.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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…screw up. A shop that builds more than a couple wheels a year will probably do a better job than the average bike shop. If you're curious about what building a wheel involves, a good resource is The Bicycle Wheel, by Jobst Brandt [0]. Mind you he still that the bottom spokes of a wheel are in compression (which is demonstrably false; see Mavic's linear pull spokes, which literally cannot be in compression or the…
on “Bicycle Technology (1973) [pdf]” ↗Also get a copy of the Big Blue Book of Bicycle Repair from Park tools. A good reference before the Internet. There are other good books as well that cover specific parts - The Bicycle Wheel by Jobst Brandt is good too if you want to go really in depth on spoked wheels.
on “DiyPresso: DIY Espresso Machine” ↗The Bicycle Wheel by Jobst Brandt is all I ever needed. I've built hundreds of wheels, I don't feel I need this tool. I guess if you're being really anal about it it's of value. I've used a spoke tensioner once ever, just…
on “Show HN: Visualization tools for bicycle wheelbuilding” ↗FWIW, if you're interested in this subject, the best reference is Jobst Brandt's "The Bicycle Wheel". It's been out for 30 years or so, but it's still the best reference. Past that, you might want to look at Timeshenko and Geere's "Theory of Elastic Stability", but you'd need a good university library…
on “How the Bicycle Wheel Carries its Load: Held Up by Downward Pull (1980)” ↗If you're interested in wheels, check out The Bicycle Wheel by Jobst Brandt. If you're building wheels it's a must have.
on “Myths in cycling: wider tires are slower” ↗Another great resource for that is "The Bicycle Wheel" by Jobst Brandt. Oops. I guess it's out of print as copies on Amazon are going for $35 and up. My local library should have a copy as I managed to buy two and IIRC I donated one. Not to take anything…
on “Sheldon Brown's Bicycle Technical Info” ↗Neat idea. Did the author read Jobst Brandt's book, "The Art of the Bicycle Wheel"? Symmetry obviously makes the ride smoother. The real issue is dish and the incredible strain difference between. The drive side and the non-drive side: did the author simulate modern rear wheels?
on “Evolving Lacing Patterns for Bicycle Wheels” ↗FWIW, nearly all that advice agrees with "The Bicycle Wheel" by Jobst Brandt, with the exception of rim selection. Rim selection though is tricky these days, as most wheels are now sold as a unit rather than parts.
on “Extra Mass on Bike Wheels Is Worse than on Frames” ↗…the first place. I used to to into Internet cafés and print out pages from his site – including this very guide. This was what I used for the first few wheels I built. Eventually, I got a copy of The Bicycle Wheel, by Jobst Brandt from my local library.
on “Consider Knitting” ↗