Custom
Wheels
J.Wag-Approved Custom Handbuilt Wheels
$120 per hour + Parts
FREE Estimates By Request
There is no finer way to enhance your bicycle than the addition of a properly hand-built wheel. Selecting materials based on the intended user allows for ultimate customization and maximum performance. Our build process ensures a strong wheel that will stand for years to come, thanks to expert care and the finest tooling available.
We are proud to see our wheels return from major events like the Tour Divide and fully-loaded Cross Country excursions with no broken spokes, trueness issues or drop in tension.
“There are 3 continents and thousands of miles worth of road and trail on those wheels. That build was rock solid!”
– Matthew Ferrari
Here are some of the things that happen during our wheelbuilding process:
- Hubs, rims, spokes and nipples selected based on rider, terrain & past history with wheels
- Spokes lengths hand-calculated with Sutherland’s Precision ERD system & DT Swiss Spoke Calc
- Spokes custom cut on our Morizumi or Phil Wood Spoke Machine
- Spoke threads cleaned and prepped with light oil or Linseed oil
- Rim spoke holes deburred where applicable (non-eyeletted rims)
- Hand-laced to appropriate pattern
- Hand-trued with dial indicator for roundness
- Hand-tensioned and checked with DT Tensio
- Several techniques and rounds of pre-stressing performed
- Precisely centered with Efficient Velo Tools Trigger Dish Guage or Abbey Harbor Guage
- Tubeless setup performed when applicable (approved methods only)
- Final tension check at full inflation pressure
- Application of DT Spoke Freeze & light oil (if not using Linseed oil)
The Process
As you can see, it is a lengthy process, but yields a great result. A well-designed, evenly tensioned and properly stressed wheel will stay true and last longer than anything built by a machine. We average about 125 custom handbuilt wheels per year and love taking on custom projects. All of our mechanics are capable of producing quality handbuilt wheels, but Chris and I tend to spec and build most of them.
We charge our Shoppe Service rate of $120 per hour due to the wide variety of projects that we take on. We always offer free follow-up care as needed, inlcuding the first hub overhaul service or pre-build service on a used hub. A handbuilt wheel from us is an investment in your bike that you will not regret. We put exacting effort in up front so you can enjoy the wheel(s) for years to come.
We are happy to talk about custom wheels and write up free estimate quotes for any combination. Turnaround for a custom wheel is about 5-10 days depending on parts availability. We deal with many excellent wheel component manufacturers and can cover any style of riding imaginable from racing bikes to tandems.
We prefer to build with rims from these companies for following reasons:
ENVE
It is truly a pleasure to build these US-made carbon rims, available in several profiles for road, gravel + mountain use.
WE ARE ONE COMPOSITES
Super high quality Carbon rims Handmade in Kamloops, British Columbia. Amazing customer service and several rim profiles for differnet applications. We stock complete wheelsets & rims … Special Orders welcomed!
Velocity
Excellent products and customer service…offset…tons of colors, diameters, widths and drillings. Made in USA!
DT SWISS
Industry standard road, mountain and touring rims.
HED
I’ve been really impressed with the Belgium + for its rather wide stance and durabilioty, great for road or gravel
EAston
Several good alloy + carbon options for Mountain, Road + Gravel.
Stan’s NoTubes
Quick & easy tubeless…many widths & models for different riders…lightweight & strong. My personal favorites are the Flow + Arch MK3.
Surly
The 80mm My Other Brother Daryll has proven to be a great tubeless FAT-Tyre rim for 4-5″ setups.
Hubs, Spokes & Patterns
For hubs, we have access to a wide variety including White Industries, DT Swiss, Chris King, Hope, Phil Wood, Surly, Schmidt, Profile, All City, Dimension, Shimano, Camagnolo, SRAM, and Rohloff. We can certainly can build with a supplied hub as well.
We stock straight guage and double-butted DT Swiss and Wheelsmith spokes & nipples in a variety of styles and colours. Yes, we’ll build you a wheel with alloy nipples, if it suits your riding style and expectations. Most spokes are custom cut to length on our Morizumi or Phil Wood machines, some styles we stock pre-made from DT Swiss. We will not build a wheel with used spokes, nipples or rims.
When it comes to lacing patterns, we are open to anything that is within the hub/rim manufaturer’s recommendations and my own comfort zone. Odds are that we are going to recommend two or three-cross in most cases. A large collection of tyres from Maxxis, Vittoria, Schwalbe, Continental, Surly, 45Nrth, Clement, WTB, Panaracer, and Kenda are also in stock. Many others can easily be special ordered within a few days.
Inquiries in person or via email are welcomed.
-J.Wag and C.Ruhl
Contact
Let us know your questions about Sales by submitting this form. You can also email us at info@freezethaw.com.
Sales Floor is OPEN + well-stocked!
Service Appointments Preferred