Mavic helium rear wheel tubular rebuild (classic)

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stella-azzurra
Posts: 5066
Joined: Mon Jan 23, 2006 6:35 am
Location: New York

by stella-azzurra

I have had to rebuild the rear wheel of my Mavic Helium tubular classic wheel set (circa 1996)

Initially I did not have a tension meter but this time I have Park Tool Tension meter.

The manufacturer Mavic recommends the following tension:

Front and Rear non-drive side set to 92 kfg
Rear drive side 112 kfg

Now I have two sets of the same wheels. When I check the tension on the rear wheel of the other set I get the following tension readings:

Rear non-drive side to 90-110 kfg
Rear drive side 120-140 kfg

This seems to be somewhat substantially higher than what the manufacturer recommends but I also know that
90-112kfg is definitely not as stiff as the current wheels I have.

I do know that these are basically the same as the Mavic reflex rims except in red and with
different hubs, spokes (straight pull), spoke holes (26 front 28 back) and lacing patterns.
The front and the rear non-drive side is radially laced and the drive side are 3 cross.

If anyone has built these before please let me know about the tension.

Thanks
I never took drugs to improve my performance at any time. I will be willing to stick my finger into a polygraph test if anyone with big media pull wants to take issue. If you buy a signed poster now it will not be tarnished later. --Graeme Obree

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stella-azzurra
Posts: 5066
Joined: Mon Jan 23, 2006 6:35 am
Location: New York

by stella-azzurra

They build fine with the tension set to

Rear non-drive side to 90-110 kfg
Rear drive side 120-140 kfg

Be sure to use some grease on the threads and the nipples that face the eyelets.
It will make truing a snap.
I never took drugs to improve my performance at any time. I will be willing to stick my finger into a polygraph test if anyone with big media pull wants to take issue. If you buy a signed poster now it will not be tarnished later. --Graeme Obree

User avatar
stella-azzurra
Posts: 5066
Joined: Mon Jan 23, 2006 6:35 am
Location: New York

by stella-azzurra

Thanks Stella-Azzurra you're the best! :thumbup:
I never took drugs to improve my performance at any time. I will be willing to stick my finger into a polygraph test if anyone with big media pull wants to take issue. If you buy a signed poster now it will not be tarnished later. --Graeme Obree

daj
Posts: 246
Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2009 6:36 pm

by daj

Spoke tension is not related to the stiffness of the wheel (from a certain level of course, slack spokes obviously make for a very weak wheel). In fact, increasing spoke tension beyond "normal" levels increases the risk of failure since you are preloading all the components with unnecessary loads.

Other than that, I'm not a very experienced wheel builder, so I wouldn't know whether the tension you're using is any good for that particular wheel.

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