HOW TO SPOKE A HUB MOTOR INTO A RIM
(note this page is not really good for printing is will use alot of paper! I may do a print friendly version if time permits)

The spoking (lacing) pattern I use is the simplest spoking pattern : it has one crossover for each pair of spokes.
The spokes are the correct length in the kit to use this pattern not for other spoking patterns (eg two times crossovers).

There are many type of rims in size, shape and dimensions. There are two main types of rim: single layer and dual layer rims.  All the spokes supplied with the kits are to suit single layer type rims (the type most commonly found on western style bicycles) except for 26" dual layer rims which I have spokes to suit.. I advise that you use the heaviest duty steel rim you can find, you can really use any rim even aluminium but the stronger the rim the better in my view. Placing a motor into a rim is called 'lacing' the motor into the rim and is really not that hard to do! Just requires a little patience and thought.
(Rims with eyelets in the spoke holes will most likely not be suitable)
The type of rims I find best are found on older mountain bikes or bmx bikes, the thickest steel type ones you can find are best.

Tools Needed: Flat head screwdriver and spoke spanner. If you dont have a spoke spanner you can use a very big set of pliers, often a flat headscrewdriver is all that is required.

You will receive 40 spokes and 40 spoke nipples in the kit, you will only need 36 of each but I throw in a few spares just in case.


Some basic names of the bits


Check that you have received the correct length spokes to suit your rim ( I've had quite a few people have initially thought they had the incorrect length spokes so below is a list of what spoke length you should have if your concerned you've received the incorrect lengths). The table below lists the different length spokes I use for the motors on my website.

http://www.wheelpro.co.uk/spokecalc/ shows how to calculate spoke lengths if interested. The wheelpro link also has a mathematical proof of the spoke length formula used if your that way inclined.

The size of the rim is determined by the size of tyre that will go on it. So you can read on your tyre what size your rim is. Common sizes are 16", 20", 24" and 26". Not so common sizes are 18", 22" and 27". 27" is also referred to as 700C size. Once you know the size of your rim then I will send with the kit the correct length spokes to suit that rim. 
For all the motors on this website it is exactly the same process for each motor to spoke it into a rim, the pictures in this section show a small diameter motor being spoked into a 26" rim but the exact same method applies to any of the motors.

Step One :   Checking the Rim

I prefer to use steel rims the thicker the steel the better, double wall rims are made from aluminium they are lightweight but are prone to getting dints form hard knocks. I usually use rims off old discarded mountain or bmx bikes the older models use nice thick steel wall rims. Aluminium double wall rims are becoming more popular but I still prefer steel rims for their strength and durability.

First check that the spoke nipples will fit through the spoke holes on the rim. The spokes and spoke nipples are larger than standard spokes and it may be necessary to drill out the spoke holes in your rim to allow the spoke nipples to go through the spoke holes. The spoke nipples should not be a tight fit when placed in the spoke holes there needs to be some allowance for the spoke nipples to move slightly when sitting in the spoke holes of the rim. Allow about 1mm of movement as shown in diagram below. Note also in the picture below that when you drill the hole you dont want to drill to big a hole that the spoke nipple head can go through the rim, the nipple head has quite alot of force on it when the motor is laced into the rim. Also you can see in the picture below that there is a recess in this rim (like a dish shape that the spoke head sits in) not all rims have this most seem to be just flat where the spoke nipple sits on the rim, either type of rim is fine.


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Step 2 : Placing the  Spokes into the Motor

Firstly place the motor off the ground by puting some suitably sized container underneath it, it makes the job much easier if the motor is stable and off the ground.


Place the threaded end of a spoke through a motor hole as shown below


Note all the heads of the spokes should point in the same direction as shown below for the first two spokes inserted.


Repeat procedure for the top row of holes in motor as shown below.


Turn the motor upside down as shown below, spread out the spokes in an even pattern as shown.


Repeat the procedure for what is now the top row of holes as shown below.


You will land up with something that should look like this below: Just go around and check that all the spokes are sitting in an even pattern ( you can see the spokes hanging down go inbetween the spokes which are sticking out horizontally in an even pattern: one horizontal spoke then one vertical spoke etc).




Step 3: Lacing the Hub Motor into the Rim
( i.e. joining the motor to the rim by puting the spokes in place in the rim)

Its quite important that you take your time with puting the first 4 spokes in position in the rim. Once you have the first 4 spokes in position you simply follow the pattern around the rim until all the spokes are in place. If you dont get the first 4 in the correct positions then you'll have heaps of problems during spoking and it wont work so you'll have to start again..........speaking from experience here!! Seems there are many ways on which order to spoke a motor into a rim but I find this method works well for me so here goes.........

Pick a spoke (any spoke) from the top row of the motor. Pick a hole on the rim (any hole except for the one that the inner tube goes through!!) as shown below.
    

Put a spoke nipple in place and do it up only about 2 turns, it only needs to be on the spoke just enough to keep it in place. This makes it easier to put the rest of the spokes in place.


On the motor (on the top row of holes) choose the next spoke to the right of the first spoke you put in place. On the rim place this spoke through the second hole to the left of where the first spoke is in position. Note in the picture below(on the right) that spoke 2 goes over the top of spoke 1 (remember to always make the second spoke go over the top of the first spoke it gives a consistent pattern when you get to the end of the process ).
Once again put a spoke nipple in place on spoke 2 and just do it up about 2 turns.
  


Now we chose a spoke on the bottom row of the motor, we need to use the spoke on the bottom row that sits vertically inbetween spoke1 and spoke2 (as shown by the red dotted line on the picture below). Spoke3 goes through the rim in the hole that is one place to the right of where spoke1 is on the rim. Put a spoke nipple on spoke3 just two turns is enough. Note there should be a free hole between spoke1 and spoke2 at this stage.
    


Now we take the next spoke to the right of spoke3 on the bottom row of the motor and place it in the rim in the hole which sits in between spoke1 and spoke2 as shown below. Notice on the right hand picture below that spoke4 goes underneath spoke3. Make sure that you follow that pattern for consistency at the end of the lacing process.
 

So that is the basic pattern to follow, once you have these first four spokes in place it becomes just a matter of following this pattern around the rim   ( I go around the rim from left to right  , so the next 4 sets of spokes I put in place will be to the right hand side of the 4 spokes that have just been put in place).
I'll do the next set of 4 spokes below and then you should be able to just repeat the process until you get all the way around the rim.


Choose the next spoke to the right of spoke2 (red) on the top row of motor as shown in picture below as a green spoke1 (left hand side picture) . Place it in the rim in the third hole to the right of spoke3 (red) (shown in right hand picture below) another way of saying it is that  you leave two spoke holes on the rim free to the right of spoke3 (red) and put spoke1 (green) in the third hole. Put a spoke nipple on it and do up just two turns or so.
  

On the motor top row choose spoke2 (green) which is one place to the right of spoke1 (green). Spoke2 (green) goes over the top of spoke1(green) and goes into the rim one place to the right of spoke3(red)(picture at right below). On the rim there should be one free hole inbetween spoke2(green) and spoke1(green).as shown by an 'X' on right hand picture below.
 


Choose the next spoke3(green): on the bottom row of motor it lies vertically underneath and in the middle of spoke1(green) and spoke2 (green) as shown in the left side picture below. Another way of looking at it, is that it spoke3 (green) is one position to the right of spoke4(red) on the bottom row of the motor. Spoke3(green) joins into the rim one place to the right of where spoke1(green) sits in the rim. Note there should be one free hole on the rim now inbetween spoke2(green) and spoke1(green) (right hand side picture below). Place a nipple on spoke3(green) and do up just 2 turns.
   

Locate the next spoke, spoke4(green) on the bottom row of the motor, it is the next position to  the right of spoke3(green) as shown on picture below on left. Make sure that it goes underneath spoke3(green). Join spoke4(green) to the rim in the spare hole inbetween where spoke2(green) and spoke1(green) lie on the rim. (see right hand picture below).
 

So thats it, that is the spoking pattern you need to repeat until you get all the way around the rim. I suggest you take your time with it as if you make a mistake you might not realise until you are almost all the way around the rim and will involve starting all over. But if you  follow the steps you should  have no problems. You may find as you go around the rim that it appears some spokes will not be long enough, but give the rim a bit of a wiggle and push it towards the nipples that are aleady in place so that they sit with their heads firmly against the rim. If the nipples heads are not sitting against the rim as you go around when you get about half way around it will appear some spokes are too short but not so!! hope that makes sense.

Step 4: tightening up the spoke nipples

I find it best to go around the rim (once all the spokes are in place, they will all be quite loose at this stage) and tighten each nipple by about 3 or 4 revolutions (by hand!!) and continue this process around the rim until the spoke nipples begin to get too tight to turn by hand. You can then use a flat head screwdriver (in the slot in the spoke nipple) to continue this process going around the rim tightening up each spoke nipple by a few revolutions then moving onto the next one. Doing this way tends to keep the rim fairly true (without large buckles) when you get the spokes reasonably tight.

You may find (due to variations in rim sizes) that the spoke thread protrudes through the spoke nipple at some point meaning you cant use a screwdriver anymore.....its time to get out your biggest set of pliers!!! Seems alot of people dont like the idea of using pliers to tighten up spoke nipples but I've found if you use a very large set of pliers it wont damage the spoke nipples and is much quicker than using a spoke tightening tool.

You can continue around the rim tightening up each spoke by a couple of revolutions (making sure you grip the pliers very firmly onto the spoke nipples) until the spokes get reasonably tight (i.e.are done up firmly). Try to do up each spoke to roughly the same tension (amount of firmness), if you have a good ear you can tap on each spoke and hear which ones are tight or loose (high note means tight, lower note means loose).

Once this is completed you may find some spoke thread is protruding through the spoke nipples as shown below, this excess thread should be removed (a grinder makes the job easy!).
   
(the reason the thread may protrude through the nipples is that there are many variations in rim sizes, I've had the spokes made with a longer thread than normal spokes to accomodate the wide variety of rim sizes)

Step 5: Truing up the rim (removing buckles)

If your lucky the rim might be quite straight when finished tightening the spokes. Its quite likely that it wont be straight though and will require adjusting the spokes to make the rim straight (called "truing" the wheel). Heres how to do it. Note that this process can be somewhat time consuming, it usually takes me about 2 hours to do this (depending on how straight you want to make it of course).

Put the wheel into a bike frame which has brake pads on it. You can use the brake pads to help see where the rim needs to be adjusted. By rotating the wheel it will be quite easy to see where the rim goes close to a brake pad or moves away from the brake pad. You only need to use a brake pad on one side of the rim to do this.
Start by rotating the wheel a few times slowly to see how much variation there is in the rim by noticing how close or how far the rim is to a brake pad as it goes past the brakepad.
Select the worst areas first:
 
The picture above shows a gap between the rim and a brake pad (just using a brake pad on the right side here). I've labelled where the spokes join to the motor as left and right. The region of the rim marked in red (AR) means the 'adjusting region' . In this case there are about 3 spokes in the region where adjustment is needed (about 10cm along the rim either side of the brake pad).

The picture above shows how to adjust the spokes in the 'adjusting region' in order to pull the rim towards the brake pad. The spoke marked by the words 'tighten' (in blue) joins to the right side of the motor (see previous picture). If you rotate the nipple anticlockwise it will pull the rim towards the brake pad. The spoke marked as 'loosen' if rotated clockwise will further allow the rim to move towards the brake pad. Usually it requires adjusting 3 or 4 spokes in an 'adjusting region' to move part of the rim closer to the brake pad.
How many revolutions you turn the spoke nipple is not alot usually one revolution is enough. Its better to adjust the rim with small revolutions of the nipples and gradually pull the rim over in small increments.  You may need to do this a few times before you visibly see the rim start to move toward the brake pad. After you adjust the nipples each by one revolution rotate the wheel back and forth to see how much the 'buckle' in the rim has been removed.

 
Rotate the wheel again and find another region of the rim. This time we will adjust a section of the rim where it touches or goes very close to the brake pad. So this time we need to pull the rim away from the brake pad. Find the position on the rim where there is the most sideways displacement towards the brakepad. Note the 'adjusting region' which basically means which spokes need to be adjusted.

The picture above shows the rim touching the brakepad (a red line), we want to move the rim away from the brakepad (direction shown by green arrow). The spoke above the green arrow goes to the left side of the motor. By tightening this spoke (turning the spoke nipple anticlockwise) we begin to pull the rim in the direction of the green arrow (away from the brakepad). The first spoke below the green arrow we need to loosen (it goes the right side of the motor) so the nipple should be rotated clockwise as shown on the diagram above). Note in this picture above i've put blue arrows showing rotation of the nipples for a region of the rim where the rim was rubbing against the brake pad. Once again just rotate each nipple by about one revolution then check the progress by rotating the wheel back and forth past the brakepad.

So basically thats the process. But it can take quite alot of time to do this especially if you haven't done it before. Over some time of doing these adjustments the rim will start become straighter, it can be quite difficult to get a rim perfectly straight and requires patience and some skill.
At some point it will become difficult to see visually (depending on your eyesight) when the rim is close or far from a brakepad. For these more minor adjustments I tend to just feel where the rim touches the brakepad (keeping a brakepad very close to the rim) and then adjust the regions where it touches the pad or doesn't touch the pad.

buckled rim after installing hub motor
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6881505917813617694
video of rim after truing
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7924518644422505725

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