BERD SPOKE WHEEL BUILD

The lightest spokes in the world

LIGHTER • STRONGER • MORE DURABLE • MORE COMFORTABLE • FASTER ACCELERATING

MATERIALS: Ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE)
WEIGHT: 2.5 g per spoke | ~125-250 g weight savings per wheel set
STRENGTH: 15x stronger than steel spokes

A STEP-BY-STEP LOOK INTO THE BUILDING PROCESS

SELECT PARTS FOR WHEEL

Rims
Alloy or Carbon?
Hole count?

Hubs
What hubs?
Straight pull or J-bend?
Same hole count as rims?

Berd method ERD

DT Swiss Hub Specs

Berd Spoke Calculator

MEASURE FOR SPOKE LENGTH

• Measure for Effective Rim Diameter
• Calculate spoke length with Berd’s spoke calculator
• Get DT Swiss Hub dimensions

Berd supplies

Berd Spoke Replacement Kit

Berd Consumables Kit

Berd spokes

Sapim nipples

Tangential Straight Pull Inserts

REQUIRED TOOLS & PARTS

Berd
• Sapim Aluminum Polyax Double Square Secure Lock nipples
• PolyLight Spokes
• Straight pull hubs: Berd Spoke Replacement Toolkit, Tangential Straight Pull Inserts
•J-bend hubs: Berd Builder’s Tool Kit, Berd Builder’s Kit Consumables

Other
• Safety glasses
• Pliers
• Drill; Straight pull: rotary tool bits & 7/64th bit
• Park Tool SW-15 Internal Nipple Spoke Wrench
• Park Tool TM-1 Spoke Tension Meter
• Wheel Truing Stand
• Wheel Dishing Alignment Gauge

Drilling tools

Drill to make the hole bigger

Drilled through

Drilled hole before rounding

Round the hole

Rounded hole

Prepped straight pull hub

PREP THE HUBS

J-bend hubs require drilling to prep. Straight pull hubs may require en-largening the spoke hole to prevent spoke damage during hub lacing.
Tools: Drill, Builder’s Tool Kit, Consumables Kit, 7/64th bit, rotary bits

J-bend: Use Berd’s Corner Rounding Tool (Builder’s Tool Kit), followed by Polishing Bit (Consumables Kit)
Straight pull: Drill hubs with 7/64th bit from the small side to open up the hole, round holes with rotary tool bits, followed by Berd polishing bit for significantly easier hub lacing. Tape disc rotor and drive side splines to keep metal shards out of grooves.

Items needed

Thread the wire

Thread straight pull insert

Straight pull insert added

Awl to expand hole

Loop expanded for holding rod

Holding rod inserted

Laced spoke

Repeat for all spokes

LACE THE HUBS

Tools: Berd wire loop, Berd Spoke Pulling Tool, Berd Awl, Berd Pushing Tool
• Bend the Berd wire in half and flatten the end loops.
• Thread wire onto spoke loop and then through hub hole.
• Use Pulling Tool to pull wire loops through.
• For straight pull: Thread Tangential Straight Pull insert onto wire and fold the spoke as flat as possible. Use Pushing Tool to push the spoke through the small hole while pulling with Pulling Tool. You might need to wiggle the different parts to help it slide through.
• Open the loop with the Awl. Remove the wire. Insert Spoke Holding Rod and align in the middle. Pull spoke to set it in place.

Items needed

Lacing layout

Lacing

Laced wheel

LACE THE RIMS

Tools: Berd Spoke Holding Tool, nipple wrench
• Lace spokes with standard lacing patterns.
• Berd spokes start out tight at the beginning of the build process and stretch to its settled length later. With the shorter length, two revolutions of the nipple is recommended so that all the spokes can be attached. The Berd Holding Tool will be required towards the end of the process to pull the spoke for attaching to the nipple.
• During lacing, align the spoke without twist to minimize twisting.

Add tension

Dish the wheel

Laterally true the wheel

Radially true the wheel

TENSION & TRUING PROCEDURES – EACH WHEEL

• Add 4 revolutions to each spoke using Spoke Holding Tool
• Remove any twists in the spoke
• Check rods are properly aligned at the hub
• Continue adding the same number of revolutions until a measurable reading is seen on the Park Tool Tension Meter
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SPOKE STABILIZATION PROCEDURES
• Tension to 100 kgf (Park Tool Meter 15) with proper dish, lateral true, and radial true.
• Squeeze spoke pairs to release tension
• Wait overnight
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• Repeat Spoke Stabilization Procedures for a total of 2 nights of waiting
• On the third day, tension should be stabilized to Park Tool Meter 12. It is ok if the tension is around Park Tool 15.
• Check the wheel has proper dish, lateral true, and radial true. Adjust if needed. Repeat Spoke Stabilization Procedures if the large truing adjustments are made.

Completed wheel set

Ready to ride

COMPLETED WHEEL SET

• The wheels are now complete!
• Before riding, tape the rims and add the valves.
• Then mount the cassette and then the brake rotors.

WHEEL MAINTENANCE
• Spoke tension may decrease in the first few months of riding. If the tension decreases, bring the tension back to Park Tool Meter 12.