Dive bombed

I was taking a short detour from one of my usual weekend routes, where I ride down the "Old Stone Arch Trail". Good paved path and nice scenic route through some woods, past a few cornfields, and then a bridge crossing over a creek into a nice wooded picnic area. I'll typically rest, stop on the bridge, peering over the edge to look at the creek, then back to my starting point to rejoin my route.

On my trip back, a large flapping noise in the trees startled me. This wasn't just a small bird, or even a flock of birds...this was a LARGE bird. I actually ducked.

A few moments later I saw a hawk emerge from the trees and climb towards the sky.

This, of course, reminded me of an incident that happened last summer. Riding a different route, I was on a highway moving west past a grove of trees. This is a regular route for me, and I didn't really expect anything unusual. I've always noticed large flocks of birds living in the trees but I never really paid much attention, other than the fact there were a lot of birds.

As I was happily pedaling along, watching my own shadow I noticed a small shadow moving with me, to the right and a few feet behind. I had an eerie sense of something being quite close to my head but I dismissed it, continuing on my path.

I heard a screeching noise. Not a tire screech or a brake squeal, but a rapsy, high-pitched bird type screech. The shadow briefly moved closer, then moved away. I turned my head left and right, but didn't see anything. Then the shadow moved closer, and closer, then...

Thunk! Something bashed into my helmet. It wasn't super hard, but it was forceful enough to make me lose my line, wobbling across the lane. I went down into my drops and ducked down, pumping harder, quickening my pace. Screech! Screech! I watch the shadow as it bobbed up and down, moving closer then darting away.

I was under bird attack! And what the heck did I do to tick this guy off? I was simply riding on a highway, adjacent to a wooded area. I wasn't walking or riding through the woods, taunting birds with a shotgun in my hands and an Elmer Fudd hat perched on my noggin.

I kept riding, ducked down as low as I could get. After a hundred yards or so, my attacker lost interest and flew away. I breathed a sigh of relief and continued on my way.

Later on, after my ride, I did a bit of research. There are many red-winged blackbirds in this part of the country and the males are quite aggressive during mating season. They will attack almost anything they feel is encroaching on their territory and might cause a threat. My white Trek cycling helmet bobbing up and down must have looked like something like a low-flying predator, so I got dive bombed.

I'm sure it's a natural occurrence in the wild, but it was really kind of freaky while riding a bike on a highway. I hadn't experienced anything like that before or since.

I expected my bike helmet to protect me from impacts, but not bird strikes! :>))

-Dwight

More pics, finishing the build and maiden voyage

Interesting what you find when you Google "Rambouillet". If you can read the caption, I'd say yes, my Ramby is 'horned', but it certainly isn't 'demonic', 'loogyish' or 'spit from hell'. Somehow, the concept of an evil sheep falls a bit short as horror genre... :>)

My good friend and detractor Ciclista demanded I get off my lazy duff and utilize some of that infinite time I've been saving up by posting a few Ramby pics. I'm demonstrating here I'm no photographer, but I'm trying!

Stem and bars in place:

Waiting for brake housings, cables, and saddle

Brooks B17 Honey Champion, in place!

Brake housing and cables, taped to the bars and ready for wrapping

Ready for the maiden voyage!

I wax poetic in the setting sun, as I mount my glorious steed...

The Amazing Cycling Clydesdale :>)

Why your tires lose air

I've always wondered why my tires lose air after my bike's been sitting awhile. Now I just have to figure out where it's hiding....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zk8pe4H7_bo

Add a stem, stir, get a bike, RIDE

The stem showed up Monday afternoon.

I could see the light at the end of the tunnel. I've been watching the Ramby slowly take shape, and anticipation was starting to get the better of me. I was ready to ride, and once I saw the box stuck between the storm door and the front door, a flurry of building was inevitable.

Stem, handlebar, brake levers, brake cables and housing went on Monday night. It was looking ready to ride, but I held off. Tuesday after work, I installed the pedals and did a bit of tinkering...and...the inaugural ride. My wife took a few pics as I rode slowly around our cul-de-sac, feeling things out. Everything seemed good, sans a few additional adjustments.

I had great visions of doing a harlequin bar wrap with royal blue and white cotton bar tape. Unfortunately, I only ordered one roll of each color when I really needed two. I certainly wasn't going to wait on another bar tape order, so I stopped by my LBS on Tuesday and picked up some blue cork tape, along with mounting tab for my Trek seat bag. I like the Trek seat bag because it is easy to swap from bike to bike, open the velcro seat post strap and unsnap from the mounting tab, then push onto the mounting tab on the next bike and velcro in place...takes 10 seconds, tops.

I spent an hour or so Tuesday afternoon installing bar tape and installing some bottle cages I had on my old road bike frame hanging in the garage. It was time for the shakedown cruise. I donned my cycling gear and took the Ramby for a 26 mile drive.

It was everything I expected it to be. I expected a similar ride and fit as my QB, and the Ramby didn't disappoint. The QB and the Ramby fit me like a glove. The QB, with its 37mm Paselas rides a bit cushier, but the Ramby is lighter and quicker handling. There are a couple of items needing adjustment, including some front derailleur tuning. The bar tape is a lighter blue color which doesn't match the darker blue of the frame. In retrospect, I should have used natural cork but the LBS didn't have it. Some amber shellac should darken up my bar tape and make it look a bit better. Plus, I used black tape to fasten the bar tape in place, and that's downright out of place on a Rivendell...not to mention just flat-out butt-ugly. I have some twine and I'm going to change that ASAP. Plus, I think I mounted my brake levers just a bit high on the bars. Not too much, but if my hands are in the drops I have to move them up higher on the curve to reach the brake levers. I can reach them fine, so it's a comfort issue and has nothing to do with safety and I'll probably get used to it.

One last item to add...the bell! In my excitement to get the bike going and get my first ride in I forgot to install the bell. Not that I really needed it on my inaugural cruise, but it sure would have looked nice!

P.S.: More pictures are coming

-Dwight

The pictures tell a story

The build progresses...

Rear wheel with cassette installed:

Rear derailleur ready for installation:

Rear derailleur installed:

The crank (in original configuration)...39T inner ring installed later

...and the crank installed on the bike

More stuff goes on....

Silver shifters disassembled:

Shifters on the bike:

Add a chain and some cables...

Throw in a seatpost...

and you end up with this:

The stem is here, so there will be more to come. It's getting very close...maybe a weekend ride?? :>))

Wheelbuilding 101, third time's a charm

Tinkering can be dangerous.

I rode the Quickbeam yesterday on one of my regular weekend routes. It was a great day, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

While I was riding, I was thinking about my build. My Quickbeam rides so smoothly and the wheels seem to be arrow straight and true. After I had finished my ride, curiosity got the best of me, so I put the QB up on the stand and spun the wheels. Sure enough, nice and round and true. Riv does a fantastic job building wheels!

Just for fun, I put the Ramby up on the stand and performed the same test. The wheels were certainly nice and true laterally, but radially...a bit lumpy. That's a good way to describe it, just not quite round. I never really noticed or checked the roundness of my wheels while I was building, I just figured if everything was trued and tightened up to more or less an equal tension the wheels would be round.

Well, that just wouldn't do. The tires and tubes came off, and back on the stand.

Rear wheel first, and with some good advice from Sheldon and some tinkering I managed to get wheel relatively lump-free and true as well. Of course, the front wheel needed some adjustment as well. As I was tightening and loosening spokes, I noticed a couple of nipples were being a bit stubborn and quite noisy. A nasty screeching, popping, grinding sound. As I rounded off the spoke nipples, I was thinking this wasn't good.

There wasn't any way I was going to save these nipples, or the spokes. Luckily, I ordered extra spokes for my build, so I bit the bullet and got out the sidecut pliers. Snap! Snap! The offending spokes and nipples were history, I rethreaded some new spokes and nipples in place (of course, liberally lubricating the spoke threads), and back on the truing stand.

The same high spot, and the same issue. As I tightened the nipples, they began to grind, pop, and seize up. I didn't even get close to correcting the out of round condition before I once again rounded them off.

Argh.

Well, I still had a couple of extra spokes. I didn't want to go through the same exercise again and I began thinking about what might be causing my spoke nipples to seize up. The spoke tension didn't seem to be excessive in that area, so I didn't think I was overtensioning. I decided to remove the seized spokes, again, but this time I lubricated the mating surface of the nipple to the wheel rim eyelets, as well as the spoke threads.

Eureka! The spoke nipples tightened without seizing, and I was able to get the wheel resonably round and true.

Lesson learned: tinkering is dangerous, but it can also be educational!

-Dwight

Dial in another link of glitch

I received an e-mail from UPS, via Rivendell. The replacement stem should be here on Monday.

As promised, I've assembled the drivetrain. Crank, derailleurs, shifters, cables, and chain. Everything is tuned nicely. I've also installed the seatpost.

Of course, none of this happened without a bit of a hitch. According to Zinn's, the proper chain length on a double chain ring is determined by putting the chain on the big chainring and the small gear on the cassette. When the rear derailleur jockey wheels are vertical, the length is right.

I thought I did this, and I broke the chain to what I thought was the right length. When I installed the chain, I realized I messed up by aligning the derailleur incorrectly, and the chain was too short. And I pushed the pin all the way out of the link, which would make it nearly impossible to push back in.

My bike building bible doesn't recommend reusing chain pins for 9 or 10 speed chains, or any Shimano or Campy chain. I thought I'd take a shot at it anyway and after about 2o minutes of positioning the pin, trying to fit it enough by hand so my chain tool could get a good grip and push...I finally was able to push it back in and got the chain back to it's original length. I broke the chain again to the proper length and installed it on the bike. It looked fine.

But would it work fine? I started thinking about snapping chains, smashing my wedding tackle against the top tube or taking a header over the bars. I posted an inquiry on the Rivbike Google group, and several members said no problem. Another member even kindly offered to send me another Powerlink (did I mention I was using a 9-speed SRAM chain?).

The worst thing that could happen is that I hurt myself on my new Ramby because I'd decided to skimp on a few dollars of chain. I decided to bite the bullet, stopped at the LBS on my way home from work and bought another chain. It was worth the extra $24 as a learning experience, and that sum is definitely cheap insurance and worth my peace of mind. I want to make sure everything is 100% right and safe!

BTW, there are new pics forthcoming. With all this free time on my hands, I just haven't had the chance to download them yet :>))

-Dwight

He's Baaaack!

I'm sure you've all heard the news by now.

Lance is back. Yes, we've heard all the comparsions to other retired athletes who've decided to unretire. The Brett Favre of Cycling? Sure. Favre is a Hall of Fame quarterback. I watched some of the Jets vs. Dolphins game on Sunday, and he still looks pretty sharp...even after his so-called 'retirement'. If cycling had a Hall of Fame, I'm sure Lance would be at the top of the list.

Why not? I was looking at the results of the Leadville 100 a couple of weeks ago. I've read about this ride in several of the cycling mags, and on Fat Cyclist's blog as well. For those of you not familiar with this ride, it is a mountain bike race and from what I understand is one of the most challenging events out there. Here's an excerpt from http://www.leadville.com/:

"At the hub of the Top of the Rockies Byway is the historic city of Leadville, North America's highest incorporated city (10,430 feet elevation), and the frontier West's wildest, richest, silver mining Boom Town."

"Leadville (pronounced "led" as in the metal lead, not "leed" as in "lead a horse to water",) made its fortune in silver, which was mined in a heavy carbonate of lead. Because there were lots of "silver" named towns at the time, the founding fathers suggested Leadville. Other names originally considered included Carbonate, Cerrusite, and Meyer (after a prominent citizen). A short period after this, during a time when the name could have been changed, names suggested included Lead City, Agassiz, Harrison, and Carbonateville. Nicknames for Leadville include "The Magic City" and "The Cloud City", (at two miles high the city is sometimes in the clouds)."

The Leadville trail 100, also known as "The Race Across the Sky", seems to be an accurate statement. It's 50 miles out and back smack dab in the midst of the Rockies. The lowest point is 9,200 ft. and the highest point is Hope Pass at 12,600 ft. Here's the link to the elevation mapping for this particular 'recreational' ride:

http://www.nyx.net/~mwallace/LT_files/LT100MTB/100MTB_files/bypassProfile.JPG

12,440 feet of elevation gain for 100 miles, most of it near or over 10,000 feet. Just looking at this map and these elevations leaves me gasping for air.

In mountain biking circles, it's considered a major accomplishment to finish in nine hours. Participants finishing in this time receive a rodeo style belt buckle which I understand is large and shiny enough to signal passing aircraft. To give this some perspective, Lance participated in the race this year and finished second, with a time of 6:47:41..about 2 minutes behind the leader. The third place finisher's time was 7:20:52.

Yowza.

I'd say the guy's been keeping himself in OK shape. So if he wants to race TdF again, I say go for it. I'll be busy July 2009ish, anyway :>)

-Dwight

Odds and Ends

I'm waiting for a couple of parts.

Miesha from Rivendell let me know she received the stem I returned. I'm hoping for a speedy shipment of its replacement.

The USPS also dropped a note in my mailbox informing me a package is waiting at the local post office. I'm assuming these are the Schwalbe Marathons I ordered. I'll have to get to work early so I can leave early enough to stop by the post office...of course they conveniently close at 5 p.m. on the dot. I stopped by my LBS and picked up a 9 speed chain and some SPD pedals. At this point, I believe I have everything covered.

While I'm waiting for the stem, I think I'll start the drivetrain assembly, including mounting tires and tubes. Crank, chain, shifters, cables, front and rear derailleurs. I could also drop in the seatpost and mount the seat, too. That's my plan anyway, and I'm hoping I can find some time this week to get started.

I want to take my time on this build to make sure I get it right...but I'm also quite anxious to get it all together so I can ride my new bike. I'm really looking forward to that first ride!

-Dwight

An incidental group ride

Last Saturday, I donned my cycling gear to take my usual weekend ride.

Living in the midst of Podunk, I rarely see another bike rider. Out on the county roads I might see one, maybe two bikes per month. Bike riders are scarcer than hen's teeth out here, but you can spot farmers in pickups a dime a dozen.

I was about four miles into it, heading west toward an intersection where I usually turn south onto Highway 191, a nice flattish run. I usually head this way about 25 miles through 2 small towns, then make three more right turns and do a loop back home, adding another 25 miles or so.

Imagine my surprise when I saw a group of about 10 casually dressed and helmetless riders, moving slowly along my route. I stopped a minute and watched them travel around a bend in the highway and disappear.

Looking back towards the north, I saw several other bike riders moving toward me. I also saw a stencil lettered sign hastily posted by the road shoulder. It was stenciled on the back of a plastic corrugated seed corn sign, tied to a steel post driven into the ground..."Caution Bikers".

I seemed to have stumbled on some kind of event. And right in my backyard, too. And why didn't I know about it? It was Labor Day weekend, and the neighboring town was having their fall festival, Neola's "Hoo Doo" Days, on Labor Day. Maybe the bike ride was related to that event. We subscribe to the local paper, and if there was something related to cycling in it, it certainly would have caught my eye.

Being the naturally curious type, and since I was going in that direction anyway, I decided to tag along.

This was definitely a recreational ride. I saw many casually dressed riders, some in cycling garb. Bikes pulling BOB trailers, Burley trailers with kids, recumbents, even a tandem or two. There was a decent tailwind, it was a flat route and a nice day plus I was riding my trusty and speedy Schwinn Tempo. I didn't see Smokey anywhere in the vicinity so I put the hammer down :>) I might have even passed a couple of folks.

By the time I got to the next town, I was ready for a break. The bar up main street was busy, and had a dee-jay cranking tunes outside. On the other side of the highway, the local American Legion post was selling food in the park shelter. I stopped to enjoy a sloppy joe and a Diet Pepsi.
I wondered what ride this was supposed to be, but I didn't want to look like a dork dressed in full cycling garb asking "Uhhhh, what ride is this?". I could just see the ladies serving food rolling their eyes, giving that condescending "Look, Mr. Bike Helmet, Jersey and Tight Pants doesn't know he's riding in "Tour De Hoo-Doo Days" leering stare. Maybe, "Sir, are you suffering from heat stroke?", or "Are you stoopid or somethin'?" I kept my mouth shut by stuffing it full of sandwich.

Back on the bike. I figured why not, let's see how far this sucker goes. I headed north, seeing several groups of cyclists and the occasional stenciled sign. I'd just ride until I didn't see cyclists or signs anymore.

One more town, then another. When I got to the third town, Panama, I saw vehicles with bike racks parked all over town. This must have been the starting point. I watched a couple ride into town after me then load their bikes on their Hyundai...but that was it. Lots of vehicles, but no crowds, no people. I hopped back on the bike and went back the way I came.

Sure enough, after a few miles, I met larger groups. Cyclists, pickups pulling trailers providing sag wagon service, even a couple of RAGBRAI buses. A group of cyclists parked under an overpass, drinking beer. A large group stopped at a farm, moving in and out of a machine shed, almost certainly drinking beer. A small group standing near a bus pulled off by the side of the road, yelling "Hey, the party's the other way." Jeez, didn't even know there was a bike ride much less a party. I was on my way back home anyway. Party pooper.

I managed to stop by the American Legion food stand and wolfed down a pork loin sandwich and a Gatorade, though. Party animal!

After I got home and cleaned up, I dug up the local paper looking at it carefully. No mention of any bike ride, party, shindig, or any other type of cycling related events happening at Hoo-Doo Days. Some time later, I hit the BikeIowa website and found the following:

hosted by: Panama Young Mothers Club
Classic Bike Road Bike Ride
DETAILS
>> START ADDRESS
>> DATE / TIME
Blue Moon in Neola Neola, IA May beable to park vehicle in Panama and catch a sag to Neola if in Panama by 8 a.m.
Aug 30 2008 (10:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.) Event type: Just Plain Fun 51-100 riders expected
>> DISTANCE / TYPE
>> COSTS
22 milesTerrain: Rolling Mild Hills Rider type: Ride is ridden at your own pace
$22.00 for the ride and a t-shirt or tank$10.00 for ride only
>> RIDE DESCRIPTION
>> REGISTRATION
This ride is sponsored by the Panama Young Mothers to raise funds for community betterment, local scholarships and other projects. We encourage all riders to register and help the community.
On-site registration begins at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, August 30th in front of the Blue Moon in Neola.
>> RIDE ROUTE
Start on Highway 191 on Main Strret Neola and head North for 22-miles down Hwy. 191 from Neola, IA to Panama, IA. You are welcome to ride both ways for a total of 44 miles.
>> OTHER COMMENTS
A street dance will be held in Panama following the ride, from 7:00 - 11:00 p.m.

Well, darn. Missed out on the street dance and the party. I didn't have to spend $22.00 for the ride and a t-shirt, but I've got too many t-shirts in the closet anyway. I think I might have easily raised $22.00 if I'd been able to pick up all the cans and bottles strewn along the roadside, though. I'm sure the Panama Young Mothers would have been proud!

-Dwight

Wheelbuilding 101, Part Deux

One front wheel down, one rear wheel to go.

It's pretty much the same process as the front, except for the fact that dishing a 9 speed rear wheel is a bit more difficult. The drive side spokes need to be tensioned significantly more than the non-drive side in order to get the hub reasonably centered in the rim. It took me several tries to get the hub close to center...I'd get the hub dished, then my wheel would be out of true. I'd true the wheel, and the dishing would be off. Eventually, I got the trueness and dishing to balance.

The parts before assembly:

Trailing spokes first! One side...

then the other...

Add the leading spokes, side 1, cross 3, flip and repeat...

And the rear wheel is fully laced. No, I didn't assemble these wheels using my toes!

Of course, after I finished truing and dishing I had to see what they looked like on the frame.

It's starting to look like a bike!

As far as my other components are concerned, I ordered a 9 speed Dura Ace rear derailleur which arrived today. Last years 9 speed model was significantly cheaper than this years 10 speed model, about the same price as the new Ultegra model. Now I have matching front and rear derailleurs. A mixed build...Dura-Ace derailleurs and Ultegra hubs.

The stem I returned should have arrived at Rivendell headquarters today, and I expect to hear back from Miesha regarding the replacement. I originally intended to swap my Ruffy Tuffys from the LeTour onto the Ramby, but I found some wire bead 700c x 28 Schwalbe Marathons on Amazon.com, reasonably sale priced. Ja, they are marginally schwerer than the RT's, about 150 grams each...but for a Fred Flintstone clydesdale rider like me das ist nichts! No weight weenies or girlie men allowed, Hans und Franz! I also need some tough tires for my occasional gravel road runs. Safety first!

I've been picking up bits and pieces here and there. I needed some rim tape and 9 speed chain, which my LBS was glad to sell me. The only thing left that I can think of are pedals, and I'm sure I'll pick up some SPD's somewhere. I have some old beat up BMX pedals but I'd think they would look out of place on the Ramby.

-Dwight

Wheelbuilding 101, Part 1

I had a nice long holiday weekend with no other plans, so I decided to start my wheelbuild. My first order of business was to get all my supplies and tools together in an area where I would be comfortable with adequate room. I have a so-called rec room in my basement, where my bikes, treadmill, entertainment center and couch live. It was kind of a teenage hangout before my daughter went to college, then it just collected junk.

Since my daughter has graduated from high school, we no longer need to live in this school district and decided several months ago to sell our house...crappy real estate market or not. Our first priority was to de-junk and paint. Luckily, we have a small mini storage facility nearby which made renting a bay and moving all of our unnecessary stuff relatively pain-free.

The rec room was the first area needing a clean up. A mini-fridge, many boxes, a bookcase full of books, and other miscellaneous items went into storage. This of course cleared more space for bicycles, bicycles parts and other cycling paraphenalia. I have turned this space into my temporary wheelbuilding shop.

I procured a portable workbench at the local Home Depot, which works perfectly as a table for my truing stand. It has a clamping table, allowing me to clamp my truing stand snugly in place and is at just the right height. I took my laptop downstairs and pulled up http://www.sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html, which I used as a reference while lacing the wheels. All the information I needed was right at my fingertips.

I am building 36 spoke cross 3 wheels, meaning the spokes cross each other 3 times. My understanding is cross 3 wheels are the most common type, which I verified by looking at my old Schwinns, and my Quickbeam. Each bike has 32 spoke cross 3 wheels except for my LeTour, which has 36 spoke wheels. My wife's Giant hybrid also has 36 spoke cross 3 wheels. Per Sheldon's wheelbuilding website, 36 spoke wheels were the norm until someone got the bright idea to use lower spoke counts under the guise of 'performance'.

I did some research and there are many other alternative, more decorative types of lacings.

http://www.geocities.com/spokeanwheel/lacingcl.htm

Although they look interesting, I don't think I have the chops (yet) for some of the more complex builds. Also, I found an interesting short video of a semi-automated production wheel building process in China:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArrLTVgq85s

I also wanted to mention several spoke length calculators I utilized when figuring out what spoke lengths I needed for each wheel/hub combination. Here is an excellent Java applet that did the trick.

http://www.softwareautomata.com/Applet3/Spoke3.html

I double checked my spoke length calculations using Damon Rinard's SPOCALC spreadsheet:

http://sheldonbrown.com/rinard/spocalc.htm#other_calculators

Following Sheldon's wheel building instructions, I started with the 'key spoke', directly next to the valve hole:

Next, I laced all the trailing spokes for that side of the hub:

Now, I flip the wheel over and lace the trailing spokes for the opposite side of the hub. Note that I've also started lacing the leading spokes (crossing 3 times over the trailing spokes):

Now I lace the leading spokes on both sides of the hub, remembering (for the most part) to cross over the trailing spokes 3 times. The wheel is completely laced!

...and goes into the truing stand for tightening up and truing.

It took me quite a while to get the wheel trued to my satisfaction. I'm sure most of it was due to my inexperience, but I took my time and followed the advice on the website and in Zinn's book. While lacing the wheels, I lubricated the threads of each spoke with Phil's Tenacious Oil before I threaded the spoke nipple on. I'm sure this made tightening the nipples easier and helped prevent thread galling, though I'm sure I stressed several spoke nipples during this process. I gradually tightened each spoke, up to one turn at a time, until I started to build tension in the wheel. Then, I began the process of rotating the wheel and alternately tightening and loosening spokes until most of the waviness disappeared...meaning the wheel was reasonably true. Two other tools which proved invaluable: a spoke tension meter and a dishing stick. I used the spoke tension meter to ensure the spokes were uniformly tensioned, and the dishing stick to make sure the hub and rim were centered. Of course, I needed to make adjustments to the dishing, and re-trued the wheel. All the while, I pre-stressed the spokes by grabbing groups of 4 spokes (2 per side), and squeezing.

The finished product:

It was time consuming and took several hours, however, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. This build really helps me understand how wheels are constructed and assembled. A bike wheel is something you really don't think about so much...just get on the bike and pedal. If something happens, haul it to your LBS and let them sort it all out. Nothing wrong with that. But it's really nice to be able pick out your own components, build the wheel you really want and be able to say 'Yeah, I built those wheels myself!'

-Dwight