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I managed to get the wheel somewhere near staight and will have it fine-tuned later in  the week.

The bike has cost Aidan $150 so far. Wheels & seat are on loan for now. These aren't his bars of choice - we're looking for some nice drop bars. 

Later on , maybe a tasty crank set, some vintage pedals and then a pair of deep vees....or not.

Thwarted!

Saturday, 5:05 pm. The bike shop's just shut and I realized the back cog doesn't match the chain for size! Ugh.

Preview

So Aidan's bike is taking shape. It's always tempting to get the beast rideable, but it does tend to take the edge off the seeing the final product.

Just follow the instructions...

Following the instructions from the net (Sheldon Brown's) for the spoke thread was um... a challenge..

" After this leading spoke has crossed 3 trailing spokes, there will be two possible rim holes to connect it to. Use the rim hole that is on the same side as the flange you are working from. It should not be right next to one of the trailing spokes that runs from the same flange of the hub." 

What the?

So I looked at the pictures and looked at another wheel and.... well it seems to have worked.

De-spoking

A last minute tip from Clive at Mercer's ensures that I  gradually loosen every third spoke to remove the oldies without buckling the rim.

Easy!

The coaster hub arrives....

The coaster hub arrives for Aidan's bike and I set out to 

grapple with the fine art of wheel building for the first time.