• Hi all and welcome to TheWoodHaven2 brought into the 21st Century, kicking and screaming! We all have Alasdair to thank for the vast bulk of the heavy lifting to get us here, no more so than me because he's taken away a huge burden of responsibility from my shoulders and brought us to this new shiny home, with all your previous content (hopefully) still intact! Please peruse and feed back. There is still plenty to do, like changing the colour scheme, adding the banner graphic, tweaking the odd setting here and there so I have added a new thread in the 'Technical Issues, Bugs and Feature Requests' forum for you to add any issues you find, any missing settings or just anything you'd like to see added/removed from the feature set that Xenforo offers. We will get to everything over the coming weeks so please be patient, but add anything at all to the thread I mention above and we promise to get to them over the next few days/weeks/months. In the meantime, please enjoy!

Truing a bicycle wheel

AndyP

AndyP

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 22, 2014
Messages
14,203
Reaction score
1,752
Location
14860 Normandy, France
Anyone evry tried this? Online tutorials go from mega page and tech loaded confusion to the very simple just do it varieties.
The wobble or bulge is visible when I look down at the front wheel while riding. With the bike upside down I can see that the rim touches one brake pad for for about 5 or 6 spokes. I think that I need to tighten the spokes furthest from the "bulge" which would mean 3 spokes. There does not appear to be any visible loose spokes.

Is it as simple as that or should I take it to an expert?

It is not an expensive road racing bike btw, more an all terrain hybrid ( but not mountain bike ).
 
Have you tried 'playing' the spokes like you would a triangle? Tight spokes ring and loose spokes thud. Might be worth a try.
 
also, the ones opposite the "bulge" may well be tight, due to the buckle.

Loosen a few one side, and tighten the ones opposite .. spin the wheel .. results are real time :-)

if unsure, count the turns, so you can put it back how it was easily.
 
Tried playing the spokes, No obvious thuds.

Will try and find a bike shop tomorrow to buy a spoke/nipple spanner and I'll give it a go. Felt pens ready to mark the spokes as I go.
 
Hi Andy,

I build and true my own wheels. Has you wheel become out of true because of a known impact or just from a loosening of spoke tension over time? If it's impact damage you may be able to pull it out but will have to live with uneven spoke tension, not really good for the wheel but you can get away with it.

If it just a loss of tension, and if there is no audible difference when pinging the spokes, as others have suggested, start on the opposite side of the "bulge" and tighten the spoke most central to the bulge, no more than half a turn. Then on the same side of the bulge loosen the two spokes either side of the one just tightened again by no more than half a turn. Repeat the process moving out from the centre of the bulge but reducing the amount you tighten/loosen, for example 1/3 turn then 1/4 turn. You shouldn't have to go any further than 3 spokes out from the centre in either direction.

One further point, if it's the back wheel that need truing, be aware there'll be a big discrepancy in spoke tension between the drive side (where the cassette/cogs are) and the non-drive side. Don't try to even these up, the non-drive side will feel positively loose in comparison to the drive side.

I hope this makes sense feel free to PM me for more advice

Jon
 
Jon, thanks, it is a front wheel and on the wife's bike who does not remember when it started. There is no obvious sign of impact damage to the rim itself and she has certainly not had any kind of major incident.
I will try and find a suitable key and give it a go.

Just one question. If the bike is upside down and I am working on the spokes closest to the ground, ie by the brake pads, which way will loosen/tighten the spokes, clock or anticlock?
 
Andy,

Working upside down as described, turning the spoke key anticlockwise will tighten the spoke.

Also, there's a good chance the nipple will have seized on the spoke so you may have to turn the key as much as a full revolution before the nipple cracks loose. Don't worry about this, but keep in mind the spoke will have twisted as you turned the key so turn the key back clockwise to try and remove the spoke wind-up - much easier to do than describe. Putting a drop of 3 in 1 on the spoke and allowing to run down into the nipple can sometimes make life easier.

The best spoke keys are the type that grip the nipple on 3 of the floor flats rather than the corners, http://www.parktool.com/product/spoke-wrench-sw-0 and there are different size nipples so it will be a good idea to take the wheel with you to check the size. Most common is 0.127" (3.23mm) but sods law dictates yours will probably different :evil:

Jon

Jon
 
8k round trip in 27degrees C, little shade, to local bicycle garage come workshop. Closed on Mondays. Ho hum will try tomorrow, forecast 30 degrees C.
 
Thanks Jon, now sorted. First "bike shop" was actually just a repair garage and did not sell tools. Would have got the wheel repaired but the chap was out and I had a bike full of shopping so could not wait. Cycled past a Giant dealer yesterday and bought a multi-key that does 4 sizes. Works a treat. I marked up the 6 closest spokes to the bulge and marked the rim with either a L for loosen or T for tighten. No more than 1/2 turn each and wheel no longer rubs on the brake block as before. I've got video but cant upload at the moment so I will do that later.

Handlebars no longer wobble when hands free so satisfied.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top