Trueing Wheels

[KevinV]

It's spoke tension that keeps the wheel true (somebody shoot me down if I am completely off track here), so the video would have been correct. That's why I asked if you had broken a spoke. Check carefully, sometimes it's not that obvious as the lacing of the spokes keeps the broken one in place.

[potent]

i tried giving each spoke a bit of a pull, which was suggested on a website. they all seemed fine.

 

i would understand if i had taken a fall or something that would have caused the wheel to buckle. but no big hits at all. thats why i thought it could be the spoke tension.

[TheLegend]

I was shown once how to repair an untrue wheel on the spot without any tools. All you need is to be heavy and then stand on the wheel. If you aren't heavy enough call a friend/neighbour/ewep/etc. 

[Mudsimus]

I was shown once how to repair an untrue wheel on the spot without any tools. All you need is to be heavy and then stand on the wheel. If you aren't heavy enough call a friend/neighbour/ewep/etc. 

 

This great idea will work great with expensive carbon wheels wont it?

[KevinV]

Take it to your LBS and ask if you can hang around while they fix it. That way you can start the learning process. I doubt they will charge much if it's a simple trueing job. My LBS didn't even charge labour for replacing my broken spoke and trueing up the wheel. Cost me R7 for the whole job!

[TheLegend]

 

I was shown once how to repair an untrue wheel on the spot without any tools. All you need is to be heavy and then stand on the wheel. If you aren't heavy enough call a friend/neighbour/ewep/etc. 

 

This great idea will work great with expensive carbon wheels wont it?

 

You really seem to know your sh*t man! In fact it does work very well cause that sudden impact is what the carbonfibres need. The fibres are wutie strong and slow tensioning of them does nothing. sudden impacts do th ejob very well though - just like "strechting" your muscles. If you fear to stretch them too far you can put rocks from the side of the road underneath. No need for fancy tools - nature has what you need!

 

[Mudsimus]

I was shown once how to repair an untrue wheel on the spot without any tools. All you need is to be heavy and then stand on the wheel. If you aren't heavy enough call a friend/neighbour/ewep/etc. 

 

This great idea will work great with expensive carbon wheels wont it?

You really seem to know your sh*t man! In fact it does work very well cause that sudden impact is what the carbonfibres need. The fibres are wutie strong and slow tensioning of them does nothing. sudden impacts do th ejob very well though - just like "strechting" your muscles. If you fear to stretch them too far you can put rocks from the side of the road underneath. No need for fancy tools - nature has what you need!

 

Always a pleasure to learn new stuff from the master.

 

Now where is that buckled Bora's.....

[TheLegend]

 

I was shown once how to repair an untrue wheel on the spot without any tools. All you need is to be heavy and then stand on the wheel. If you aren't heavy enough call a friend/neighbour/ewep/etc. 

 

This great idea will work great with expensive carbon wheels wont it?

 

You really seem to know your sh*t man! In fact it does work very well cause that sudden impact is what the carbonfibres need. The fibres are wutie strong and slow tensioning of them does nothing. sudden impacts do th ejob very well though - just like "strechting" your muscles. If you fear to stretch them too far you can put rocks from the side of the road underneath. No need for fancy tools - nature has what you need!

 

Always a pleasure to learn new stuff from the master.

 

Now where is that buckled Bora's.....

 

I feel flattered!  You are close to having me create a new name TheMaster and give TheLegend to my young friend!

 

[FlyingCheetah]

Potent,

 

It must be due to TOO much POWER!

 

Damn, I wish I had so much power in my legs...

[potent]

could easy be....was racing the camera man on his four wheeler down one of the final descents near the finish. 

[Guest Big H]

Woozies!!!!!!! If you can change a electrical waal plug you can true your own wheels!!!!!!! Just do IT!!!!!!!!!

[Johan Bornman]

Hi all' date='

 

looking for a bit of advice. did the illovo eston on sun and have managed to "buckle" my rear wheel. when spinning the wheel it jams on the left v-brake pad. this is not a v-brake adjustment issue.

 

is it best to take the bike to the LBS and see if they are able to true it or is there a way of doing it myself?

 

thanks in advance

 

Byron  

[/quote']

 

Byron, you've had lots of *** advice here and even more stupid banter. Don't let that put you off. Its difficult to contain banter to the relevant forums.

 

Truing a wheel is easy if you are systematic.  Firstly, you need to know what caused the wheel to buckle. If it was some sort of accident, the rim is usually bent and that cannot be fixed by fiddling with spokes. The rim has to come off and either repaired or replaced. A rim needs to be true before you build a wheel.

 

From what you say, it doesn't sound like trauma was involved and you've already confirmed that no spokes are broken. That means only one thing. One of the nipples unscrewed. It did that because the wheel didn't have anough tension to start off with.

 

You can fix the wheel by tensioning that spoke again. Put your bicycle upside down, take the wheel out and remove the tyre. Fit the wheel again and use your brake pads as a reference. Find a black koki pen and mark a little line on each spoke (in line with the spoke) so that you can see if the spoke twists as you tension it.

 

If you remember one rule, you'll be ok. Rule number One: A wheel buckles because a nipple came LOOSE. I emphasise loose, since it cannot tighten by itself, only loosen.

 

Therefore you have to tighten a nipple. Usually only one nipple comes loose and it affects quite a big area. The lenght of the buckle is dependent on the thickness (strength) of the rim. Rule number one also means that you don't remove a buckle by loosening any of the spokes. When working upside down, you have to keep your wits together so that you don't loosen when you intend to tighten and vice versa.

 

Look for the epicentre of the buckle and tighten the spoke on the opposide of the wobble. In other words, tighten a spoke that will pull the buckle away from your  brake blocks.

 

Make sure the spoke doesn't twist. If it is twisted, it'll simply untwise as soon as that spoke is loaded and you're back to square one.

 

I suspect you'll need no more than one turn. If you need more, tighten the adjacent spokes on the same side. Turn the Epicentre spoke say one turn and the two adjacent ones only 1/2 turn each.

 

If you are working on a back wheel, it is more difficult since the right spokes require much more tension to move the rim than the left ones. The ratio is about 2.5:1 for a 9-speed bike.

 

If the nipples make a lot of noise when turning and they wind up the spoke badly, oil the nipple and start again.

 

If the spoke winds up, you overshoot with the turn and return a little bit until your koki lines are all in line again.

 

It is quite satisfying to fix your own wheels and get them to a point where they never break spokes or go out of true again.

 

I suspect all the spokes in your wheel are too schlapp. However, tensioning them all on the back wheel is a bit difficult, so leave that for when you have developed more confidence.

 

Good luck and let us know how it went. If you PM me I'll give you my phone number.

 

 

 

Johan Bornman2008-07-31 02:05:54

[potent]

thanks Johan for the great advice. after all the stuff about hammers etc i decided to just take it to the LBS and let them sort it out. I'll definately keep your post and use it for future reference.

 

I usually find the appropriate videos on-line that help you to perform any repairs needed on my bike but there were no great ones for truing a wheel that i could find.

 

I'm always keen to learn so i'll give your advice a try neext time i have a prob. thanks again for the help it's much appreciated! 

[NC_lurker]

JB, thanks.

Always nice to read a well thought out detailed solution that we can all learn from.

[Tumbleweed]

thanks Johan for the great advice. after all the stuff about hammers etc i decided to just take it to the LBS and let them sort it out. I'll definately keep your post and use it for future reference.

I usually find the appropriate videos on-line that help you to perform any repairs needed on my bike but there were no great ones for truing a wheel that i could find.

I'm always keen to learn so i'll give your advice a try neext time i have a prob. thanks again for the help it's much appreciated! 

 

you can buy dvds and books about wheelbuilding and repair online.

[TNT1]

 

thanks Johan for the great advice. after all the stuff about hammers etc i decided to just take it to the LBS and let them sort it out. I'll definately keep your post and use it for future reference.

 

I usually find the appropriate videos on-line that help you to perform any repairs needed on my bike but there were no great ones for truing a wheel that i could find.

 

I'm always keen to learn so i'll give your advice a try neext time i have a prob. thanks again for the help it's much appreciated! 

 

you can buy dvds and books about wheelbuilding and repair online.

 

You can also buy hammers online.