Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by mark stetson on October 29, 2011 at 2:10pm

Welcome.  Glad you're OK.  I've had a couple of those, with concussion, broken collarbone, etc.  You did well to avoid injury.

 

If the wheel contacts the brake pads, or if you can find noticeably unequal spoke tension, it should be trued.  Pluck the spokes and listen to the tone.  Looser spokes will have a lower pitch, or if they're really loose won't have a tone at all.  If you're lucky, tensioning the loose spokes will make the wheel more true, but if the rim has been deformed that's not always as simple as that.  You can do minor truing on the bike with a pointer affixed to the fork, or the brake pad as a guide.  Someone with experience and a stand will be able to do a better job, but depending on how bad the wheel is you may be able to improve the trueness yourself without a lot of trouble.

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Permalink Reply by Ricardo J Rivera on October 29, 2011 at 2:29pm

Thank you Mark.

The rim is not touching the break pads.  I have done most of my bike repairs except for truing. I will give it a try. I also heard that using a chalk to mark the points that  need tensioning works great.

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Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on October 29, 2011 at 7:54pm

I allow no wobble or out of round on my wheels; if it is visibly wobbling go get the wheel trued.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Courtright on October 31, 2011 at 2:55am

Welcome Ricky, and sorry to hear about your tumble. 

 

I don't like any wobble, but more importantly, all of the spokes on your front wheel should have the same tension.  Pluck them like a guitar and if any have a much lower pitch than the others, your wheel could be unstable and could have more serious problems down the road.  You should have a tech look at it and give it a tweak.

 

With a properly built wheel, you might only true after a hundred miles or so after building/purchase and then they might stay true for the next 10 years.  I have a set of wheels that have not been touched for 20,000 miles.

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Permalink Reply by Melanie K on October 31, 2011 at 5:20am

I would go get the front wheel trued for $15- $20 at a local shop if you have never done truing yourself, and considering you had an accident you could have the shop do a once over your bike to make sure nothing else was damaged. I try to do most of my own work on my bike but when my wheel seems not quite right after a hit a few pot holes, I go and get it trued at a shop. I have yet to learn the fine art of truing well enough myself to get the wheel the way I want it, although I am still practicing.

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Permalink Reply by David P. on October 31, 2011 at 12:35pm

West Town Bikes is having a wheel truing class on Thursday night - if you can get down there, it may cost you a bit more (I think it's $30 for the one class) than paying a shop to do it, but it will be much more valuable for learning how to do it yourself!

 

David

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Permalink Reply by Ricardo J Rivera on November 1, 2011 at 3:06am

Great! Thank you so much for all the replies. I'll try to make to West Town Bikes, on Thursday.

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Permalink Reply by David P. on November 1, 2011 at 11:18am

You can find info on it on the Chainlink calendar.

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