New rear wheel already out of true

Jamey

I've only ridden my brand new Tricross (Sport Triple) seven times but on the way home from work today I noticed the rear wheel was rubbing on the brakes so I had a look and it was well out of true. I had to slacken the brakes to the point where they're pretty much useless before the wheel would spin freely. Fortunately I wasn't too far from home.

Now I'm a massive bloke (weight 19 stone) and I've been commuting with two nearly-full panniers across roads which have a lot of lumps and bumps so I'm not expecting miracles, just a bit of advice.

• Is it even worth bothering to get the wheel trued or will the same thing happen again within another seven outings?
• Should I just buy a new rear wheel and forget the stock ones that came with the bike (Alex ACE-19 rims, not sure about the rest)?
• If so, what wheels should I get? I don't care about weight or speed, I just want something that will hold a fat bloke with two heavy panniers across bumpy tarmac for more than a week without going out of true.

I'm going on a bike maintenance course in a couple of weeks so I expect I'll probably learn to true wheels myself but still... I don't want to do it EVERY Friday evening when I get home from work.

nicklouse

Most wheels that come on bikes are not the best build and once having been sorted should be OK.

In the mean time have a read of the wheel building pages on sheldons webby, Linky below. And maybe have a go your self at bringing it back to true.

As to if it will or not only a wheel builder will be able to tell you.

cjcp

Jamey

If you've got a Tricross, the wheels should be able to take a beating given what the bike is designed for. However, some factory built wheels do go out of true after very little use - same happened with my Ksyriums and Reynolds Alta Race also had this problem -, which is one of the reason people go for hand builts by good wheel builders.

Alternatively, have you hit a pot hole and actually bent the rim? I've got hand built Open Sports and when I took my wheel into the LBS this weekend on the assumption it was out of true, they called me up about 20 mins and explained that the rim was bent, possibly as a result of hitting a pot hole on the commute. They had only had four weeks use.

Check with your LBS before you spend money on new wheels. If you do need new wheels though, it's worth looking at a good set of hand built wheels. Mavic Open Pro 32/36 spoke wheels should be a good bet. The spokes can then be tensioned to suit your size.

always_tyred

If its still under warrantee, worth getting it trued. The only way you can be sure that the wheel isn't going to stay true is if you leave it bent.

Most wheels take a while to settle down, albeit not to that degree. If you ever re-string a wheel, the first ride sounds like a xylophone. feel the spoke tensions (pluck them and listen to the tone). My guess is that you'll find one that is way out to cause that degree of displacement. Possibly a failed spoke nipple or something like that, but don't give up on the wheels just yet.

Jamey

Ok, so I think I'm gonna take it back to the Evans store I bought the bike from tomorrow morning and ask them to re-true it, then hope it stays true long enough for me to go on this maintenance course and learn how to do it myself.

lost_in_thought

Jamey, don't let them charge you for that. They sold you the bike, you must have been there at the time, if they thought the wheels were going to give up they should have mentioned it.

Should be done under warranty in my book.

always_tyred

There is a thread on the main board stared by JoeSoap in which we learned that Evans offer a free service within the first 4 months (and not a day more!).

If there is an actual failure of any component, Evans shouldn't even have to offer a warrantee, they will simply be reflecting the manufacturer's warrantee. In theory, it should all be painless, but I guess you might get a "part time know-all young shop assistant" objection to the concept of Evans taking on the hassle.

Be firm with them. Tantrums in-store are acceptable.

Jamey

Dropped it off this morning, they agreed to true it for free.

I asked "will the bloke check the vertical truing, dishing and tension as well as the normal (lateral) truing?" and the guy said yes, so we'll see.

Going forwards (I love that phrase, management speak to the max), if i want to true wheels myself do I need a truing stand/jig?

How much are they?

always_tyred

Jamey wrote:

Dropped it off this morning, they agreed to true it for free.

I asked "will the bloke check the vertical truing, dishing and tension as well as the normal (lateral) truing?" and the guy said yes, so we'll see.

Going forwards (I love that phrase, management speak to the max), if i want to true wheels myself do I need a truing stand/jig?

How much are they?

They can be £100's. I have a naff one that is okay and cost about £30 I think. It really is naff, but I've re-strung a few wheels using it.

Some people get by with allen keys taped to their brake calipers.