wheel out of true

bice
bice Posts: 772
edited February 2009 in Workshop
I went on my first group ride in the Surrey hills on Sunday, supposedly 35 miles but actually 53. Going up that hill oputside Sheer - White Down Hill? - I clipped the back wheel of the rider in front and now my front wheel rubs against the brake.

Two spokes are involved (it's a Trek 1.7 with Bontrager wheels) and looking down from the handlebars it is rubbing the left brake block.

Is it better to loosen slightly the left spoke, or tighten the right, or a mixture of both? It is only slightly out of true as managed to get 25 miles back to Richmond Park.

( I have straightened wheels before but only on iron horses.)

Comments

  • robbarker
    robbarker Posts: 1,367
    http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=81

    This should cover it.
  • Nuggs
    Nuggs Posts: 1,804
    Jake151 wrote:
    from what I can gather from trying to retrue my old Giant's wheel its a very tricky art and if you do it wrong then it can ruin the whole wheel,
    You'd have to be somewhat ham-fisted to destroy your wheel through the truing process.

    That's not to say it's a tricky art - it takes me ages to true a newly-built wheel. It makes me weep when I hear some guys being able to build and true wheels in an hour or so...
  • Steve Kish
    Steve Kish Posts: 216
    Yup, secret is to do it slowly and carefully. If you buy a trueing stand, wheel dishing tool and a couple of keys (red and green cover all my wheels), it can be very theraputic. 8)
    AT MY AGE, I SHOULD KNOW BETTER !!!
  • bice
    bice Posts: 772
    All I am going to do is loosen and tighten two spokes. The rest of the wheel seems fine. But this are sporty spokes, being few in number so I'm wary. They must be under very high tension.

    What I think I will do is loosen the left hand side spoke a fraction. See if it makes a difference. Then tighten the right hand spoke a fraction. Ditto. Then repeat if necessary.

    I would not be able to manage building a wheel from scratch, but I think fixing a little wobble should not be too hard.
  • bice
    bice Posts: 772
    I fixed this on the kitchen table last night. It's weaving about a millimetre, which is acceptable shot term, but I will wait to ride it before further adjustments. It a millimetre weave too much?

Categories