Wheel truing advice

mcav79

Hi All, I am trying my best to tackle all of my bike problems myself and finding out its a steep learning curve however this forum has been a BIG help!!!! So with that said next on my list of things to do is true my pretty out of shape Mavic Aksium Race wheels. I have never trued a wheel before but I am armed with a manual, spoke key and a jig lent from a friend. Does any body have any guides/tips things I should look out for etc?

amaferanga

If you've never trued a wheel before then IMO it'd be a bad idea to try to true a low spoke count wheel like an Aksium.

Do you have an old 32/36 hole wheel you could practice with?

mcav79

I might have something I can dig out but the theory is pretty much the same isn't it???

aoeu

Righty tighty lefty loosy, so when looking down at the spoke nipple (nipple=end bit of the spoke that attaches to rim), turn to the right to tighten, left to loosen. and add a drop of some lube or oil to allow the nipple to spin freely . if it gets to the limit of tightening, then loosen the spoke on the other side instead. etc etc. park tools tutorial, google, abundance of info

mcav79

Many thanks the wheel in question has bladed spokes does that mean there is no adjustment in these spokes?

dennisn

Buy a wheel building manual and read through it first to get an idea of the hows and whys. If you're sort of "in" with a shop watch them and ask questions. I would recommend building a 32 or 36 spoke cheapo wheel first to get the feel for things before diving into truing a low spoke count wheel. Also proper spoke wrenches are a must and a truing stand doesn't hurt.

Monty Dog

You should be able to find good instructions online - Park Tool or Sheldon Brown. When truing a wheel, you are trying to get in round (up and down) and laterally true (side to side). Address any roundness problems first before dealing with side-to-side. Drop some oil or chain lube on each nipple and leave it to soak in before getting to work with a spoke key. Be progressive with the amount of tightening you apply to each spoke - if you tighten one side, loosed the other side by the same amount - but because of the angles of the spokes, on most wheels, drive side rear has slightly higher tension than the other. Turn each spoke no more than half-a-turn at a time and fine-tuning is a quarter and less. When correcting true, you may start with a half-turn at the largest deflection, less on the spokes either side decreasing as you move away from the biggest point of deflection. FWIW, Aksiums are pretty strong so you'd have to massively over-do things to really screw up the wheel. If you completely get it wrong or loose your point in the flow - slacken off all the spokes and start as though tensioning a new wheel - and then apply an equal amount of twist to each spoke in turn. Finally use the valve hole as the reference point as you work your way round the wheel.

Gary D

One other tip....

When tinkering with my Aksiums, I found that every time I tightened or loosened a nipple, the spoke would twist - even with a little lube on the nipple...... ooooeeerr missus :shock: :shock:

I found a small block of wood and made a tool for holding the spoke to stop it rotating. I just carefully cut a shallow slot in the end of it with a hacksaw - works a treat.

Good luck!
Gary.

magliaceleste

Here is a (hopefully) useful set of intructions to start with. Pretty much what Montydog says:

http://www.bikemagic.com/maintenance/wh ... /3041.html

I've got to have a go myself with a 32h Open Pro next week...

stigofthedump

Down load the Wheelpro wheelbuilding manual. It gives great advice in how to true the wheel and build all the tools you will ever need.

http://www.wheelpro.co.uk/wheelbuilding/book.php

Monty Dog

For holding flat spokes, I have one of these:


Spoke Catcher from Icetoolz

mmacavity

youtube

rake

take smaal increments and observe the change. 1/4 to half turns.