Judging wheel condition
dhope
Posts: 6,699
Folks,
I've been commuting on a stock Langster (bit of a beater) for the last year, though the bike is a few years old. Planning on upgrading the wheelset and moving on the old pair. How should I judge the condition of a used wheelset as I still feel like I know sod all about bikes and maintenance.
It looks fairly true to me, wheels don't spin as freely as a new bike with next to no miles on it but then it's a fixed cog so wouldn't expect the rear to spin forever.
Don't want to guess at a price and send out a pair of wheels that turn out to be shot...
Ta
I've been commuting on a stock Langster (bit of a beater) for the last year, though the bike is a few years old. Planning on upgrading the wheelset and moving on the old pair. How should I judge the condition of a used wheelset as I still feel like I know sod all about bikes and maintenance.
It looks fairly true to me, wheels don't spin as freely as a new bike with next to no miles on it but then it's a fixed cog so wouldn't expect the rear to spin forever.
Don't want to guess at a price and send out a pair of wheels that turn out to be shot...
Ta
0
Comments
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The should spin nicely, when you turn the wheel by hand you shouldn't be able to feel any notchiness, the spokes should be relatively evenly tensioned, and the braking surface (if it has one) should not have any deep grooves, or feel curved inwards.
And obviously they should be true, and not dinged badly.And now you know, and knowing is half the battle
05 Spesh Enduro Expert
05 Trek 1000 Custom build
Speedily Singular Thingy0 -
Wrap a velcro tie or something around the brake levers so that the brake calipers are not quite touching the rims (as close as you can get them without touching).
Spin the wheels, and look for out-of-trueness, and out-of-roundness.
Clean the wheels well and look around the inside of the rim at the spoke nipples; make sure they look... right (basically the same all round).
Take the tyres off, check round the inside of the outer circumference for dings etc.
Get something flat (steel ruler) and press against the braking surface, look for dishing (wear).Sometimes parts break. Sometimes you crash. Sometimes it’s your fault.0 -
If the wheel rim doesn't have a wear indicator and you've got a vernier caliper and an old spoke (or wire coat hanger) you can measure the amount of wear left....
http://www.ctc.org.uk/resources/Magazine/20011163.pdf0 -
If the wheel rim doesn't have a wear indicator and you've got a vernier caliper and an old spoke (or wire coat hanger) you can measure the amount of wear left....
http://www.ctc.org.uk/resources/Magazine/20011163.pdf0
