Buckled wheel

Speedmenace

Just fell off my bike, failed to unclip both feet after my chain jammed

how much does your LBS charge to true a rear wheel? its probably about a 1/2cm wobble

desweller

£5 last time I had one done.

cougie

Buy a spoke key and you can fix it in minutes. It's really easy.

Speedmenace

cougie wrote:

Buy a spoke key and you can fix it in minutes. It's really easy.

how do you know what spoke is bent? and what spoke size would i need etc?

LeicesterLad

Speedmenace wrote:

cougie wrote:

Buy a spoke key and you can fix it in minutes. It's really easy.

how do you know what spoke is bent? and what spoke size would i need etc?

Spoke keys are usually pretty standard sizing. I would spin the wheel (without tyre) against the breaks to see where the buckle is unless you have a proper trueing stand, which i imagine you havn't, then you tighten the spokes opposite the buckle, you may need to loosen the other side, or tweak a little further up the wheel...its not a complex science (but my explanation is probably rubbish for a newbie) but if you attack the wrong spoke, you could seriously damage your wheel, i would pratice on an old buckled wheel first (not that many people have these lying around).

In all honesty, better off getting the LBS to do a poper job, costs's less than a tenner round here...

Speedmenace

LeicesterLad wrote:

Speedmenace wrote:

cougie wrote:

Buy a spoke key and you can fix it in minutes. It's really easy.

how do you know what spoke is bent? and what spoke size would i need etc?

Spoke keys are usually pretty standard sizing. I would spin the wheel (without tyre) against the breaks to see where the buckle is unless you have a proper trueing stand, which i imagine you havn't, then you tighten the spokes opposite the buckle, you may need to loosen the other side, or tweak a little further up the wheel...its not a complex science (but my explanation is probably rubbish for a newbie) but if you attack the wrong spoke, you could seriously damage your wheel, i would pratice on an old buckled wheel first (not that many people have these lying around).

In all honesty, better off getting the LBS to do a poper job, costs's less than a tenner round here...

yea it would be worth it if i knew what i was doing, for now i'll just take it to my LBS

is it best to just take the back wheel in or can i ride it there, costs the same right?

LeicesterLad

Speedmenace wrote:

LeicesterLad wrote:

Speedmenace wrote:

cougie wrote:

Buy a spoke key and you can fix it in minutes. It's really easy.

how do you know what spoke is bent? and what spoke size would i need etc?

Spoke keys are usually pretty standard sizing. I would spin the wheel (without tyre) against the breaks to see where the buckle is unless you have a proper trueing stand, which i imagine you havn't, then you tighten the spokes opposite the buckle, you may need to loosen the other side, or tweak a little further up the wheel...its not a complex science (but my explanation is probably rubbish for a newbie) but if you attack the wrong spoke, you could seriously damage your wheel, i would pratice on an old buckled wheel first (not that many people have these lying around).

In all honesty, better off getting the LBS to do a poper job, costs's less than a tenner round here...

yea it would be worth it if i knew what i was doing, for now i'll just take it to my LBS

is it best to just take the back wheel in or can i ride it there, costs the same right?

As long as your brakes are not rubbing as a result of the buckle, and your LBS isnt 30 miles away you may aswell ride it in, it shouldnt damage the wheel any further, and it will save you money, on bus fair

nochekmate

LeicesterLad wrote:

Speedmenace wrote:

LeicesterLad wrote:

Speedmenace wrote:

cougie wrote:

Buy a spoke key and you can fix it in minutes. It's really easy.

how do you know what spoke is bent? and what spoke size would i need etc?

Spoke keys are usually pretty standard sizing. I would spin the wheel (without tyre) against the breaks to see where the buckle is unless you have a proper trueing stand, which i imagine you havn't, then you tighten the spokes opposite the buckle, you may need to loosen the other side, or tweak a little further up the wheel...its not a complex science (but my explanation is probably rubbish for a newbie) but if you attack the wrong spoke, you could seriously damage your wheel, i would pratice on an old buckled wheel first (not that many people have these lying around).

In all honesty, better off getting the LBS to do a poper job, costs's less than a tenner round here...

yea it would be worth it if i knew what i was doing, for now i'll just take it to my LBS

is it best to just take the back wheel in or can i ride it there, costs the same right?

As long as your brakes are not rubbing as a result of the buckle, and your LBS isnt 30 miles away you may aswell ride it in, it shouldnt damage the wheel any further, and it will save you money, on bus fair

You are of course assuming that they will do it for you on the spot (otherwise you may need to catch the bus back!)

Took a front wheel in yesterday to LBS, who did do it on the spot for me (mechanic is a pal) - cost £5

Headhuunter

In London it costs more like £10-15 to true a wheel!

desweller

Headhuunter wrote:

In London it costs more like £10-15 to true a wheel!

Good grief. I think my stand cost less than that to make!

nochekmate

Headhuunter wrote:

In London it costs more like £10-15 to true a wheel!

I thought that all you guys in London just replaced them when they needed straightening anyway!

CiB

This back to my tuning your guitar analogy - DIY, quick, easy, satisfying, cheap.

Truing wheels is a doddle, as long as they're not beyond hope; all you're trying to do is release excess tension that's pulling the rim to one side at a point on the wheel, and replacing that tension on the side that's gone a bit slack. That's how wheels run out of true.

So. Whip your bike over onto the bars & seat.

Spin the wheel and identify where it's bent, using the brakes as a guide. It's easier if you push the brakes across so that the wheel touches where the bend is.

With your spoke key or pliers, reduce the tension of the spoke on the side that the wheel is bent towards, on the spoke that's nearest to the bend. Undo the spoke nipple half a turn.

Check again; if it'll be better but probably not right. Tighten the adjacent spoke (could be either side of the first spoke, and both probably will need adjusting) on the opposite side by half a turn to pull the rim in a bit.

Repeat until correct.

That's all there is to it. Always undo the tight side before tightening the slack side, and don't overdo it or your wheel will become oval. You can check for the pinging sound that spokes make but they don't have to be in perfect pitch for the wheel to be true; pretty close is good though.

And if you have wheels where the spokes could conceivably extend through the rim tape onto the inner tube, remove the tyre, tube & rim tape first, then file down the tops of the protruding spokes when done.

£10 to have a wheel trued? I'll be.

hulla the hulla

CiB wrote:

This back to my tuning your guitar analogy - DIY, quick, easy, satisfying, cheap.

Truing wheels is a doddle, as long as they're not beyond hope; all you're trying to do is release excess tension that's pulling the rim to one side at a point on the wheel, and replacing that tension on the side that's gone a bit slack. That's how wheels run out of true.

So. Whip your bike over onto the bars & seat.

Spin the wheel and identify where it's bent, using the brakes as a guide. It's easier if you push the brakes across so that the wheel touches where the bend is.

With your spoke key or pliers, reduce the tension of the spoke on the side that the wheel is bent towards, on the spoke that's nearest to the bend. Undo the spoke nipple half a turn.

Check again; if it'll be better but probably not right. Tighten the adjacent spoke (could be either side of the first spoke, and both probably will need adjusting) on the opposite side by half a turn to pull the rim in a bit.

Repeat until correct.

That's all there is to it. Always undo the tight side before tightening the slack side, and don't overdo it or your wheel will become oval. You can check for the pinging sound that spokes make but they don't have to be in perfect pitch for the wheel to be true; pretty close is good though.

And if you have wheels where the spokes could conceivably extend through the rim tape onto the inner tube, remove the tyre, tube & rim tape first, then file down the tops of the protruding spokes when done.

£10 to have a wheel trued? I'll be.

What he said ! Plus, if you still can't work it out, it won't go straight or you plain lose patience with the whole thing you can still take it to LBS so you won't have lost anything other than the cost of a spoke key = bugger all. What you can gain is knowledge and that will save you money in the long run and potentially save your ass when 20 miles from home !

Do it ! You know it makes sense !

CiB

Quite. A couple of points; one is that this isn't so much about saving a couple of quid, more that it's rare that you can stroll into your LBS with a bent wheel and stroll out 10 minutes later with it nicely trued. Usually it'll involve a wait; tomorrow, next Tuesday, whatever. That's not good.

The other thing is that I mixed up my description a bit. The tight spoke will be on the side that the rims bends away from; the slacker spokes will be on the side that it bends towards. Stands to reason when you think about it, but in case you decide to follow my description to the letter...

Speedmenace

CiB i wish i had read this before taking it in, when i phoned yesterday he said the prices started from £10.. he probably wasn't aware that it is only a slight buckle. even my lack of skills would have been able to fix it with your easy steps, i never knew you didn't even need to take the wheel off

after handing the bike over i said, i'll be back in a couple hours then, he said it won't be done until friday/saturday, i stood there in disbelieve, so i bought a cycle computer from them to fit as i was in need of one, so not all too bad

next time i'll know what to do