Wheel not truing

madbiker2007

Lubricated the spoke nipples and adjusted them according vids like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcZ1jjB_AdQ

Annoyingly as soon as I straiten one part of the wheel another becomes wonky. Worse still the severity of the side to side movement seems to alter visibly just by spinning the wheel. WTF is going on, are the spoke nipple threads screwed up in such a way the spokes cant maintain their new adjustments?

ugo.santalucia

Are you using a tension gauge? If the tension is excessive, the wheel won't go true

pinarellokid

I'd guess your adjusting it too much, try only turning the spoke key quarter or half a turn exact time, don't crank on it.

madbiker2007

Im not using any gauge. I guess its coz im turning them too much coz the wheel is way out. I was turning the nipples until I could physically see the wheel move back a bit. How important is it to use a gauge?

dgunthor

sounds like you are overtensioning the wheel.

if the wheel is out to the right:
loosen the two RHS spokes 1/4 to 1/8 turn either side of the buckle
tighten the LHS spoke 1/2 to 1/4 turn

small changes at a time

if a wheel is massively out of true it may not be possible to true it - new rim time

madbiker2007

dgunthor wrote:

sounds like you are overtensioning the wheel.

if the wheel is out to the right:
loosen the two RHS spokes 1/4 to 1/8 turn either side of the buckle
tighten the LHS spoke 1/2 to 1/4 turn

small changes at a time

if a wheel is massively out of true it may not be possible to true it - new rim time

DOH!! Only just had the wheel bearings changed too. The wheel moves side to side by about 1-1.5 inches which is making the front brake almost useless. Think I will just replace the thing.

dgunthor

local bike shop should true it for £10/£15 - worth a go before replacing it?

ugo.santalucia

madbiker2007 wrote:

Im not using any gauge. I guess its coz im turning them too much coz the wheel is way out. I was turning the nipples until I could physically see the wheel move back a bit. How important is it to use a gauge?

It is important if you don't know what you are doing... if you build wheels every day, you can even build some easy wheels without one (32-36 spokes 3 cross), although it's always best to use it

Mindermast

Trueing wheels is a matter of patience. Your wheel is probably screwed up right now and therefore it would be best to set all spokes to the same low tension first. Then read some good tutorials about trueing and get it done. Trueing wheels is no rocket science and it doesn't involve witchcraft or sorcery either. But you need to know the basics and take your time. Screwing a bit here and there doesn't work, and even if it happens to work, it won't last long.

Monty Dog

A lateral distortion of 1-1.5" might have resulted in a permanent distortion of the rim - you may have over-tightened the spokes. If you're going to DIY, I'd loosen all the spokes and see if the rim returns to true - if the rim is distorted, I suggest you replace it.