wheel truing

swod1

I've noticed after a ride home from work last night my rear wheel isnt straight.

the buckle in the wheel is noticeble when i spin the wheel.

I was planning to take this to the local bike shop to fix but would like to have a go myself at this.

Is it as straight forward as adjusting the spokes around where the wheel is out to pull the rim back straight ?

I dont think the rim is bent, a few spokes around the affected part of the wheel feel not loose but untensioned.

*AJ*

Have a search on youtube there will be videos on there....

It is fairly easy depending on how bad the buckle is, but you can also make a very bad job of it.

Basic idea is to tension the spokes which go to the flange on the opposite side of the hub.
If the buckle is to the left, tweek the spokes that go to the right side of the hub, do it over 2 or 3 spokes distance using small tweeks, rather than just tightening one spoke quite a lot.

swod1

*AJ* wrote:

Have a search on youtube there will be videos on there....

It is fairly easy depending on how bad the buckle is, but you can also make a very bad job of it.

Basic idea is to tension the spokes which go to the flange on the opposite side of the hub.
If the buckle is to the left, tweek the spokes that go to the right side of the hub, do it over 2 or 3 spokes distance using small tweeks, rather than just tightening one spoke quite a lot.

It looks quite bad because the tyre is still on, once I've taken it off I will see how bad it is.

The wheel does go to the left, do you mean tighten the spokes which go to the right on the left hand side of the hub ?

The Rookie

Tighten the spokes on the opposite side to pull the rim back across, so if the buckle has moved the rim to the left of where it should be (disc side) tighten the spokes going to the drive side of the hub. Obvious if you think about it.

swod1

The Beginner wrote:

Tighten the spokes on the opposite side to pull the rim back across, so if the buckle has moved the rim to the left of where it should be (disc side) tighten the spokes going to the drive side of the hub. Obvious if you think about it.

The wheel is drifting off to the left when you spin it, the tyre being on the rim still makes it look worse then it probably is.

I start at the part drifting to the left and re tension the right hand hub spokes as i understand it ?

I dont have a wheel truing stand, so I will have to use the rear of the bike some how to do it.

thanks for the post and other people who have advised so far.

The Rookie

Remove the tyre and bluetack a ruler across the rear stays to guide you in centralising the rim using the frame as a jig - simples!

swod1

The Beginner wrote:

Remove the tyre and bluetack a ruler across the rear stays to guide you in centralising the rim using the frame as a jig - simples!

I was thinking about doing that, i have viewed videos on youtube and checking the wheel the spokes feel pretty tight already.

So am i ok to start at the buckled part and tighten the right side spokes, a little turn to each spoke going round the wheel to pull the rim back across and then asess the the wheel from then on ?

*AJ*

swod1 wrote:

The Beginner wrote:

Remove the tyre and bluetack a ruler across the rear stays to guide you in centralising the rim using the frame as a jig - simples!

I was thinking about doing that, i have viewed videos on youtube and checking the wheel the spokes feel pretty tight already.

So am i ok to start at the buckled part and tighten the right side spokes, a little turn to each spoke going round the wheel to pull the rim back across and then asess the the wheel from then on ?

yes, but don't tighten all of them on the wheel.... just the ones around the buckled area.

If you go around the whole wheel, you'll pull the rim across to the right totally (so it won't sit central in the frame) and still have a buckle in it.

Chunkers1980

To learn on a set of wheels you actually use or are any good is a bit mad.

Practice on cheap/second hand/wheels you don't need, first. A little bit of knowledge is quite dangerous.

cooldad

This ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

swod1

An update to this, taking the tyre off and looking the wheel over, its new wheel time i'm afraid.

where the buckled part of the wheel is around the outside edge, i can see some cracks around the spoke nipples in the wheel rim.

so not fix able, i'm just going to have to get a new wheel.

*AJ*

Why not have a go anyway?!.... If the wheel is dead, what's to lose? At least you can keep it as a spare then, should you ever need such a thing!

swod1

*AJ* wrote:

Why not have a go anyway?!.... If the wheel is dead, what's to lose? At least you can keep it as a spare then, should you ever need such a thing!

i have had a go on the wheel with it being now dead and got the wheel quite straight but was clear to see there was a bend in the rim which i guess has caused the damage around a few spokes.

i wonder if the wheel bent other night because its already been trued at a bike shop and some spokes have been replaced which maybe weakened the wheel further ?

The Rookie

More likley they overtensioned the spokes which is why they then started to pull through, due to the loss of tension as they did so the wheel went out of true, unless it is egged the spokes pulling through should now be at a lower tension.....