Buckled wheel, LBS to get it trued?

Marion78
Marion78 Posts: 12
edited September 2009 in Road beginners
Hi

I have just got my first buckled wheel as I had a minor fall the other day, and must have landed strongly sideways on the wheel. Luckily I'm all ok, but my wheel seems to be buckled and it is actually touching the brake pad at one point. So I'm currently unable to ride the bike. I was able to get home and ride on it for a while, but it seems to be when you are off the bike or pushing it along that the wheel is buckled and touching the pad. I'm not handy with mechanical things like this, so would it be wise to take it to a local bike shop? Or is it something I will pay a big price for? How much would I expect to pay?

Marion

Comments

  • bobtbuilder
    bobtbuilder Posts: 1,537
    Hi Marion,

    LBS around my way will charge £20 or so to true your wheel for you, if no new spokes are required (e.g. none are snapped). There are no parts required, so it's essentially a charge for half an hour of their mechanic's time.

    I'm not mechanically gifted either, so I would take it to the LBS.

    Check it in the shop after it's been done, just to make sure you're happy with their work.
  • Marion78
    Marion78 Posts: 12
    bobtbuilder wrote:
    Hi Marion,

    LBS around my way will charge £20 or so to true your wheel for you, if no new spokes are required (e.g. none are snapped). There are no parts required, so it's essentially a charge for half an hour of their mechanic's time.

    I'm not mechanically gifted either, so I would take it to the LBS.

    Check it in the shop after it's been done, just to make sure you're happy with their work.

    Hey Bob. I don't think there are any broken spokes so I'm hoping it doesn't require major work. I thought it might be about £20 but I will have to try and find a local LBS as I moved into the area and don't really know one that is fairly priced.

    Thx, Marion
  • sicknote
    sicknote Posts: 901
    My local LBS did my back wheel for £10 a few days ago but did say it needs a new rim which I did know.
  • bobtbuilder
    bobtbuilder Posts: 1,537
    I will have to try and find a local LBS as I moved into the area and don't really know one that is fairly priced

    Find some on Yell.co.uk and ring around. Sound like you know what you need done, and ask for a quote. £20 should really be the max you need to pay based upon 30 mins mechanic time.
  • huuregeil
    huuregeil Posts: 780
    It depends a little on how long your rides are and how independent you want to be, but I think it's worth trying to true a wheel yourself. Not only do you save yourself some cash, but imagine if you had a prang some miles from home and the wheel was unrideable...

    It's simple to do, just requires a bit of patience, and it's very satisfying when you get it done. I'm sure there must be some guides on the internet/youtube, or find a friendly cyclist with the necessary skills to show you how. And it's something that gets easier to do the more you do it, so take the pain now and you'll have a skill for life!
  • Pokerface
    Pokerface Posts: 7,960
    My LBS will do a simple true for £5. £10 at a push.
  • Marion78
    Marion78 Posts: 12
    edited September 2009
    Thx for all the comments. I will take a look at some guides and see what it takes to do it yourself, and maybe I can practice on some old wheels and bikes I have locked away in the shed.

    Considering I have a road bike, is it wise to go to a LBS that specializes in road bikes? Or is a general bike store which has MTB, hybrid, etc going to be appropiate? I just have very few road orientated LBS near me, and they seem to have weeks on their waiting lists.
  • balthazar
    balthazar Posts: 1,565
    If it is only just touching the brake pads then it is a minor buckle which will almost certainly be fixed cheaply by your lbs. There is the possibility that the rim has actually been bent by an impact with something immoveable– if that is the case then it is a trickier repair and may necessitate a replacement rim. This is, I stress, unlikely though.

    Though I usually encourage anybody to have a go at building wheels, I don't recommend that you try to true the wheel yourself. It is easy to make the problem worse, or make the wheel unreliable. The best way to learn to build and true wheels is to start from first principles with new components, in my judgement.
  • bobtbuilder
    bobtbuilder Posts: 1,537
    Considering I have a road bike, is it wise to go to a LBS that specializes in road bikes? Or is a general bike store which has MTB, hybrid, etc going to be appropiate?

    It doesn't matter which type of shop you go to. All that counts is that the mechanic takes the time to do it properly.
  • on the road
    on the road Posts: 5,631
    They usually say that if the buckle is more than half an inch then it can't be re-trued.
  • bazzer2
    bazzer2 Posts: 189
    Worth also mentioning that the shop will like you more if you can take the tyre, tube and tape off when you take it in to get trued. Saves time and faffing about. :)
  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    I'd definitely try it myself first. I cant remember the last time i'd buckled a wheel so bad it needed replacing.

    You should still be able to ride the bike if you have to - braking may be a bit dodgy - but if you loosen off the brake slightly at the adjuster - you should have enough space to clear the buckle.

    http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=81
    Is pretty thorough.
    Get a spoke tool. Either the specific one you need or the multi one that has slots on for all the different nipple sizes. If you get the multi one - dab some liquid paper on the relevant slot so you can easily work out which slot it is later on.
    This one covers just about all eventualities : http://www.cyclesportsuk.co.uk/product_ ... ts_id=6519

    Turn the bike upside down. Now with the brakes centred spin the wheel. If the buckle doesnt touch the brake blocks, adjust tension on the cable til it does.
    When the wheel sticks - adjust the spoke at the buckle - I cant remember if its clockwise or anti, but you can tell as it should bring it back into true a bit. Just give it half a turn.
    Then adjust the spokes either side - the opposite way = just a half a turn or quarter turn. The wheel should go past the brake block now.

    Tighten the brakes up again and spin until the wheel hits the buckle again - or the wheel isnt noticably buckled. The key to it is small steps. Just half a turn. You can feel if you're making it better or worse with the resistance on the brake block. This should take about 2 mins or so, unless its a majorly bad buckle.

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