Mountain Biking - Truing a Tacoed wheel?

Hey, my friend just recently tacoed the crap out of his rear wheel. I'm sitting here trying to figure out how to fix it with my spoke wrench.

Any advice?

You'll probably need to unlace the whole thing to make this happen. Trust me, it works - - I've done it before, but it's not a pretty process. Once you have the rim free, place it in your vice. clamp it with a rag (or with copper 'soft jaws' if you have them) if you need to protect the braking surface. If you have discs, you're in luck; you can be as abusive as you need to. Work around it in the vice reefing on it until you get it more or less straightened out. Then relace it and true it. You might have to go through a couple or three true-and-ride sessions before it behaves nicely, but you can do it.

I salvaged a badly mangled rim that my son trashed and it today resides on the rear of my "bike that schwag built" hardtail.

heh. I've never unlaced a wheel, nor do I have a vice.

nor do I have a vice.

Arrogance comes to mind...


Or did you mean "vise"?

heh. I've never unlaced a wheel, nor do I have a vice.Lacing wheels isn't the black art that it's made out to be. The best help is to have another intact wheel laced in the same pattern to use as a reference. HOWEVER, you can achieve similar results if you just loosen up all the nipples as far out as you can without it all falling apart. Then you can reef on it. If you don't have a vise or access to one it'll be a little tougher, but there are ways around that too. Any two immovable parallel surfaces that are a little over an inch apart will do. Maybe even a door and door jamb where you've put a wedge uder the door? Use your imagination.

Good night - - I said 'vice' too. And to think I'm an editor for a living. Scary . . .:eek:

No, just loosen all the spokes until the spokes have all the tension relieved. Now put the wheel on a hard floor and stand on the high sides.. jump on it until it becomes pretty straight, then retension the spokes and true the wheel. It will never be perfect, but ridable for a while. I've saved several tacoed wheels headed for the trash this way, to the amazement of the owner.

Arrogance comes to mind...


Or did you mean "vise"?


i don't get it. vice is the correct word as well.

Well, you can try to fix it, but once a rim is tacoed, it's pretty much trashed. Aluminum doesn't do too well getting bent and then straightened out again. It really weakens the metal. In tech terms; it has a very low modulas of elasticity. Meaning it doesn't "bouce back" the way steel or titanium does.

If you do fix it, it probably will be much weaker and won't last.

Try it though. You'll learn a lot on how to true a wheel on a wheel that is already trash, so it's good practice.

Try it though. You'll learn a lot on how to true a wheel on a wheel that is already trash, so it's good practice.That's probably one of the most valuable things to come out of it all. Besides, it's always worth a shot because the only thing ever lost in a situation like that is a little bit of time.

BTW, not all aluminum weakens in the traditional sense when bent back. Some alloys actually work-harden (I imagine even in complex extrusions like rims). Of course, along with work-hardening comes a certain brittleness, which would make it more susceptible to breaking from a sharp blow. But the worst that can happen is that it'll re-taco if it got really slammed again.

i don't get it. vice is the correct word as well.

Source?

Well, you can try to fix it, but once a rim is tacoed, it's pretty much trashed. Aluminum doesn't do too well getting bent and then straightened out again. It really weakens the metal. In tech terms; it has a very low modulas of elasticity. Meaning it doesn't "bouce back" the way steel or titanium does.

If you do fix it, it probably will be much weaker and won't last.

Try it though. You'll learn a lot on how to true a wheel on a wheel that is already trash, so it's good practice.

hey if youre going to get technical thats modulUs of elasticity, which is a measure of stiffness. And if I remember correctly, a high modulus of elasticity = high stiffness.

i don't get it. vice is the correct word as well.

Source?
My source is my well-worn Webster's New Collegiate, which says that the two-jaws-with-a-crank-handle vise is v-i-s-e.

ehehm cough cough**cough bike mecanics section cough* cough 8***

i don't get it. vice is the correct word as well.

Methinks that just because two words are spelled the same it does not mean they have the same meaning. ;)

If it's tacoed, it's done. Buy a new wheel or rim. Lacing wheels are fun but time consuming.

vise also vice n.
A clamping device, usually consisting of two jaws closed or opened by a screw or lever, used in carpentry or metalworking to hold a piece in position.
Both are used.

I think that those of you who are saying vise is correct are those that would say that color is correct too. In the UK the words are VICE and COLOUR.

I think that those of you who are saying vise is correct are those that would say that color is correct too. In the UK the words are VICE and COLOUR.
Same here in Canada. ;)

I gave up on the wheel. I tried it all, it's toast.

Same here in Canada. ;)

No, not in Canada: link (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style_(spelling))

And the American Heritage Dictionary (which shows vice as an alternate spelling for the tool) is crap, in my opinion. The two words have completely separate etymologies. I will stick with Webster's and the OED, neither of which mentions an alternate spelling.

My original intent was not to make this a spelling debate, however. I apologise.

No, not in Canada: link

And the American Heritage Dictionary (which shows vice as an alternate spelling for the tool) is crap, in my opinion. The two words have completely separate etymologies. I will stick with Webster's and the OED, neither of which mentions an alternate spelling.

My original intent was not to make this a spelling debate, however. I apologise.
I got owned! ;)

I got owned! ;)
Indeed! :eek: :D

I think that those of you who are saying vise is correct are those that would say that color is correct too. In the UK the words are VICE and COLOUR.

Sure enough, my english woodworking book uses "vice" as in a bench vice, but they also call a clamp.. a cramp.

sounds more like you got yourself an engrish dictionary.

I've never built or laced a wheel, but my buddy was telling me about this trick the other day. If you have to unlace the wheel to get the rim off, take a bunch of twist ties and wrap them around the spots where the spokes cross. That way you preserve the pattern for when it comes time to relace the rim back on. Not sure if this works or if he was just yanking my chain, but it seems like theoretically it could.

With enough zip-ties, it could work. I've always laced from scratch and found out later I was doing it the hard way. I learned the following tip from Devin, one of Bicycle Butler's (Spokane) young mechanics - - that works in a situation where you have your new rim ready to go (and you can reuse the spokes):

Zip-tie the new rim to the side of the old one in at least three places with the valve stem holes lined up. then just undo each spoke and move it over into the new rim's holes. No guesswork and so slick I wondered why an inherently lazy person like me didn't think of it :D.