Bicycle Mechanics - ksyrium sl wheel issue?

hi all,

i just purchased a used set on ebay, but noticed that the rims move side to side.
however under load they center and roll true. is this a normal condition or do the spokes need to be tightened. thanks jason..

If your rim moves you need to check spoke tension, tighten them to spec (recommended tension at bottom of article (http://parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=128)), and make sure that the wheel is true. At the top of the article on spoke tension are links for wheel truing and dishing. If you have the right tools (stand, spoke wrenches and tension meter) maintaining a wheel is actually pretty easy.

As for why they look true when you spin them up I would imagine that you're seeing centrifugal force pulling it into shape. Please don't try to ride that wheel.

are the spokes loose, or do the wheel bearings need to be adjusted. I'm betting on the latter. See your LBS if you don't have the mavic adjustment tool (and the knowledge)

are the spokes loose, or do the wheel bearings need to be adjusted. I'm betting on the latter. See your LBS if you don't have the mavic adjustment tool (and the knowledge)

I agree with merlin55 on this one. The bearings are set exactly like you would do the bearing pre-load on a threadless headset. On the NDS of your wheel there should be a disc with six holes in it. This is for the bearing load adjustment. You can do this with the groovy plastic tool that usually comes with Mavic wheelsets, or, lacking that, you can do it with a red handle Park pin spanner. With the wheel on the bike, just crank the disc until you feel it snug-up. Then just back off about 1/16th-1/8th of a turn and you are done. With the wheel removed from the bike, the axle should turn smoothly (with your fingers turning the axle). There will be some small amount of resistance. That's from the grease in the sealed bearings. As long as the axle turns smoothly and without excessive resistance your bearing loading adjustment is correct AND your bearings are good. When the bearings go south they will feel crunchy.

thanks for your replies,

first off i don't think it's the hub bearings that is the problem, what is happening is that the rear rim can be moved to one side and it will stay that way and if i spin the wheel it will just hit the rear brake as if it was out of true. but if i put weight on the saddle i will hear the rim center with a little bit of creak from the spoke hub joint.
then when i lift the back end off the ground and spin the wheel it is true.

i quess by your comments the spokes are loose, wound it be wise to buy the tools and and tension the spokes myself. i do not have a truing stand (i'm a pure noob regarding wheels), but did put bike together piece by piece so i'm not totalling incompetent. hopefully i can go by the numbers given on the park tools sight...

thanks jason..

You might also want to make sure the axle itself is tight. Pull the end cap off the non-driveside of the axle, insert a 10mm hex key where the cap was, insert a 5mm hex key into the driveside end of the axle, and try to tighten them. They should already be quite tight. If so, that's one less thing to worry about :)

They should already be quite tight.

Ouch!!! No need to be "quite tight". Resonably snug will do the job. Breaking these axles is pretty common as a result of people making sure they are "quite tight". That adds nothing to the integrity of the hub. Please, just snug.

As you like it, then :)