cblaster
03-24-09, 09:53 AM
My rear wheel is slightly out of true and I was wondering how out of true it can be before I need to go get it trued at my LBS.
Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - How out of true can your wheels be?
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Guvna
03-24-09, 09:57 AM
Slightly out of true is no big deal. Hard to say when it becomes a big deal-- probably depends on quality of wheel parts. I'd invest in a spoke wrench, find a truing tutorial online and just give it a shot. Not as hard as you'd imagine...
onetwentyeight
03-24-09, 10:23 AM
truing is one of those issues where the longer you ignore it, the worse its going to get and may cause problems down the line. half a centimeter out is the worst Ill let it get on my own wheels before I take care of it.
Sixty Fiver
03-24-09, 10:26 AM
I like perfect wheels and once they have been built and trued they really need to be touched... a 5-10 thousandth tolerance is what makes me happy.
Being out of true indicates that there is a problem with a wheel and if a previously true wheel goes out it means that you should find out why this is.... adjusting a minor problem may save you from having to deal with greater problem and only tales a few minutes if you know what you are doing.
Being out of true indicates that there is a problem with a wheel and if a previously true wheel goes out it means that you should find out why this is.... adjusting a minor problem may save you from having to deal with greater problem and only tales a few minutes if you know what you are doing.
carleton
03-24-09, 10:30 AM
truing is one of those issues where the longer you ignore it, the worse its going to get and may cause problems down the line. half a centimeter out is the worst Ill let it get on my own wheels before I take care of it.
Yeah, wheels don't true themselves.
Regarding truing yourself. Yes, get a book and/or get someone with experience to show you. Wheel truing happens in 2 dimensions: up/down & left/right. 3 dimensions if you consider turning the wheel 90 degrees and up/down becomes in/out.
There's an old joke around bike shops:
Q: How do you drum up business for your service department?
A: Give out free spoke wrenches!
Yeah, wheels don't true themselves.
Regarding truing yourself. Yes, get a book and/or get someone with experience to show you. Wheel truing happens in 2 dimensions: up/down & left/right. 3 dimensions if you consider turning the wheel 90 degrees and up/down becomes in/out.
There's an old joke around bike shops:
Q: How do you drum up business for your service department?
A: Give out free spoke wrenches!
schnee
03-24-09, 10:33 AM
I taco'ed a wheel to nearly 90 degrees on my mountain bike once. I'd call that pretty far out of true.
B:H Pusher
03-24-09, 12:37 PM
^no id call that broken....or a taco.
kyselad
03-24-09, 12:55 PM
If you can see it's out of true fix it now; as others mentioned, this can save a lot of pain down the line.
It's really not that difficult to do with a little guidance. Sheldon's site has good instruction, especially if you read his info both on wheelbuilding and on truing.
It's really not that difficult to do with a little guidance. Sheldon's site has good instruction, especially if you read his info both on wheelbuilding and on truing.