Bicycle Mechanics - Extremely out of round...

I was just wondering, is it possible to "true" a wheel that is very out of round? Example, if two spokes were disconnected on a rear wheel and it was so out of round that it will not make a complete rotation because it gets hung up on the brakes. Is it really as simple as reconnecting the spokes and truing up the wheel? Is there a point where the rim is bent and can't be fixed? As long as the rim isn't cracked, can it be brought back into round?

Is your wheel not a perfect circle, or is it wobbling from improperly tensioned spokes. Out of round and out of true are two different things. They are both correctable, but yes, there is a point where a rim is so badly out of true or out of round that it cannot be fixed.

What's out of round as opposed to out of true? Is that like if you flat spot a rim or something?

Out of true is when the rim wobbles left and right as it goes around. Out of round is when the wheel makes the bike wobble up and down slightly as it rolls.

I would have to say that it is out of true, not out of round. Is one easier to correct than the other?

It should be fixable as a minor true + two spokes but because I can't see the wheel I can't give you a definative answer. Get thee to a bike shop!

I've been truing and building wheels for about 18 years now. I'm pretty good at getting a damaged wheel back into shape. However, wheels out of round are very difficult to fix. You can get the wheel back to being round again but your spoke tension is all whacked out and will lead to future problems.

There is a point of no return, but if you've got the patience of a saint you can get pretty close.



L8R