Bicycle Mechanics - true

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View Full Version : true


awall34
03-10-10, 09:53 AM
is there any way i can make my wheel true without taking it to a shop
i have 27" a wolber aluminum rim that is slighlty off


joejack951
03-10-10, 09:58 AM
Seriously?

Ingleside
03-10-10, 10:03 AM
Sure, get a spoke wrench and true it.


jsharr
03-10-10, 10:06 AM
go here and read about it a bit

http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=81

nymtber
03-10-10, 10:28 AM
go here and read about it a bit

http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=81

Agreed. You can fasten a zip-tie to your fork or use your brake pads for truing a wheel. My younger brother did that when we were younger (brake pads) and made his wheel straighter and it no longer rubbed the brake pads. Just get a proper sized spoke wrench (or like me, buy a Park 3-sided spoke wrench, it works fine) DONT buy the cheaper multi-size spoke wrenches, as they are soft and deform easily, or worse, round the nipple. A good spoke wrench is worth its weight in gold, IMO.

Truing wheels isnt all that hard. Getting them super good takes a lot of time and patience, but just getting them where they need to be to ride safely is pretty easy once you try it :)

operator
03-10-10, 11:52 AM
Agreed. You can fasten a zip-tie to your fork or use your brake pads for truing a wheel. My younger brother did that when we were younger (brake pads) and made his wheel straighter and it no longer rubbed the brake pads. Just get a proper sized spoke wrench (or like me, buy a Park 3-sided spoke wrench, it works fine) DONT buy the cheaper multi-size spoke wrenches, as they are soft and deform easily, or worse, round the nipple. A good spoke wrench is worth its weight in gold, IMO.

Truing wheels isnt all that hard. Getting them super good takes a lot of time and patience, but just getting them where they need to be to ride safely is pretty easy once you try it :)

For riding purposes yes. But there is more to wheel truing than just rideable lateral true. The zip-tie to the fork method is an awesome low cost diy hack truing stand though. Love it.

rumrunn6
03-10-10, 12:20 PM
lay it on it's side and push down real hard on one side. that should taco the wheel giving you no choice but to GET PROFESSIONAL HELP!

:) :) :)

Panthers007
03-10-10, 12:49 PM
You really should get help - or start learning about how to properly true a wheel. You don't just start turning a spoke here, and one over there, and hoping it comes out right. It won't. And in a worst-case scenario, your wheel could have a catastrophic failure while doing 30mph on a downhill.

There was an unscrupulous bike-shop in my old town. The owner gave everyone who came in a cheap spoke-wrench. His return business was excellent.

ultraman6970
03-10-10, 02:43 PM
There was an unscrupulous bike-shop in my old town. The owner gave everyone who came in a cheap spoke-wrench. His return business was excellent.

I bet it was hehehe... true a wheel isnt hard the hard part is do it right :)

wmodavis
03-10-10, 03:01 PM
My explanation of the difference between hard and easy is - HARD is when you don't know how to do it and EASY is what when you know how. Wheel truing is hard. Wheel truing is easy. Learn how using one of the many excellent free resources like the Park site or Sheldon Brown, or http://www.wheelpro.co.uk/wheelbuilding/book.php. Try it, you'll like it. It is a rewarding, satisfying skill to build. And it will help keep your wheels straight and round and long lasting.

mrrabbit
03-10-10, 07:31 PM
Would it really kill you to have a shop do it for you for 12-16 bucks? Not living on Cup-O-Noodles are you?

=8-)

Kimmo
03-10-10, 07:54 PM
Would it really kill you to have a shop do it for you for 12-16 bucks? Pff, I'd rather learn to fish.

You really should get help - or start learning about how to properly true a wheel. You don't just start turning a spoke here, and one over there, and hoping it comes out right. It won't.
If the wheel is close enough to round, lateral truing is pretty easy; you just swap tension from one side to the other.

If it isn't very round, then you're getting in the deep end.

operator
03-10-10, 08:31 PM
Pff, I'd rather learn to fish.


Do you want to fish properly or with explosives?

mrrabbit
03-10-10, 09:23 PM
Do you want to fish properly or with explosives?


...that's my Operator!

:roflmao2:





=8-)

Dan Burkhart
03-11-10, 01:26 PM
Do you want to fish properly or with explosives?
Wait, I thought explosives was the proper way. It gets results anyway.

davidad
03-11-10, 08:13 PM
Do you want to fish properly or with explosives?
TNT catches more fish!

Kimmo
03-11-10, 08:18 PM
Never mind operator; he just wants to preserve the hallowed mystique of his profession.

It ain't rocket surgery.

simplify
03-11-10, 08:59 PM
^^agree. And if the OP is patient and reads the instructions referenced above, he'll learn a lot from this. Always good to know how to true a wheel. If you're out on the road somewhere and break a spoke, knowing how to true the wheel well enough to keep it ridable can be the difference between getting home or not.

operator
03-11-10, 09:01 PM
We just got trolled dudes, ****.