auchencrow

I had an old 27" wheel that was twisted like the Dickens, but not really kinked anywhere, so I started to wonder if it could be salvaged.

I disassembled it, and laid the rim flat it on the landing, cantilevering the most distorted sections out over the top step, and progressively bending it until it was (relatively) flat- within 3/16" as measured on my kitchen table.

After doing this, I could make it lay down flat with a little finger pressure, so I think I can true it in the vertical.

However, when I measured the wheel rim to see how far out-of-round it might be - I noted there was another 3/16" disparity in diameter, North-South vs. East-West.

I have never rebuilt a wheel before, so now I have some questions:

1) Is the out-of-round condition going to prevent me from assembling a good wheel?
2) Can I re-use the old spokes and nipples? (I discarded the few that had been kinked).

I don't want to waste all of my time reassembling it, if it bodes poorly.

Your recommendations please.

Otis

It would be a good learning experiance anyway. Radial truing is the most trying part of wheel building. Getting a rim that is not round, round and keeping the spoke tension even is not easy.

But trying is the best why to learn and get good at it. I would definitely use the old spokes if they are not damaged.

You can also try to "pull" the rim a little rounder laying it a on good rim for reference as you go. You might be able to get it a little closer before you start lacing.

Just go slow building it up. Even tension is the key. Not having that is what makes a bad and unsafe wheel.

auchencrow

Otis -
Thank you for your considered response, though you have provided the one answer I most dreaded:
Instead of saying "No problem - 3/16" is less than the manufacturing tolerance allowed on high-end racing wheels" - or "Faghettaboudit - that wheel is done!" - you have laid down the gauntlet of C&V pride before me, and challenged me to accept a wheel restoration mission that is fraught with peril for a newbie.

-But I thank you for it. You have shown me the path, and even if I don't succeed, it will make me a better person.

auchencrow

Success!

- I took your advice to ensure that the rim was as round as I could get it, and my first wheel build-up was a success - but it did not come easily:
1) Truing this wheel on a bicycle fork was a little more challenging than usual, and there is still a slight rise where the seam weld is located - though I believe this was always present and will be undetectable on the road.
2) The original spokes (300mm) are at least .080" too long for this wheel!
-In fact, most of the spokes had been ground down some and there were grinder witness marks on the spoke nipples inside the rim.
After reassembling everything an re-tensioning the spokes, I had to grind them flush again, because some were protruding too much.
What a PITA. I find it unfathomable that any original manufacturer would have someone grinding spokes on built wheels. (Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction I guess.)

toytech

good job! building a wheel with a less than flat and round rim is a chore, I just built a set of wheels for my BMX 26" cruiser that were pretty tweaked. The trick was to sneak up on the tension while concentrating on keeping it close to true on the stand. When I tried to just evenly rise the tension then true I ended up with a potato chip for a wheel and had to start over. Tension did even out eventually as everything was pulled straight and brought to a high tension level. Was stressful but I saved 100.00 over using rare NOS Araya 7x's instead of used ones.