bhurwitz123

I heard u have to tune the spokes and lube the chain often. How do I do that and what do I use to lube the chain?

Gordiep

This has been covered extensively in the Bicycle Mechanics forum. Do some searching in there, especially about lubing the chain.

...but I'll tell you right now that if you don't know how to lube your chain, then you shouldn't go anywhere near your spokes.

hiredgoons

+1

You don't really need to touch the spokes unless the wheel is out of true anyway, which you'll probably notice. Just take it to a bike shop if that happens.

carleton

Here's an old bike shop joke:

Q: How do you drum up business for your service department?

A: Give away free spoke wrenches!




Truing your wheels is like giving yourself a haircut. Without a doubt, you will screw it up the first few times till you learn how to do it right...and you WILL have to take it to a pro to fix your screw ups.

the pope

forget those goofballs! they work in bike shops and want your bidness. get yourself an adjustable wrench and spin them spokes as tight as you can. busting a bunch means your doing it right. there's plenty and that's why there's extra.

dutret

or you can just be careful and go slow the first time.

chunts

tune the spokes? you'll need a tuning fork.

operator

lol

andre nickatina

I tried to true an out of true front wheel, crappy build. Thought I could learn on the interwebz. When I got out to ride it, I heard a "pop pop POP!" noise and looked down, my **** was practically taco'd.

Fortunately it's not the same with chain cleaning / lubing, just don't lose your index finger over it. Buy a chain tool, take the chain off, soak it in cleaner to get all the dirt / grime out, dry and put back on bike. Move the pedals and squirt lube into the chain in the cog / chainring areas.

langster 2008

sounds like how i lost my virginity.
(it took me 4 hours to true my first wheel, very frustrating but rewarding)

Gordiep

I've heard that Park is coming out with a combination truing stand/blow-up-doll for just these sorts of situations.

doofo

this sounds like how i lost my virginity

andre nickatina

L
O
L
!

In Absentia

Agreed. I read a couple of web pages with instructions and trued two wheels with no problems my first time. I jut paid careful attention to what I was doing and took my time with it.

Aeroplane

True, I cut my own hair a couple times.

mattface 

Truing a wheel would only be like cutting your own hair if you had to do it in a mirror. Also since you are not permanently removing anything any damage done can be undone unlike with hair cutting.

If you know what you are doing it's not rocket science. I've helped numerous people learn to true their first wheel at the bike coop, and they all did fine. The key is making sure they know which way is tighter and which way is looser, and that they know to balance their adjustments. that is to loosen the adjacent spoke or spokes an equal amount to how much they tighten.

In other words if the blip falls directly on a spoke loosen the two adjacent spokes half as much each as the amount you tightened the center spoke. if it falls between 2 spokes, loosen one and tighten the other equal amounts. BAsically subtract tension in equal amounts to adding it. If you keep the tension even, and work slowly in small increments things won't get too out of hand. The only time truing a wheel is difficult is if the rim is actually damaged from a serious impact, then it can be very hard to get it to straighten out with normal truing.

skinnyland

I have a c# tuning fork that I bang against my spokes, and then I listen really carefully. Doesn't work with music on in the background.
As for lubing my chain, well... That's personal.

9Rings

What's the difference between a bad haircut and a good haircat?



About two weeks...

9Rings

Don't forget to apply liberal amounts of grease to the rim braking surfaces if you want to go wicked fast.

caloso

Ask Jessica.

carleton

That was awesome.

Jessica has a knack for straightening all sorts of things.

Gordiep

Here's a link to a video about lubing the chain. I just skimmed through it, but it seems pretty thorough and should answer some questions...

It has an unfortunate PBS-ey quality to it, and the guy is caring for a geared bike, but you should get the idea.

Chain Maintenance

--EDIT: Unfortunately for us, Jessica Alba doesn't make a cameo in this video.

mattface 

That doesn't count. She was genetically modified to be able to true a badly out of true wheel in 4 seconds. Think of the military implications of that! An army of super soldiers able to re-true their wheels and get back on the bike in the time it takes most normal soldiers to clip in!!!