Originally Posted by
cwedgwood50
Hi,
I'm trying to learn how to repair my own bike but I'm just at the beginning.
The problem I have at present is that the roads round here are in a bad state and my wheels keep getting buckled. Last time I had a spare pair of wheels and just got the guy in the shop to fit them, but 2 weeks later now they are buckled too.
I'm out of spare wheels and new ones look really expensive as well as having to pay to have them fitted each time. So my question is this; I have a buckled rear wheel. There are no cracks or breaks in the metal of the rim. If I get new spokes will it be possible to make a true wheel out of this again? I don't want to fork out for the spokes only to find out the rims cant be reused as I need them custom cut to length. Is there any test I can do on the rims first to make sure they are suitable?
There are several issues here to address. The first is that if your wheels "keep getting buckled" another new set of wheels is not going to solve the problem. You could be choosing a hazardous route, not riding carefully enough - avoiding curbs, potholes, coming out of the saddle over rough spots, etc, not maintaining the wheels regularly (spoke tension, tire pressure) or just using wheels not appropriate for your needs (narrow rims/tires in rough conditions or high rider weight). Whatever the cause, you need to first address your problem in not being able to keep a set of wheels going for a reasonable amount of time - meaning many hundreds, if not thousands of miles.
Secondly, if you need to have new wheels "fitted" to the bike each time then you apparently are not well versed on brake and derailleur adjustment, and perhaps not tire/tube installation. Certainly if you are just realizing that wheels are made up of component parts you are also not familiar with wheel truing. Building the wheel is relatively easy - it is getting it into not only straight but stable condition that is difficult. I don't know what you do for a living but getting two wheels properly completed and mounted at the point you seem to be in your knowledge could involve dozens of hours total
Thirdly, "buckled" does not explain what is wrong with the wheels, but if the rims have bulges or flat spot from impact or are badly bent in one area new spokes are not going to solve the problem. The spokes only function to hold the rim in the correct alignment to the bike - they will not straighten a rim that is itself bent.
Finally, if you still are determined to build from scratch be aware that you are not going to save a lot of money, even using the old hub, and you have not explained why you would need to have spokes custom cut to length, unless the shop you use does that routinely with their own machine and does not charge a premium.
My recommendation is this: After addressing the first point above and understanding what type of wheel you need, consider an online purchase of a decent set of compatible wheels and have a good mechanic or wheel builder properly tension them, or purchase them from a shop that will guarantee them (given proper riding/care). Then study how to maintain the wheels when the spokes need a minor amount of attention.