Trueing A Wheel Without a Stand?
 

Is this possible? MY rear wheel is out of true and is hitting the pads slightly. Can I not just flip it over and adjust the spokes without thaking the wheel off?

Yes, you can use the brake pads themselves as indicators.

It's possible. Here's a video I made a while back demonstrating the process I used to replace a broken spoke and true the wheel without a truing stand. You can use your brake pads or zip ties as well...

Sure, but if your bike has handlebar-mounted shift levers, be careful not to let debris get in the shifter mechanism.

A repair stand is a useful investment to prevent this type of damage, keep the saddle from getting torn up, etc.

Are the brake tracks parallel?
IF not, you can really screw things up by tightening spokes on one side and then the same place on the other side because the rim is "wallowed out".
You can end up with a serious hop and great befuddlement. BTDT.

I'd suggest taking off the tire and checking the rim first.
You can use an adjustable wrench as a gauge and run it around the rim looking for "wonky" spots. Overly wide or narrow or wide on 1 side only.
You can mark the inside of the rim with a felt tip marker or similar to point out "kinks" etc.

Seeing the forest first is most useful I have discovered.
Knowing when NOT to turn a nipple is more useful.

A skilled wrench should be able to do a field repair like this (truing a wheel on the bike) in the event a fellow rider hits a pothole or otherwise has a problem.

My suggestion - for lateral truing of a wheel that has a side to side wobble - work in groups of 4 spokes, with 2 going to one hub flange and 2 to the other. Tighten the 2 spokes that will pull the rim back into line - and loosen the other two. Use thee brake blocks for reference. Don't get carried away ! A half turn per spoke should do it.

this technique is not a substitute for real wheel truing ! It is just to get you home. Skilled wheelbuilders can evaluate the overall tension in a wheel and either true, or detension / retension / or rebuild accordingly.

The objective is to get the rim perfectly round, laterally true, and properly dished (centered between the dropouts) with all spokes closely grouped within the desired tension range (usually between 65 and 90 Kgf).

Mark Petry
Bainbridge Island, WA USA

Thanks! Maybe I ought to just take it to LBS? What should it cost if I bring the wheel in?

Sure. Use the brake pads as guides.
If you have a workroom with rafters, you could rig up a way to hang it from the ceiling. Might come in handy for other needs.

Sorry, the Local Cost Prediction Service is currently offline.

$50.

Plus/minus $40.

I didn't ask for a local prediction. I was just looking for a general ballpark. Pretty simple question, really.

Call a local shop. They may not give an estimate without knowing how bad it is.
It's a good thing to learn for yourself.
Many instructional videos online.

Not really. Why is the wheel wobbly? We can't see it to tell.

If all it takes is to adjust a couple of spokes, that's one thing. If they like you it could even be a gimme.
If the rim is bent badly enough to need replacement, that's another matter entirely.

Does it occur to you it can vary greatly, depending WHERE you live?
A factor you don't supply in your info!
Without seeing the wheel to have a CLUE what's wrong with it or a PICTURE, and your vagueness, what do you expect?
What a child!
ignore list

Instead of flipping the bike over, put it in a stand or hang it by its seat from a rope. I've been using a rope with a bowline loop tied in it as a bike stand for many years. Tie a second rope around the stem if I need the bike steadier. (See any book on sailing knots for instructions on how to tie a bowline. One of the most useful knots there is.)

One advantage of hanging the bike instead of flipping it is that it puts the brake calipers at eye height. A real benefit for wheel truing work.

Ben

This man knows his stuff. I leave the zip tie on my beater, and just spin it around when I need it.

Je ne parle pas Mavic® combe bien du en Euros?...

What kind of bike do you have? If it's a bike with a drop bar handlebar and old school non-aero brake levers it's NOT a good idea to flip it over to work on it. That's because the brake cables and brake cable housing can get bend and seriously lessen braking ability. I like to get the rear wheel of the ground with the bike upright. If you don't have a work-stand and you want to do this inside you can put a broom handle across the backs of two chairs and suspend the bike either by the saddle or by putting the handle through the frame if it's a men's frame bike. I have a low stool I sit on to work on the wheel. Another advantage of this is that the turning direction of the spokes doesn't change.

If you have a basement with exposed rafter it's simple to hang the bike up to work on it. My apartment has what looks like a cinder block ceiling. I drilled two holes into it and installed two swag lamp/flower pot hooks. The are about 30" apart inline with each other. I put a 1/4" cord on one hook and have a large loop in the opposite end. that loop fits over the nose or rear of my saddle. Another longer 1/4" cord is looped over the other hook. That cord has a loop at either end and those loops fit over either side of the handle bar on my bike. Thus the bicycle is suspended at a great working height and is pretty steady. The cord at the front ending one each side of the handlebar keeps the handlebar and wheel from flopping about.

I adjust the brake caliper until a pad is just rubbing on a part of the rim and then use that pad as a guide to adjust the trueness of the wheel.

I've even true a wheel by hanging the back end from a tree.

Good luck.

Cheers

Thanks for the great advice! I guess it's hard to diagnose this problem online without pictures. It's a lateral wobble. Not much but just enough to kiss each brake pad for...I dunno...a tenth of a second? There's is no wobbling up and down when I'm on the Bike. It's a 2016 specialized Sierra sport. Non disc brakes.

I don't think it was ridden much. The black paint o. The frame and spokes(?) Is pretty thin so if he was taking it on trails of any kind it would probably be pretty obvious. I think it was a bike purchased and barely ridden. There were cobwebs hanging from the rims.

Without a quote in a post it's hard to know who the reply is to.

Just be aware that tightening some spokes means you have to loosen some others. Just tightening spokes to move the rim away from a brake pad might just induce the vertical hop you don't have now. Also, on a rear wheel, because of the dish, it doesn't take as much on the drive side to effect a change as it does on the non-drive side.

The dreaded words bicycle mechanics cringe at upon hearing them are, "Can you true my wheel? I tried to but it didn't work." Many times with wheels a customer tried to true we had to back off all tension on all spokes until everything was loose just like when the wheel was first laced up. then we'd true the wheel as if it were a newly built wheel.

Cheers