Originally Posted by asforme

Wheel truing is something you can do with moderate wrench skills? I was under the impression that it was something better left to the pros. Can you true as well using just the frame and not having having a wheel truing stand?

Originally Posted by cycle_maven

A friend just got a BD cross bike. He brought it to me for initial assembly and for some instruction on general bike mechanics. Everything went together fairly well with the following observations:
1) The front wheel was out of true. Since part of setting up a bike by a competent mechanic is to true, tension and stress relieve the wheels, I found that the spoke tension was too low generally and one spoke was completely unwound. The wheel came up OK after the TT&S.
2) Rear wheel needed tensioning and stress relief. Lateral true was OK, but spokes were too too loose.
3) Both front and rear hubs were way too tight. I re-greased and adjusted them.

These were more than expected from a new-in-box bike. The expected tasks should be:
1) Assemble & adjust fork in headset
2) Blow up tires, put in the wheels
3) Assemble and adjust front brake, adjust rear brake
4) Install chain, adjust derailleurs
5) Safety inspection- make sure all the bolts are tight, everything moves and works right
6) Test ride- adjust seat, adjust stem height, change stem if necessary.

If I had only done the minimum, the front brake would have been rubbing immediately and the wheels would have gone out of true or broken spokes way prematurely. That's what a bike shop should be doing, and what Bikes Direct doesn't.