cdry

First thanks for replies on my first post on wheel truing cost.

Follow up to that:
Friend brought mtb wheel to what I believe to a reputble shop for truing.

Shop called today and said wheel is untruable.

The spokes are streched beyond limits and just will not work. They suggest a new wheel.

The wheel has maybe 200 miles.
It is machine built (WTB laserdisc)
(here may lie the problem) It was bought off Ebay in what is believed was a new take off from a giant of some sort.

Does anyone have any input on how this could have happened so quick, or was this just an ebay scam (what I am thinking)

Thanks
Chris

Stealth'd

You might want to ask this in the bike mechanics forum if this goes unanswered for a while! I know nothing of it but some of the older guys might

Psimet2001 

having a hard time trying to figure out what it is that you're asking - with reference to an ebay scam.....what on earth could the scam be? Knowing that we aren't really talking about the transaction but I would assume the auction was for a wheel and that's what the buyer got - a wheel.

As for a wheel being un-truable....yes a wheel can be too far gone for many different reasons. Usually this includes some sort of damage to the rim, spokes or hub. "The spokes are streched beyond limits and just will not work" - hmmm....hard to diagnose without hearing the full conversation. On the surface - if the shop does know what it's doing then it sounds like you brought in a wheel that has a damaged rim from hitting something and that the rim can not be brought back into true without exceeding the spoke's ability to tension.

If this was the case and they were able to still bring it true then the tension imbalance would be so high that it would constantly be causing you issues.

In this case the only solution is a new rim, but for the cost a whole new pre-built wheel is probably the best bet.

Durability is only as long as the rider allows it to be. how old a wheel is or how many miles it has on it says nothing about situations like these. It's like saying - I have a new car. i have only driven it for 3 months and now it won't drive in a straight line. I took it to a shop and they told me I would have to replace the front end. This doesn't seem right. help."...only for everyone to find out that the car has actually been in an accident.

cdry

sorry for the lack of clarity.

Ebay scam refering to someone knowingly selling a faulty item.

Took it to another shop for my friend and mechanic diagnosed it as wheel hop and said it was pretty much gone, but not over streched spokes just messed up on pone side. Only fix was a relace, but cheaper to buy new.

Bicycle Heaven in Geneva for 2nd opinion, slightly different than 1st but still same end result: new wheel