Wheel Truing
 

Inquiring minds want to know. Do you true your own wheels?

It's not hard; just requires a spoke wrench and some patience.

Well, since I'm the one who builds them, yes.

Lol..I suppose it would be depressing if you didn't...

As a clyde, I've found that building and truing wheels is a valuable skill to have. I haven't had a shop touch my wheels in over a year, and I am currently riding on a set that I built myself. :D

I have a spoke wrench, and had no problem using it back in my BMX days, but with the cost of a decent set of road wheels? I let the LBS do it.

Not really- they stay true between when I build them, crash them, and replace the rims.

Mine don't really come out of true. It's happened two or three times in the past year. I bring them into LBS and get them fixed when this happens.

I have a bike because I like to ride it, not because I want to do mechanic work in my free time.

Nothing more satisfying (and thrilling) than bombing down a twisty descent and occasionally exceeding 50 on wheels you built and trued yourself. It's like shaking hands with the magic genie.

I selected the first option, but I'm not averse to having the LBS do it, if the bike is in for other work (which is pretty rare).

This should have been a poll choice.

edit: Better yet, there should be a "I built them myself, so they never go out of true" option :D

Is that what the kids are calling it these days?

I'm able to spend more time riding my bike because I can do simple things like truing the wheels instead of having to take it to the LBS everytime it needs work.

just saying

Spending less time and hassle on them is exactly why you want to deal with your own wheels.

I can tension and true a wheel in less time than I can make two round trips for drop-off and pickup to an LBS and after doing so won't need to repeat the process 2-3 times a year.

I've had one front wheel I built go out of true once (due to a a bent rim) in the last ~15 years (I learned that after you grow to 200 pounds you can't expect a 400 gram rim to hold up).

I've had to deal with a rear wheel I built twice in the last ~15 years (due to bent rims) - once after crashing following a spontaneous front down shift after I wore out my big ring, and once before that when I put a flat spot on my 400 gram rear rim (box section rims that light aren't a good idea for lighter riders either).

I also broke a spoke on a front built by some one else which didn't take a couple minutes to fix.

16K on mine and never needed to be trued.

Not a skill set that I have any interest in learning.

I find it's a valuable skill to have.

Though if the wheel is at the LBS for some sort of bearing/hub work, I'll probably just have them do a quick one if needs be.

first set of wheels i rebuilt i made the assumption that tension should be as high as possible because lots of force is put on the spokes. i got it tight as **** and true, thought "nice." leaned them against the wall and went to watch TV, after about 15 minutes i start hearing PING... PING PING. i went to look and saw a spoke hanging out of the ceiling, that **** was exploding. felt like i was diffusing a bomb when i started lowering tension.

I build my own then I know what to do, it is a great skill to learn.

I know virtually nothing about bike mechanics. About the only thing I could do now would be changing a flat and even that's not a given.

I would eff that up to a faretheewell. :lol:

I also build and ride my own wheels. Gives me much more time on my bikes than dealing with bike shop service.

I am also the mechanic for many of the guys in my regular group. This keeps me in beer year round.

If it's just a little thing, ok. But so many people have messed up their wheel by trying to on their own. It's not just tightening one side.

Mine have needed true twice in a little more than a year. I stopped into the bike shop for five or ten minutes to have it done; the bike shop is 1/3 mile from my favorite park, which I ride through on the way out to many of my rides. I'm not sure how much less time I could possibly spend on this.

My reply was a bit snarky because the poll itself is a bit snarky. It implies that anyone who has LBS do this doesn't know what a true wheel is.

Something's wrong with this situation. Not sure if you can replace a flat tube, but you've somehow made the time to get 1100 posts in on BF? That's got to be setting a new standard of BF devotion. :thumb:

-Jeremy