Wheel out of true.

[tuba_transport]

I am pretty handy with tools and bike work. Tonight my wheel got knocked out of true and am trying to decide whether to buy the truing stand or have a shop do a quick number on it. I have most of the tools needed to fully tear down a bike and build it up from scratch. Just never bought a truing stand before.

Is it cost effective to buy the stand or should I just take it to a shop? Either way, who/what do you recommend? I am in the Falls Church area. Thinkin maybe Bike Lane.

[piperj]

I finally got brave enough to try truing a wheel on my own, and it wasn't too bad. The nice thing for me was that I was able to borrow a nice Park stand from a friend. I think Spin Doctor makes a less expensive stand, but have never tried it.

In the end, I guess it depends on how often you think you'll be using the stand. It was costing me about $20 a pop to have a wheel tensioned and trued. Once I started dropping spokes frequently, I got fed up sinking 20 more dollars into a $50 wheel. One spoke was a buck. I would suggest asking around if you could borrow a stand to give it a try, then decide if you want to drop the money on your own.

[eloach]

It's not at all hard to true a wheel unless it's way out of round. You need a good stand and some good instruction. REI has a two day course that's good and Spokes Etc. also offers a good course.

The Park Pro stand is ~$189, but I think it's worth every penny. Nothing wrong with going to the shop either, except you have to actually go there and pay.

Spokes Belleview(sp?) also has a wheel building class.

Comment:
Even with the truing stand and tools, cheap wheels get annoying fast when they repeatedly ruin your rides. You might want to invest in a better set of wheels when you get a chance, or take the Spokes class and build a set (not cheap either way).

[jabberwocky]

I am pretty handy with tools and bike work. Tonight my wheel got knocked out of true and am trying to decide whether to buy the truing stand or have a shop do a quick number on it. I have most of the tools needed to fully tear down a bike and build it up from scratch. Just never bought a truing stand before.

Is it cost effective to buy the stand or should I just take it to a shop? Either way, who/what do you recommend? I am in the Falls Church area. Thinkin maybe Bike Lane.The Bike Lane does good work. I had them retrue a wheel a while back that had totally detensioned after a particularly brutal ride at Gambrill, and it hasn't needed to be touched since.

Simply truing wheels is actually not that difficult. You need to decide if its something you are going to want to do. If so, it makes sense to spend the cash and get the stand. If you ride long enough it will eventually pay for itself, and its always nice to be able to do the work yourself.

If you want, I have a park TS-2 you are welcome to borrow.

[jon_baler]

Not long ago on this forum, someone posted a tip about using zip/cables ties as a cheap, on bike, truing stand. Basically, put the zip ties on the seat stays or fork, and trim slightly longer than the distance to the rim. Then rotate the zip tie to bring it closer or farther from the wheel.

I tried this the other weekend, and really thought it worked well. Thanks!

[crashmore]

I say get a truing stand. I was pretty intimated by the wheel truing / building until I took the plunge and learned how. Now wheels are my favorite thing to work on.

I am pretty handy with tools and bike work. Tonight my wheel got knocked out of true and am trying to decide whether to buy the truing stand or have a shop do a quick number on it. I have most of the tools needed to fully tear down a bike and build it up from scratch. Just never bought a truing stand before.

Is it cost effective to buy the stand or should I just take it to a shop? Either way, who/what do you recommend? I am in the Falls Church area. Thinkin maybe Bike Lane.

[slowrider]

I don't know if i'm doing it right, but i built my wheels and true them on the bike (w/o truing stand) and have no problems.

[tuba_transport]

You might want to invest in a better set of wheels when you get a chance

I have RARELY had my wheels get knocked out. Last night on a group ride while stopped someone accidentally fell sideways, pushed my bike over, and laid their body weight on my front wheel. Not sure any wheel would have held up any better to that. It was an accident so I did not say anything to the guy. He seemed newer to riding and the damage was not that bad.

The rim is a Mavic 819 on a Shimano XT hub. Built up by Speedgoat 2 years ago and ridden reasonably hard with my big butt on the seat. Never had an issue with wheels getting knocked out from riding alone.

[CountZero]

I'm on Highland Avenue in Falls Church. You're welcome to come over and use my stand.

Jon, I think it was me that suggested the zip tie method. I'm glad it worked for you. :)

[eloach]

I have RARELY had my wheels get knocked out. Last night on a group ride while stopped someone accidentally fell sideways, pushed my bike over, and laid their body weight on my front wheel. Not sure any wheel would have held up any better to that. It was an accident so I did not say anything to the guy. He seemed newer to riding and the damage was not that bad.

The rim is a Mavic 819 on a Shimano XT hub. Built up by Speedgoat 2 years ago and ridden reasonably hard with my big butt on the seat. Never had an issue with wheels getting knocked out from riding alone.


The 819 is a great rim and should serve you well. My Mavic 321 XT combo almost NEVER goes out of true. I slapped it on the bike after I tacod the rear on my first MTB ride ever by hitting it with my leg during a USD. That wheel is definitly worth keeping. I thought you had some Alex rims and single butted stuff . I have lost 4 spokes in 9 months on a set like that and I am finally fed up and replacing them. I have 819s on my single speed and can't see anything better anywhere close to the price.

Wheels certainly don't seem to take being hit from the side well at all, but I guess that's NOT the type of abuse they are designed to take.

[tuba_transport]

Well, I looked over the prices of stands, considered the generous offers to use others' stands and decided to go ahead and let Bike Lane do it this time.

$10 and I was out of there. It was not all that bad and went quick while I waited and played with the Light & Motion Vega light on display. Tempting, tempting, tempting. That little led light is a great design and is surprisingly bright. Got to watch for coupon codes now.

[Squirrel Girl]

let Bike Lane do it this time.

$10 and I was out of there.WHAT?!?!?!!?!? I had my wheel trued by them the other day and they charged me $17 AND I gave them a seriously generous beer tip.

Even so, I thought it was good that I could waltz in and just hand them my bike that was almost unrideable and then I could walk out just a few minutes later just $17 poorer. But now that you've said it was almost half what it cost me.... Maybe my wheel was just that much worse then yours. I had a lot of very loose spokes.

[tuba_transport]

WHAT?!?!?!!?!? I had my wheel trued by them the other day and they charged me $17 AND I gave them a seriously generous beer tip.

Even so, I thought it was good that I could waltz in and just hand them my bike that was almost unrideable and then I could walk out just a few minutes later just $17 poorer. But now that you've said it was almost half what it cost me.... Maybe my wheel was just that much worse then yours. I had a lot of very loose spokes.

Mine was not nearly that bad. It was just knocked out enough that I could notice it. I could have probably ridden on it just fine the way it was but I knew it was out a bit and it was bugging me so I went by the shop.

It only took him a few minutes.

[walsh]

WHAT?!?!?!!?!? I had my wheel trued by them the other day and they charged me $17 AND I gave them a seriously generous beer tip.


If it's any consolation, during my brief shop stint shop policy was to charge for wheel truing on a sliding scale of $10-30, at the mechanic's discretion. Truing "in frame" was free, in the stand tended to incur the $12 fee. $30 was spoke replacement and re-dishing territory.

[Squirrel Girl]

Mine was not nearly that bad. It was just knocked out enough that I could notice it. I could have probably ridden on it just fine the way it was but I knew it was out a bit and it was bugging me so I went by the shop.

It only took him a few minutes.It was the first time I had my road bike out after I got back from India. I kept hearing a sound. At first I thought it was my front wheel, but then I got off, and it was my rear! There were a bunch of very loose spokes and every time it rotated, it rubbed the brake. It was a mess. It didn't take a *long* time to true, but it wasn't a 5 minute job, either.

I had been feeling relatively happy about the service until your charge was so much less. But, maybe I can assuage myself, that yes, it was just that my wheel needed that much more labor, so it really did make sense.

[mnowak]

I have a truing stand and I have built several of my own wheelsets, but if your wheel is just out of true, it's not worth the expense, plus, truing stands can take up a lot of room and so are not worth it unless you plan to build wheels in the future.

My suggestion is to flip the bike over (unless you have hydraulic discs that will allow air to enter the system if this is done, and if that's the case, just do it with your bike standing up against something steady, or in your regular bike stand) and true the wheel using the brake pads as a reference (if you have rim brakes), or just doing the best eyeball job if you have discs. it's really easy once you get the hang of it and it will save the hassle of taking the bike into the shop. If you need a good authority on truing, get The Bicycle Wheel by Jobst Brandt, or Zinn and The Art of Bicycle Maintenance by Lennard Zinn.

Hope this helps

[walsh]

I built a wheel this weekend. (ENO eccentric hub, x717 rim, 32 double-butted spokes x3, brass nipples, if you care . . . ) It came out pretty well, and I've been feeling saucy as a result.

I decided to clean up and true all my wheels while I was at it. The Ksyriums that came with my road bike had some barely perceptible issues, but were overdue for some attention. "Watch my smoke," thought I, as I wiped them clean, and threw the front wheel in the stand. "These will be perfect in no time at all!"

HOLY COW. When your front wheel has only 18 spokes, and your rear 20, it neccessitates
1) very high spoke tension, and
2) a very hard rim that isn't influenced much by a single spoke.
Very small changes (< 1/8 of a turn) tend to have major ramifications that are not particularly localized on the rim. Plus, when you turn a nipple, you have to straighten the spoke; bladed aero spokes tend to twist, and the twist strongly impacts tension. Correcting the rim laterally is enough of a pain; if you try to true it radially, you frequently end up doing a fair amount of work a third of the way around the wheel from the problem area. The wheels became a lot less true before they started getting better. I'm still not done.

I'm not sure I'm in such a hurry to buy the Crossmax anymore . . . I may only be fit for traditional spoke patterns and materials.