Having a go at truing a wheel.....

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Salty seadog

Space Cadet...(3rd Class...)
Hi, just spent some time trying to true a wheel which has a few wobbles in it. Spent the best part of an hour and seem to have got it both better then a bit worse again etc.... there seems to be about 2-3mm of lateral movement in a couple of places looking from just one side using a cable tie on the seat stay as reference. Would you expect to get much better just working with the wheel in situ? There is still a slight snaking of the wheel as it turns but nothing dramatic.

cheers,

ssd...
 
Make sure there aren't any cracks around any of the spoke nipples. You can try to adjust the tension of a spoke in a cracked hole, and it won't do much at all. If all the holes are okay, and the rim isn't egg shaped, it's just a case of trial and error. Obviously, getting the rim on a proper stand is preferable
 

accountantpete

Brexiteer
Try to move the rim using spokes from both sides in combination - so to cure a lateral deviation you tighten one spoke (to pull the rim to that side) by say 1/2 turn and also loosen the two spokes either side (from the other side of the wheel) by 1/4 of a turn.
 

Smurfy

Naturist Smurf
Cheers guys,
I do have a couple of spokes that seem over tight or too loose. Will spend some more time on it tomorrow.
That will throw everything off. You'll get erratic changes in the trueness of the wheel from seemingly small adjustments in spoke tension. I've been there, done that, and learned the lesson to get the wheel in reasonable shape (i.e. fairly equal spoke tensions) before attempting fine adjustments.
 

gbb

Legendary Member
Location
Peterborough
Its a funny thing...I will try most things, including truing a wheel, but ive struggled. Even stranger when you want to pull the rim using the opposite spokes...which already seem under tension. Logic tells you they shouldnt be and tightening them even more seems counter intuitive. Loosening the spokes the other side would leave them too loose.
Ive managed occasionally and enjoyed trying with old wheels...but easy it isnt.
Perhaps it is IF you study the subject and do it in a more controlled way.
 
OP
OP
Salty seadog

Salty seadog

Space Cadet...(3rd Class...)
That will throw everything off. You'll get erratic changes in the trueness of the wheel from seemingly small adjustments in spoke tension. I've been there, done that, and learned the lesson to get the wheel in reasonable shape (i.e. fairly equal spoke tensions) before attempting fine adjustments.

cheers Yellow Tim, makes sense. will play for a bit longer maybe take care of the extremes and start again. it is probably only about 4 spokes that seem this way.
 

Tojo

Über Member
If you are truing your wheel in the frame take the tyre off and you will be able to see better and use your brake adjuster as a guide by tensioning the cable....:okay: also don't go too much on the turns of your spoke key , 1/4 to half a turn max.... slowly, slowly catchy monkey....:cheers:
 

migrantwing

Veteran
I'm thinking of just rebuilding my wheels from scratch. They need truing but are way off. Luckily, they are old, spare wheels. There's never a bad time to learn something new.
 

migrantwing

Veteran
You're probably running into similar issues that I am, @Salty seadog, regards spoke tension etc. As in my post above, it may be better just to start from scratch yourself, that way you know what is going on with every turn of the spoke key. I've found, in my learning, that sometimes an error can't be undone as I don't know I've made it :smile:

Get Roger Musson's e-book for £9 and take it from there :okay:
 

Smurfy

Naturist Smurf
You're probably running into similar issues that I am, @Salty seadog, regards spoke tension etc. As in my post above, it may be better just to start from scratch yourself, that way you know what is going on with every turn of the spoke key. I've found, in my learning, that sometimes an error can't be undone as I don't know I've made it :smile:

Get Roger Musson's e-book for £9 and take it from there :okay:
If you start over, take care to put the same number of turns on each nipple when building, it'll save a lot of trouble later.

Also bear in mind that lighter, narrower rims have much less rigidity than heavier, wider rims. To that end, heavier, wider rims are much easier to build and true, as they react more slowly and so are more tolerant of ham-fisted trueing attempts. Yeah, I know that's not what you wanted to hear, as everyone wants light rims and wheels!
 

migrantwing

Veteran
I'll take that into consideration, @YellowTim :okay:

The wheels I'm practicing on are Veronique wheels, from a 2007 Carrera TDF LTD EDT. They're not the lightest and not the best, so hopefully they will be a bit more forgiving than my best Easton 30mm 'aero' wheels :smile:
 

Tojo

Über Member
Get Roger Musson's e-book for £9 and take it from there :okay:

Bollocks, get in touch with Teressa Webb, She is the best, She could see a mistake in lacing from 20yrds with 6 of us in the workshop....:tongue:
 
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