Spokes!

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I had already blamed that ped the other day for the loose spokes on my back wheel when I had to brake sharply to avoid hitting said ped resulting with the back wheel going 180 degrees in the air and thankfully coming back down again.

Tonights commute was hard and slow and the bike was a bit wobbly on the front....Stopped at Leyton Green lights and found it seems quite a few spokes loose,doing nothing....I must say I am a bit shocked.Luckily the fixie isn't far away and is something to fall back on if this goes tits up.Must say I am shocked though and am presently tightening the spokes up.I really don't know what has bought this on.

Hope I can do this ok or it's the spare tommorow...any tips?
 
If you've got a spoke tool its not too hard, only thing you've got to watch out for IMO is that when you tighten a spoke it may pull the rim towards it.

I think its anticlockwise to tighten but check I always have to.

Just check bicycletutor.com

Spoke nipples have a regular right-hand thread, but that while you’re truing a wheel, you will be looking at the nipple upside-down, so you have to turn the spoke wrench clockwise to loosen and counter-clockwise to tighten.
 

Trumpettom001

Well-Known Member
if you look down upon the wheel from the top, then it's clockwise to tighten the spoke... if you're in a wheel jig, chances are that the indicator is at the bottom of the wheel, so the direction will be reversed...
 
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hackbike 666

Guest
HLaB said:
You don't need a wheel jig (truing stand) unless you are wanting to be very precise/ wheel building. Upside down in the forks will do.

Yeah more success that way...back wheel not to bad but the front wheel is a state.

Oh yeah im not blaming the ped anymore.:becool:
 

Moodyman

Legendary Member
Upside down in the forks will do

I've always considered this a roadside / emergency solution.

A cheap truing stand (£30 ish), allows near-perfect true - within a fraction of mms. Takes a lot of patience to true a wobbly wheel, but if done correctly is less likely to go out of true again.

Using the rim brakes as a guide, will mean that they're out of true quickly as you don't get the near-perfect true in the first place.
 
Moodyman said:
Upside down in the forks will do

I've always considered this a roadside / emergency solution.

A cheap truing stand (£30 ish), allows near-perfect true - within a fraction of mms. Takes a lot of patience to true a wobbly wheel, but if done correctly is less likely to go out of true again.

Using the rim brakes as a guide, will mean that they're out of true quickly as you don't get the near-perfect true in the first place.
OT where can you get a £30 truing stand these days? I looked at a few last year and they'd all went up to cira £70 at the cheapest, maybe I was looking in the wrong place.
 
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hackbike 666

Guest
I managed to get some sort of sanity to my wheels and made it into work and my new fixie has put in an appearance. :-)
 

downfader

extimus uero philosophus
Location
'ampsheeeer
I have adjusted spokes a few times. I know realistically you should be looking for a tension, and plucking the spokes will make a certain sound whe the tension is right or near.

Though if you're correcting a slight buckle that plucking sound goes out the window. :biggrin:
 
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