Trueing wheels - especially roundness

[rusky]

OK, had a new bike delivered but the wife has said I can't keep it

Unfortunately, when it arrived, one of the spokes on the rear wheel was so loose, it was almost out of the nipple

As I was tightening it up & trueing the wheel I noticed that instead of being round i.e. O it's more like D not that bad but just about noticable when you spin the wheel & look down on the rim at a tangent. Can this be trued out?

 

[Theseus]

It probably can. If this is a new bike, take it back to the shop and get them to do it. This should be covered by the after sales service that is provided by reputable bike shops for free after a few weeks.

 

[rusky]

I't's going back on Tuesday.

I was more curious than anything else. Looks like it was damaged in transit, just couldn't see a way of pushing the rim outwards.

 

[andrew_s]

If the rim itself is bent, with a flat spot, there's not much that can be done other than get a new rim/wheel.
This is what you would get from transport damage or hitting a pothole too hard.

It could also just be a poor build, with the rim pulled out of shape by uneven spoke tension. Roundness is awkward to true out and it's often easier to slacken off all of the spokes and redo the tensioning from scratch. Generally you'd get rid of a low spot by loosening the spokes at the low spot and tightening the spokes either side to squeeze the rim upwards.

If the low spot (i.e closer to the hub) is at the same place as the slack spoke, it's probably transport damage and a bent rim.

 

[rusky]

I didn't notice the flat spot until after I had tightened the slack spoke! Doh!

 

[fossyant]

Should send the wife back, not a bike

 

[smeg]

Yeah keep the bike and get rid of the wife, they cost more in maintenance.