Getting a wheel trued

[Fnaar]

i.e. with my technical numptyness, I know this is beyond me (believe me, I am useless ) so I'm gonna get a bike shop to do it for me... question is, therefore, how much should it cost, roughly, in your experience folks?

 

[jimboalee]

Have a look through 'LBS Recomendations'.

Make sure the LBS have their own club or team.

As for cost. ? Its the workmanship you MUST pay for.

 

[Landslide]

^^^Looks reasonable.
As long as the wheel's not too badly wanged, doesn't have a sudden "kick" to it, and you don't need any spokes replacing, I reckon about £7.50ish?

 

[4F]

^^^Looks reasonable.
As long as the wheel's not too badly wanged, doesn't have a sudden "kick" to it, and you don't need any spokes replacing, I reckon about £7.50ish?

Round these parts cheapest £ 5, most expensive £ 15

 

[jimboalee]

Echelon is known to me, but might be a tad far for Fnaar.

Prices are GOOD. Other shops are a lot more than this.


Had a caravan in Eckington (before the flood), so echelon was one of my E-list shops.

 

[Fnaar]

Thanks folks... it's me hack/commute bike, just has a bit of a wobble I noticed this morning, and 3 or 4 spokes seem a bit loose. I would have a go, but I don't have a lot of time, and I'm likely to end up with a wheel with an eccentric wobble like one off a clown's bicycle, knowing me!

 

[jimboalee]

For info. A 'sudden kick' is called a "kink". this happens when you ride up a kerb.
Very difficult to repair, but in some cases necessary. My 11 year old rode my Moulton Mini up a kerb and kinked the front rim. Could I find a 14" alloy rim? Nope.
It wasn't too bad to be written off, and a careful squeeze in a soft vice did the trick.
For buckles, quite a severe bend can be brought back with the use of a sandbag.

 

[dodgy]

If you lived near me, I'd have a go at it for free I have a feeling that Thumberland = Northumberland?

 

[John the Monkey]

Supreme Cycles in Crewe charge £5 plus 40p per spoke.

Bike Boutique in Manchester charge £7 plus 20p per spoke[1].

Some places in that London charge £15, I hear.

[1] I've usually needed mine doing because a spoke has broken, and very occasionally bringing the wheel back to true can cause others to pop as well, hence the extra cost.

 

[Fnaar]

If you lived near me, I'd have a go at it for free I have a feeling that Thumberland = Northumberland?

Aye, that's the place.... I'll pop over this afternoon, shall I? If I get on my other bike now, and stick the wobbly wheel over my shoulder, Ill be in the Wirral by ..er... nightfall... tomorrow..

 

[swee'pea99]

Do it yourself, yer slacker! It's easy - just keep calm and take it bit by bit. You'll amaze yourself at how quickly you sort it, and there's a satisfaction in DIY you can't get from handing people notes. Watch this and give it a go. It'll take you less time than taking the wheel down the LBS. What's the worst that can happen? You screw it up, and have to take it to the LBS. What have you lost? I'm no expert, and I haven't the patience to get it exact, but correcting the kind of wobble you've got 'adequately' takes me 5 minutes - and you could do it too: I guarantee it.

 

[Fnaar]

Put it this way folks... I had problems replacing my brake blocks earlier this week... I'm just cr@p with anything involving the mechanics of things...

 

[Bigtallfatbloke]

I took the view that I would do it myself. I put th ebike up onto the car rack (which is hanging from my garage cieling) then used the brake blocks as a guide. Easy it is not let me assure you. However it is easy to make basic adjustments and get the wheel rideable again. Th eperfectly true wheel is going to need a trueing wheel and a lot of time unless you are well practiced....which I intend to be.

£5-7 for a proper true isnt the end of the world but:

1) I rckon my LBS would want more although I havent asked them
2) I want to learn to do it myself
3) There arent always LBS's on demand on tour
4) I have a real distrust of bike shops in sowf England

..I say give it a crack yourself then if you do mess it up badly let the LBS sort it out for you.

 

[swee'pea99]

Put it this way folks... I had problems replacing my brake blocks earlier this week... I'm just cr@p with anything involving the mechanics of things...

Fair enough! I had a friend once whose mechanical skills could be assessed by the fact that she called both screws and nails 'nails'.

 

[marinyork]

It's about £6 at my LBS. Had plenty of spokes replaced and trued by him and a few not. Fnaar a nipple wrench is cheap and worth getting even if you're not able to do the other stuff.