Is my wheel a pork pie...?

[Hydra]

... by which I mean, is it telling a lie?
Which eventually translates to: is my wheel out of true?


My front wheel has recently started an making awful scraping/clicking noise once per revolution when I apply the front brake, as though there's a 'rough bit' on the rim. It was fine until yesterday, when apparently it may have been hit with a roll cage by a careless delivery driver at work (my manager informed me of this today).

I have a terrible eye for such fine detail, and can't really make out any significant undulations. However, when I apply gradual pressure on the brake, a part of the wheel gets caught and slows/stops. I can't tell which side it is, at all (crap eye for this kind of thing). It's as though that section of rim is fatter than the rest of it.

Out of true? Something else?

I plan on nipping it in to Decathlon or EBC tomorrow to have it looked at, but I thought I'd ask you competent CC folk first

 

[Maz]

My immediate thought was 'how old is the wheel rim'? It could be about to wear out and split under the tyre pressure.
Can you see any bulges/cracks in the rim?

I'm from Sheffield, too. Live in Leicester these days.

 

[Hydra]

A fellow Sheffielder! Pleasure. Where abouts in Sheff are you from?

The wheel rim, I can only assume, is as old as the bike. And that is no more than 2 months old. There are no bulges or cracks that I can see without having a proper squint. It looks fine when spinning...

I intended recording a video of the problem when I gave the bike a clean and lube this afternoon...

... I forgot.

 

[Hydra]

Saying that though, a video is unlikely to help. If I, a seeing-eye person, can't see a problem, then a poor-quality helmet camera sure as hell isn't

 

[2Loose]

If you hold the wheel off of the ground and spin it, you'll see if it just wobbles or gets fatter and thinner if you stare the gap between rim and brake block. Don't try and gauge it by staring at the tyre from above, watch the gap, nothing but the gap, look into the gap...

Try and stop it at the point where it gets closest to the brake block once you have determined which it is. If it is a wobble, then your wheel has been bent\buckled - this is far more likely than the wheel getting wider at certain points than others. If so, then make sure you are watching the rim of the wheel rather than the tyre to ascertain if it is the wheel rim or the tyre rubber that is deformed.

 

[Hydra]

Well, I've had my bike upside down and had a good old stare between the gap. Admittedly I was hypnotized for a few minutes, but I quickly came around.

Still can't determine any noticeable wobble or anything either side of the rim. Perhaps my eyes are useless. Perhaps I need beer goggles on... *checks fridge...*

I guess the pads could be the problem, but that doesn't explain why it only happens in a certain place in the wheels rotation.

Baah! It's rather annoying. What's more annoying is that I have to wait in the house for a gas safety inspection, which could be all day, meaning I'm unlikely to get to the shop today

 

[Maz]

Is there any lateral (sideways) movement of the entire wheel? Have you checked this already?
Is the wheel properly seated in the drop-outs?

I'm from Highfield/Bramall Lane area. Blades fan, staring at the abyss of League One...

 

[Hydra]

Nope, all seems straight. Rims are smooth. Still very, very annoying. Had the wheel out and back in. And then out and in again.

From Meersbrook here, though not a fan of footie (my dad would say I was a Blade, though)

 

[Maz]

I'm stumped. Maybe you should record and upload a video so we can hear the scraping/clicking noise.

 

[Hydra]

I'll get a recording up tomorrow when I have access to my work stand and (hopefully) some sunshine. Hopefully someone will spot something that I'm oblivious to.

 

[youngoldbloke]

Have you got a metal shard in the brake block? Is it catching on the rim joint, which is not always perfectly aligned? Examine the brake blocks for foreign bodies, and remove with a knife point.

 

[2PedalsTez]

This is an outside chance, but worth checking....

Have a look and check that your fork bung and stem is secured in place and tight enough.
I had a similar issue with one of my bikes (also only about a month old), going down hill, put the brakes on and got what felt like a rubbing point from the front wheel. I stood looking at the wheel spin etc and was only when I found I could slightly turn the spaces (eg they were loose enough to move). I adjusted the bung and stem and job done!

 

[2PedalsTez]

* spacers!

 

[BigTone0777]

What I do when trueing a wheel is to use a stick of chalk. with the bike upsidedown spin the wheel and hold the calk agains the fork. gradually move the chalk into to rim and see if it hits in a certain spot. if it does it'll even mark the rim and show you where the buckle is. Do both sides and you have a visual marker of where the wheel is out of true. Make your spoke adjustments, clean off the chalk and start again until it's true.
Either that or take it into your LBS ha ha ha

 

[Hydra]

Have you got a metal shard in the brake block? Is it catching on the rim joint, which is not always perfectly aligned? Examine the brake blocks for foreign bodies, and remove with a knife point.

Checked and replaced the brake blocks this afternoon, nothing in the old set, figured I'd try some fresh blocks. Still the same old problem.

This is an outside chance, but worth checking....

Have a look and check that your fork bung and stem is secured in place and tight enough.
I had a similar issue with one of my bikes (also only about a month old), going down hill, put the brakes on and got what felt like a rubbing point from the front wheel. I stood looking at the wheel spin etc and was only when I found I could slightly turn the spaces (eg they were loose enough to move). I adjusted the bung and stem and job done!

Thankfully this doesn't seem to be the problem. Well, I can't shift the spacers anyway so I don't think it is.

What I do when trueing a wheel is to use a stick of chalk. with the bike upsidedown spin the wheel and hold the calk agains the fork. gradually move the chalk into to rim and see if it hits in a certain spot. if it does it'll even mark the rim and show you where the buckle is. Do both sides and you have a visual marker of where the wheel is out of true. Make your spoke adjustments, clean off the chalk and start again until it's true.
Either that or take it into your LBS ha ha ha

Tried this but the chalk didn't mark the rim. Perhaps my chalk is crap. I don't know if I have the confidence to go tweaking my spokes though, but I expect that's the way to go...

Here's a video... see what you think: Linky Link. I tried to include enough detail. As you can see, when I apply the brakes slightly, the noise starts.