quick Truing question

[mancbike]

The rear wheel on bike needs truing (quite badly) so thought I would have a go.

But firstly:

I have taken out all the tension from the spokes. As I rotate the wheel it is quite a bit out both radially and laterally. Therefore if it is out of true without tension can it be brought into true with tension. IE is it worth bothering with or should I just get a new wheel?

 

[fossyant]

It can be brought back with skill, but may not be perfect. Check for dents though.

 

[lpretro1]

Remove the tyre if you haven't already - sometimes the tyre distorts the 'trueness'. If it's only a small amount then you can prob re-tension if u know what u r doing. If it has a big warp then new wheel time. Assume you know that a rear wheel is dished as well? so you'll have to re-tension with that in mind. If it has been run out of true for some time you may never get it back

 

[Yellow Saddle]

The rear wheel on bike needs truing (quite badly) so thought I would have a go.

But firstly:

I have taken out all the tension from the spokes. As I rotate the wheel it is quite a bit out both radially and laterally. Therefore if it is out of true without tension can it be brought into true with tension. IE is it worth bothering with or should I just get a new wheel?

It is impossible to detect, in a truing stand, whether a wheel with no tension in the spokes is true or not. You have to check the flatness of the rim by placing a good rim next to it and see if the two lie flat against each other.

 

[lpretro1]

If it's only a cheap wheel then I wouldn't bother with it - just buy a new one

 

[I like Skol]

Loosening all the spokes was probably a bad thing as you now have no idea where the wheel was out of true and in which direction that was. If there really is no tension in the spokes then as suggested by Yellow Saddle you could check the rim using a known good rim, but how many people have one of them just lying around? Even if you checked the rim and found it wasn't entirely straight that doesn't mean it can't be tensioned up to make a useable wheel but it is obviously better to start out with components that are not damaged.
For future reference, trueing is normally carried out by just making localised adjustments to the spokes in the affected area and often involves loosening one spoke a little then tightening the opposing spoke/s to move the rim in the required direction. Little is better and the adjustment may need to be made across a few pairs of spokes for larger deflections.

 

[I like Skol]

If it's only a cheap wheel then I wouldn't bother with it - just buy a new one

Not true. As you have clearly shown an interest in trueing your own wheels then a cheap wheel is the perfect place to start, there's no point in ruining an expensive wheel. If you can master the art of truing then the next step is to build your own wheels, it's what I did and a good handbuilt wheel is often far better than the factory built off-the-peg wheels that are sold by many places.

 

[Smurfy]

As you've loosened all the spokes, you need to start from some kind of reference point where they are all equally loosened. To do that I'd suggest adjusting them until they all have the first bit of the spoke thread showing below the nipple. If that means they will be too tight, adjust a bit looser until they all have an equal amount of spoke thread showing below the nipple. If they are too loose with the first spoke thread showing, put a turn on every spoke until they have a bit of tension. Once that is done, check the dishing is right by putting the wheel in the frame. If dish is wrong, put one turn on every spoke on one side and check again. When the dishing is right you can start on the wobbles. Alternate between fixing left and right, and up and down wobbles.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

As you've loosened all the spokes, you need to start from some kind of reference point where they are all equally loosened. To do that I'd suggest adjusting them until they all have the first bit of the spoke thread showing below the nipple. If that means they will be too tight, adjust a bit looser until they all have an equal amount of spoke thread showing below the nipple. If they are too loose with the first spoke thread showing, put a turn on every spoke until they have a bit of tension. Once that is done, check the dishing is right by putting the wheel in the frame. If dish is wrong, put one turn on every spoke on one side and check again. When the dishing is right you can start on the wobbles. Alternate between fixing left and right, and up and down wobbles.

This is a great effort to comply with the request for "quick" advice but I suspect the OP has long departed. Last seen with crossed eyes and glazed look, heading towards a bike shop.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

This is a great effort to comply with the request for "quick" advice but I suspect the OP has long departed. Last seen with crossed eyes and glazed look, heading towards a bike shop.

'ts all right, some others are reading with interest

 

[I like Skol]

As you've loosened all the spokes, you need to start from some kind of reference point where they are all equally loosened. To do that I'd suggest adjusting them until they all have the first bit of the spoke thread showing below the nipple. If that means they will be too tight, adjust a bit looser until they all have an equal amount of spoke thread showing below the nipple. If they are too loose with the first spoke thread showing, put a turn on every spoke until they have a bit of tension. Once that is done, check the dishing is right by putting the wheel in the frame. If dish is wrong, put one turn on every spoke on one side and check again. When the dishing is right you can start on the wobbles. Alternate between fixing left and right, and up and down wobbles.

This is how I build a new wheel from scratch. Gives a good starting point.

 

[mancbike]

Thanks for the advice. I'm going to make a start on it tomorrow, so will see what happens. I'm quite happy to experiment, it's no big deal. I'm sure a new well is easier, but like a lot of blokes I enjoy trying to work out how to fix things.

 

[Smurfy]

This is how I build a new wheel from scratch. Gives a good starting point.

Same here. As he's loosened all the spokes, it seemed the best way to try and achieve a starting point that would give a reasonable chance of success.

Thanks for the advice. I'm going to make a start on it tomorrow, so will see what happens. I'm quite happy to experiment, it's no big deal. I'm sure a new well is easier, but like a lot of blokes I enjoy trying to work out how to fix things.

Good luck. As you progress, the adjustments need to get smaller and smaller in order to make progress.