Tried truing a wheel on a park stand and nearly threw the whole thing into a ditch

I was fixing a wobbly rear wheel on my gravel bike last Saturday in my garage, and the spoke tension was so off I kept overtightening then loosening, and after 45 minutes the wheel was somehow wobbling worse than before I started - has anyone else had a wheel that just fights back no matter what you do?

2 comments

2 Comments

rowannelson22d ago

After 45 minutes the wheel was somehow wobbling worse than before I started" - yeah, that sounds about right for a first try. One thing though: you mentioned spoke tension being off, but you might be confusing tension with the actual truing process. Spoke tension is about how tight each spoke is (measured with a tensiometer), while truing is about adjusting the rim side to side. You can have a wheel with wildly different tension on each side, but if the rim runs straight, it's technically "true" even though it's not built right. The wobble getting worse usually means you were turning the wrong spoke nipples, or you were overcorrecting by tightening too many spokes on one side without loosening the other side first. Try starting with the tightest spot, loosen it a quarter turn, then tighten the two spokes around it an eighth turn each, and see if that helps next time.

ivan4022d ago

and another thing people miss, you gotta check if the rim itself is bent before you even start messing with spokes. if the rim has a dent or flat spot, no amount of tension tweaking is gonna make it run true, you're just fighting a losing battle. so next time, spin the wheel and watch the rim, not the tire, that's where you'll see the real problem.