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Truing a Wheel

video Truing a Wheel

This tutorial shows how to true wheels and adjust spoke tension.

Source: How To True a Wheel (More videos at BicycleTutor.com)

34 comments

Nov 10, 2009. 7:23 PMa918bmxr says:

KOVACHI WHEELS
you people should look into them
"worlds finest hand built wheels"

May 23, 2008. 5:54 AMphilipster says:

why are you wearing goggles it not like a spoke is going to brake some random way and mysteriously go for your eye

Sep 10, 2009. 5:20 AMHycro says:

I've had the nipple pop off and hit the lens on my safety glasses...

Sep 11, 2009. 1:03 AMphilipster says:

so you tighten your spoke so tight, that it threaded and hit your lens

Sep 11, 2009. 4:29 PMHycro says:

Surprisingly, it wasn't all that tight when it snapped off...the spoke itself broke...

Sep 11, 2009. 4:29 PMHycro says:

At the threads, that is...

May 23, 2008. 6:59 AMBicycleTutor (author) says:

It is possible, and it has happened.... I'd rather wear them than risk losing an eye.

Feb 28, 2008. 11:29 AMsleeping_gecko says:

Great Instructable! I've only trued a couple wheels before, but it was from reading a written description of the steps. This video makes it a lot clearer. Great job!

Feb 28, 2008. 10:47 PMthinkahead says:

Ditto. I usually do this with the wheels mounted and often forgo the height truing and only do the sides. With the idea of loosing all the spokes a half turn or maybe to the starting point of where they all sound the same will save me from having to true every couple of weeks. The oil idea is also a winner since I usually have to do a half turn to get the spoke and nipple to pop and then backup a half turn or whatever to do the actual adjustment. I'm now thinking of converting an old defunct frame into a brand new stand.

Sep 10, 2009. 5:24 AMHycro says:

The height truing for me usually is able to be counteracted by how the tire is balanced on the rim, because I've noticed that sometimes the tire will be off-centre by millimetres once mounted, even if the bead looks to be evenly-seated all around, so I often use that to my advantage, and counter-act the rim being slightly off-centre...

Sep 30, 2008. 6:16 AM

Yerboogieman says:

Would you happen to have a video for replacing a rear sprocket, that umm, broke in half?

Sep 10, 2009. 5:20 AMHycro says:

Depending on the rear sprocket you're referring to, next time I change one, I might have to post an instructable on it...

Oct 13, 2008. 11:48 PMFat Bagel says:

Hi, good video i got a question, i have a bmx and my backwheel is warped so it rubs against the frame. im in australia how much do the tuning things cost? should i bother trying to fix it?

Mar 29, 2009. 1:13 PMcolterczyruk says:

u just need a spoke wrench and google how to do it, its not insanly hard jst dont over tighten the spokes. if u dont have a spoke wrench jst put a notch in a flat head screw driver with an angle grinder or cut off tool. however sometimes ur rim is just to warped for the spokes to even things up so u may jst need a new rim. good luck though

Mar 29, 2009. 1:15 PMcolterczyruk says:

or ur axle could be bent tooo

Sep 10, 2009. 5:19 AMHycro says:

When I true wheels, I will often clamp the lock-nut for the bearings into a vise, so that a bent axle is less of an issue, although, it usually has no affect on the trueness of the wheel, just how it aligns with the brakes, and how it aligns with the front wheel (in the case of the rear wheel) Alignment with the front wheel can be adjusted by loosening off nuts and tightening them until it's aligned...

Jul 5, 2009. 2:20 PMunmitigatedaudacity says:

Excellent tutorial. No tinsel but relevant information and a good presentation. That´s the way I like it. THX

May 10, 2009. 1:54 PMremotephone says:

Awesome! i followed your guide and used my brakes as the guides and it's trued like a charm! ain't no bike shop getting my monies for something i can do myself! Thanks again!

Mar 29, 2009. 1:47 PMfwjs28 says:

ha!, i thought this said turning a wheel....LOL!

Dec 7, 2008. 2:01 PMneutron7 says:

not much is better for business at a bike store than customers who trued their own wheels :D

Dec 1, 2008. 3:54 PMdgml says:

Good vid, about 40 years late for me :-)

Aug 8, 2008. 6:11 AMrecumbentrecycler says:

Thank you for posting this video. One of my trike wheels, which is supported on only one side, is a little warped. Would it be best to just true it on the trike?

May 2, 2008. 6:39 PMsharpshooter12 says:

my rear wheel on my mountain bike was warped, but now its almost perfect.

Apr 16, 2008. 9:54 PMTheBlunderbuss says:

Wow. Why so exacting? For mountain bikes even?

Mar 17, 2008. 7:20 PMtechnodude92 says:

wow. that sounds good and complicated. great tut though. clear consise explanations. (+).

Mar 7, 2008. 1:29 PMcamp6ell says:

it's hard for me to figure out which way the wheel moves laterally when tightening or loosening the spokes - it would have been useful to me to see a couple of arrows in the picture of the wheel showing the spoke tightening direction and resulting lateral movement of wheel.

Mar 5, 2008. 3:52 PMjinnan_tonnix says:

Great tutorial. Thanks.

Mar 2, 2008. 10:52 PMPrometheus says:

One thing to remember: Wipe the wheel clean so that the oil does not get on the braking surfaces, or on the innertube itself. Also, if there is ANY separation of the rim seam, or ANY crack is noticed, do not bother to true it, discard the rim. Deflating the tire is not really necessary though, in my experience. As a further note, if you are loosening spokes because tension seems too high, be sure that upon final inspection that the wheel will not deflect more than 1mm @ 8lbs of lateral force. an alternate method is to squeeze adjacent spokes as if you were trying to crush a beer can. The spokes should barely deflect with moderate force. Spoke "note" (as mentioned in the video) should resemble an "A" note on 20" wheels, no lower than a "C" note on 24" wheels, about a "C" note on 26" wheels, and no higher than a "D" note on 27"/700C wheels. A great way to avoid spoke breakage from truing is to apply anti-sieze to the spoke threads when building the wheel, or rub the tip of a #2 pencil on the threads prior to assembly. If you encounter a sticky spoke nipple, try moving back and forth in both directions to get it free. Alternately, use "PBlaster" penetrating oil on it and rap the spoke nipple with a sharp, metallic vibration a few times. If it will not let go, and you'd rather save the spoke than the nipple, use vice-grips and put some crushing force on it....you'll ruin the nipple, but save the spoke. Recommended oils for spoke lubrication is "liquid wrench", or clean kerosene (remember not to let these contact the rim braking surface or the innertube).

Feb 29, 2008. 12:01 PMm_patterson121 says:

thanks my mountain bike tires are all mess up there better now

Feb 29, 2008. 10:44 AMleebryuk says:

Very well done. I always had hiccups when it came to the roundness of the wheel. Lateral truing was no problem. My books always said to laterally true first. I'm going to try it this way next. +1

Feb 28, 2008. 3:47 PMGorillazMiko says:

Another awesome video.
Video's quality is just great, everything is just awesome!

Nice job.

And by the way, what video format is this?
Well, what site did you upload these videos onto?

Like YouTube, or something. It's obviously not YouTube, so I was wondering what it is? It looks cool.

_{Did you make it?}

Feb 28, 2008. 4:01 PMBicycleTutor (author) says:

Hi GorillazMiko,

Thanks for all your enthusiast comments, I really appreciate them. As for the videos, I use Revver.com because I like the customization options and video quality, among other things. I use several of other video sharing networks but nothing is as good as Revver. Highly recommended.

Feb 28, 2008. 4:08 PMGorillazMiko says:

I was thinking it was Revver! Thanks!

Feb 28, 2008. 2:28 PMkd1uc says:

Simple, clear, direct and very usable instructions. I knew the basics but never had it explained in this level of detail. I never thought of pre-lubricating the nipple. Awesome, thanks!!