How much will fixing a buckled wheel cost?

72hundred

Hey,

Just a quick (noob) question. I've a buckled wheel, with one or two very very slight buckles in it that I want repaired.

Roughly how much should will this cost? I've heard 10-15 should be the max.

Many thanks,

72oo

blorg

That sounds about right. Bear in mind that buckles beyond a certain point cannot be fixed without replacing the rim. If they are slight as you say however you should be OK.

Gavin

If you are that way inclined, it really is trivial to fix a minor buckle with a spoke key. You can get keys for less than 10 euro and then you always have it.

72hundred

Verb wrote: »

If you are that way inclined, it really is trivial to fix a minor buckle with a spoke key. You can get keys for less than 10 euro and then you always have it.

I really won't have the foggiest to get the tensions correct...

I came across Sheldon Brown's page on it. I guess I could give that avenue a go.

irishmotorist

If it's a slight buckle, then it's dead straightforward to fix it yourself. By a slight buckle, I'd consider it to be running mostly true, but perhaps hitting off a brake block on one side for a distance of a few spokes.

All you'll need to do is identify the location of the buckle (easy, cos that's probably where it's hitting the brake block). Then using your spoke spanner, if (as you're looking at it) the buckle is bending to the left, give the nipple for the spoke or two near the centre of the buckle a 1/4 or 1/2 turn tighten on the right side. Test it and do it again if necessary. Tightening the spoke/nipple will pull the rim back that way a bit.

When tightening the nipple with the tool, I just imagine what way the nipple screwed down onto the spoke and tighten it as if it was a normal nut.

I'd generally not exceed a 1/2 turn twist at any stage because a small change can make a surprisingly big difference with the buckle.

If I haven't explained it so well, let me know and I'll try again.

kenmc

It's a bit like the Father Ted episode with the car for the raffle.
"It's no good, Ted. You'll never get it absolutely perfect"

72hundred

irishmotorist wrote: »

If it's a slight buckle, then it's dead straightforward to fix it yourself. By a slight buckle, I'd consider it to be running mostly true, but perhaps hitting off a brake block on one side for a distance of a few spokes.

All you'll need to do is identify the location of the buckle (easy, cos that's probably where it's hitting the brake block). Then using your spoke spanner, if (as you're looking at it) the buckle is bending to the left, give the nipple for the spoke or two near the centre of the buckle a 1/4 or 1/2 turn tighten on the right side. Test it and do it again if necessary. Tightening the spoke/nipple will pull the rim back that way a bit.

When tightening the nipple with the tool, I just imagine what way the nipple screwed down onto the spoke and tighten it as if it was a normal nut.

I'd generally not exceed a 1/2 turn twist at any stage because a small change can make a surprisingly big difference with the buckle.

If I haven't explained it so well, let me know and I'll try again.

Yeah that helps alot thanks. I might give this a go alrite. Only thing is that the wheel's spokes aren't evenly space there's 20 grouped in 2's (see what I mean here: http://www.trekbikes.com/images/bikes/2008/xl/15_whitered.jpg ). I guess that doesn't make much of a difference.

72oo

72hundred

kenmc wrote: »

It's a bit like the Father Ted episode with the car for the raffle.
"It's no good, Ted. You'll never get it absolutely perfect"

Well it's rubbing the front right brake and just need to take 1 mm or so off it to stop if from rubbing and then I'd be happy - so I might be in a better predicament that poor old Father Ted!

72oo

blorg

72hundred wrote: »

Yeah that helps alot thanks. I might give this a go alrite. Only thing is that the wheel's spokes aren't evenly space there's 20 grouped in 2's (see what I mean here: http://www.trekbikes.com/images/bikes/2008/xl/15_whitered.jpg ). I guess that doesn't make much of a difference.

It does make a difference, paired spoke wheels have spokes at a very high tension and can be significantly more difficult to true. If the buckle is between the pairs of spokes you may be out of luck.

TBH I would consider bringing it to a shop, starting your wheel truing career on a paired spoke my not be the best idea.

irishmotorist

blorg wrote: »

starting your wheel truing career on a paired spoke my not be the best idea.

I never had a shot at a wheel with a 'funny' spoke configuration, so that's fair enough.

The only other thing that I can think of is to get somebody heavy to stand on one side of the wheel and go with a lump hammer on the other side. That's a joke BTW...

72hundred

blorg wrote: »

It does make a difference, paired spoke wheels have spokes at a very high tension and can be significantly more difficult to true. If the buckle is between the pairs of spokes you may be out of luck.

TBH I would consider bringing it to a shop, starting your wheel truing career on a paired spoke my not be the best idea.

Ah crap, there goes that idea! Looks like its LBS so.

penexpers

I'd also be asking how did the wheel get buckled so soon?

72hundred

penexpers wrote: »

I'd also be asking how did the wheel get buckled so soon?

Well it was the choice of hitting a very sharp pothole (which also blew out the tube) or getting mashed by an artic truck that came up behind at speed. For some reason he though he needed to get as close as possible when overtaking despite there being no on-coming vehicles...

So the pothole seemed the better option!

blorg

irishmotorist wrote: »

The only other thing that I can think of is to get somebody heavy to stand on one side of the wheel and go with a lump hammer on the other side. That's a joke BTW...

I have actually read something not too far off that suggested for paired spoke rims, two blocks of wood and a hammer, not sure it actually was a joke either (indeed Zinn has a nice illustration for emergency buckle repairs in his book, featuring a cyclist bashing his wheel off a rock ). More particularly you may want a tensionmeter and to relieve tension in other spokes before attacking the problem. Note I've never trued a wheel of any sort so this is just going on what I have read.

penexpers wrote: »

I'd also be asking how did the wheel get buckled so soon?

It happens, just like punctures, I've had buckles in all sorts of wheels, including handbuilts with Open Pro rims. I've had a pair of Bontrager Select paired spoke wheels that did me several thousand km without going out of true also.

I'd suggest though if it was a pothole you may well have a vertical dent in the rim (e.g. not just a sideways buckle) which is generally not fixable without rim replacement.

72hundred

blorg wrote: »

I'd suggest though if it was a pothole you may well have a vertical dent in the rim (e.g. not just a sideways buckle) which is generally not fixable without rim replacement.

Yeah I had one of those on a MTB, this doesn't look the same. This one is just slightly of place laterally. Fingers crossed it should be OK.

72oo

72hundred

Hey,

An update: just back from the LBS. Got the wheel buckle fixed and a few small things. Bike is running great now and feels as sweet a nut!

Greatest part was that it was for free - first service after buying a new bike!

72oo

blorg

Excellent, glad to hear and good service to fix the buckle for free, the "first service" generally deals with stuff like brake/gear cable stretch etc. Where did you get the bike?

72hundred

Got the bike at The Bike Shop, known locally as Joe's bike shop on Greenville, O`Connell Avenue, Limerick. Service today was great too, it was done as I waited and all the little problems were ironed out (its nice when the LBS listens to what's not working completely correctly and makes sure you're happy before leaving).

Really great price too on the bike when I bought it, I recommend ppl drop in to check prices if in near and thinking of buying.

72oo

snubbleste

I managed to hit a hidden pothole this morning (that appeared overnight) and as a result have a visible buckle on the front wheel.
Not being mechanically-minded, does anyone have any update on how much the LBS will charge me to fix it?

Home:Ballyhoura

72hundred wrote: »

Got the bike at The Bike Shop, known locally as Joe's bike shop on Greenville, O`Connell Avenue, Limerick. Service today was great too, it was done as I waited and all the little problems were ironed out (its nice when the LBS listens to what's not working completely correctly and makes sure you're happy before leaving).

Really great price too on the bike when I bought it, I recommend ppl drop in to check prices if in near and thinking of buying.

72oo

Got the exact same bike in the exact same shop! Nice bike alright, Joe is sound out. He even gave me a bit of part-time work at the weekends when it suited. I'm sure you were able to bargain him down to an excellent price...well at least I did anyway!

I'm not sure if the Bontrager SSR wheels are as good as people think. They look nice with few spokes but they are heavy as said below. I'm not quite sure how tough they are. I race on them so look after them very well, however I have got the back wheel trued twice now (once just from wear and tear, no potholes and the second time after a minor crash in Rás Luimnigh on Sunday). Bear in mind that I only weigh 53kg. I may be upgrading the wheels in the future, or hopefully the whole bike if I can afford it!

Wheels: tough but not light

The Trek's Bontrager SSR wheels provide a decent performance for a £600 bike. With only 20 plain gauge spokes up front and 24 at the rear, and with no eyelets at the spoke holes, we weren't expecting them to stand up to much abuse... but in use they don't flex excessively and they've stayed impressively true throughout testing. The hubs have kept the rain out well on wet rides and the cup and cone bearings are still running smoothly after minimal fettling. All good!
At a shade over three kilos the pair, the SSRs are a reasonable weight for a bike at this price, but we would still advise upgrading to a lighter set in the long run. In the meantime we'd swap the Bontrager Select 25mm tyres for a narrower 23mm set as a quick way of adding extra zip.

P.S. Do you live near Newcastlewest as I saw a guy on a Trek 1.5 in this direction within the last month! Cheers

Irish_Army01

Same thing happened my FCR1 within a week..Brought it back to the shop and they got 99.999% of it back true again..

The Guy I was dealing with also said to come back in a months time to give it another quick service as it is only bedding in..couldn't ask for a better service..I got my bike in the cyclesuperstore for any one interested.

Home:Ballyhoura

Irish_Army01 wrote: »

Same thing happened my FCR1 within a week..Brought it back to the shop and they got 99.999% of it back true again..

The Guy I was dealing with also said to come back in a months time to give it another quick service as it is only bedding in..couldn't ask for a better service..I got my bike in the cyclesuperstore for any one interested.

Sometimes bikes can come with loose spokes...well not loose but just not as tight as they should be. Too much flexibility!

Home:Ballyhoura

What do ye think of these Mavic Ksyrium Elite wheels 2008? The pair is going for €266 as they are "shop soiled"...whatever this means! Anyway, what do you think is it a good value upgrade?

Húrin

How often do wheels generally require re-truing?

biker_joe

Generally you should check how true you're wheel are each week, especially if you are racing, if not every couple of months.

I am getting my rear wheel re-built at the mo, open pro on ultegra, was n't happy with the overall tension in the wheel, anytime I got it fixed, it seemed to undo after a race ! rebuilt with all new spokes for €30, not bad !
It's an advantage to having hand built wheels over factory built ones .....

Biker Joe

blorg

Húrin wrote: »

How often do wheels generally require re-truing?

It really depends on the wheel, some of my wheels have _never_ required re-truing. Incidentally these have been the factory built ones.

72hundred

Home:Ballyhoura wrote: »

P.S. Do you live near Newcastlewest as I saw a guy on a Trek 1.5 in this direction within the last month! Cheers

N'ah wasn't me I'm afraid. Been stuck up in Dublin since last summer and haven't been cycling in Limerick since then.

EDIT: @Home:Ballyhoura; thought you might get a laugh outta this: http://www.limerickleader.ie/news/Ballyhoura-is-named-top-tourism.5111240.jp

bob123456

video here on how to true a wheel

http://bicycletutor.com/wheel-truing/