Bent rear tire (maybe rim?)

[xerxez]

I'm exhausted.

The rim finally came in. So, i bought a spoke wrench and a spoke tension meter. However, a reasonably good truing stand costs $200, so I don't want to buy one.

This one is closer to $115, but doesn't get great reviews. https://www.amazon.com/Park-Tool-Me...1&keywords=truing+stand&qid=1601769142&sr=8-3

Anyways, I decide to use a combination of my labor and the LBS.

I removed the wheel. I taped the two rims next to each other. Then I moved each spoke one at a time. So, presto, the old rim is gone. The new rim is in use.

I brought the new rim to the LBS. They said they could true it for $45. But, when I got the wheel back, the spoke tensions didn't seem consistent with what Juice recommends (117-133 kgf drive side and 73 - 82 kgf non drive side). So, I changed the spoke tensions to match what Juiced recommends.

And now, this is what my tire looks like: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1maN7Hk75TIeukzS5x9q7axeON3s8GiTL/view?usp=sharing


Should I just ride this? Should I try to get the LBS to fix it? Should I buy a true stand?

I'm exhausted.

 

[Dunbar]

Should I just ride this? Should I try to get the LBS to fix it? Should I buy a true stand?

I rode my Cross Current for a long time like that with no adverse outcome. I eventually watched a YouTube video and ended up truing it on the bike myself and it’s much better (although not perfect). I don’t even own a tool to measure spoke tension. I wouldn’t be too obsessed with having the spoke tensions exactly within the recommended range. If you need to go outside of that range to get the wheel true it’s no big deal. You just want to avoid mainly really loose spokes from what I’ve heard.

 

[EmotionLynx6Pro]

The video shows what looks like a flat spot in the rim, caused by too much tension on the spokes at the flat spoke. Try loosening the spokes.

 

[stanmiller]

Should I just ride this? Should I try to get the LBS to fix it? Should I buy a true stand?

I'm exhausted.

I'd take it back to the LBS. You really need all the gear to get it right. Spoke tension meter. Spoke wrench. Dishing tool. And truing stand. I would think you could get away with a cheap truing stand and you could make a dishing tool.

It's easy to goof up the dish when tightening where the wheel won't be centered when mounted.

 

[xerxez]

I'd take it back to the LBS. You really need all the gear to get it right. Spoke tension meter. Spoke wrench. Dishing tool. And truing stand. I would think you could get away with a cheap truing stand and you could make a dishing tool.

It's easy to goof up the dish when tightening where the wheel won't be centered when mounted.

I did. They said I can pick it up. Thank you all for your support and recommendations. This doesn't seem to be a supper common issue.... so i should be more careful in the future, and hopefully i'll stay in the clear!!

Shout outs to (1 ) Peck and (2) Sierratim.

I hope this short journey is done.

 

[xerxez]

Well, they fixed it for no additional cost (original cost was $45--and maybe that's a little high, IMO). They said there was an issue an possibly hadn't fixed it correctly last time. That seems correct, as many of the spokes seemed very loose. I'm back. There's a small bump in the wheel, but i'm not racing, and it won't impact my riding. Whew! Done!

 

[jackducan]

Knowing how to straighten a bent bike rim allows me to effortlessly speed up any driveways with my fixed rim. You can do it, you need: Check your bike’s spokes and rim, slowly turn the wheels and inspect the gap between your wheel and the brake disc. To straighten bike rim, start by carefully turning to the rim area where it hits brake pad, tighten the spoke opposite to the damaged area. Then, Tighten the bike spokes. Take a look at the rim’s ding, evenly tighten the two spokes across from the ding. After fixing the wheel and making the gaps even, proceed with pressing each pair of spokes in your bike rim.

 

[john peck]

Knowing how to straighten a bent bike rim allows me to effortlessly speed up any driveways with my fixed rim. You can do it, you need: Check your bike’s spokes and rim, slowly turn the wheels and inspect the gap between your wheel and the brake disc. To straighten bike rim, start by carefully turning to the rim area where it hits brake pad, tighten the spoke opposite to the damaged area. Then, Tighten the bike spokes. Take a look at the rim’s ding, evenly tighten the two spokes across from the ding. After fixing the wheel and making the gaps even, proceed with pressing each pair of spokes in your bike rim.

Spoke maintenance is a valuable skill. i´m a bit of a fanatic checking b4 & after every ride. The above
procedure can help. With practice it itś nearly as precise as an expensive tuning setup, but even with
that tool thereś not a lot can be done with bad flat spot on the rim or one well & truly tacoed. In hot
weather spoke nipples can loosen; that´s why frequent checks are a good idea. I like my wheels perfect.

 

[Sierratim]

True and round wheels are a luxury I like to indulge in as well... Handling at higher speeds is much improved.

I do use linseed oil (in place of the much more expensive spoke prep) in each spoke nipple to nearly eliminate spoke loosening with use. When assembling a wheel I dip the spoke threads into a cap full of oil then assemble and tension as normal. The oil helps accurately adjust tension and then actually stiffens when exposed to air so it helps prevent loosening, but not to the point where the spokes can't be adjusted or replaced in the future.

 

[ixo]

Spoke maintenance is a valuable skill. i´m a bit of a fanatic checking b4 & after every ride. The above
procedure can help. With practice it itś nearly as precise as an expensive tuning setup, but even with
that tool thereś not a lot can be done with bad flat spot on the rim or one well & truly tacoed. In hot
weather spoke nipples can loosen; that´s why frequent checks are a good idea. I like my wheels perfect.

For maintenance tightening of the spokes, how tight are they supposed to be? My spokes frequency seem quite loose but I just don’t know how tight to make them in order to prevent them from quickly loosening again.

 

[john peck]

Well, they certainly should not loose. The object is to have a wheel that spins true in a single
plane. There are expensive tools that will do that to perfection, or you could pay a shop to do
it. I wrap my thumb & index finger around one side of the fork or upper rear stay so that the
tips of my fingers almost touch the rim & spin the whl. If the wheel is true the distance from your
finger tips will be the same through the entire rotation. At a point where it gets farther away you
need to tighten that spoke slightly on the finger side & slightly loosen the two on each side of that
spoke on the opposite side. If when spun the rim presses into your finger do the reverse. This
needs to be done repeatedly in ´very small increments´ until the wheel remains the same distance
through the whole rotation, check again from the other side. Also check to see if the edge of
the rim move in or out from the axle or has a ´flat´ spot on it. A minor flat spot can be ignored,
but one of an inch or more in length requires professional care or replacement.

 

[Sierratim]

For maintenance tightening of the spokes, how tight are they supposed to be? My spokes frequency seem quite loose but I just don’t know how tight to make them in order to prevent them from quickly loosening again.

A spoke tension gauge can help you get your spokes to the correct tension, though more money in tools (not that that's a bad thing )

I use a tension gauge when building a new wheel, but rely on the acoustic technique when tuning up a wheel;
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/spoke-pitch.html

If your spokes are "quickly loosening", correct tension won't be a permanent fix. The real solution is to rebuild the wheel using spoke prep or linseed oil on the spoke threads so they won't loosen while riding.

 

[fooferdoggie]

Spoke maintenance is a valuable skill. i´m a bit of a fanatic checking b4 & after every ride. The above
procedure can help. With practice it itś nearly as precise as an expensive tuning setup, but even with
that tool thereś not a lot can be done with bad flat spot on the rim or one well & truly tacoed. In hot
weather spoke nipples can loosen; that´s why frequent checks are a good idea. I like my wheels perfect.

not for me I get confused. thats why I buy a good hand built wheel maintain free is such a good thing.

 

[john peck]

not for me I get confused. thats why I buy a good hand built wheel maintain free is such a good thing.

Thatś a good place to start; I have never had to tweak the front wheel in 4k mi. It´s still
dead-on true. The rear has had ´minor´ adjustments, but currently true to the thickness
of the decal on the rim, less than 1 mm. I´m amazed that a bike this cheap came with
such high quality wheels.

 

[ixo]

I’m finding that after each ride I have like one or two totally loose spokes on the rear wheel. I don’t know if it’s a bent rim because it’s not exhibiting any other issues or vibrations or anything like that, and, it’s not always the same spokes. It’s possible that I need the wheel pro trued, or that I’m just not tightening the spokes tight enough or something. Any thoughts?

 

[john peck]

I’m finding that after each ride I have like one or two totally loose spokes on the rear wheel. I don’t know if it’s a bent rim because it’s not exhibiting any other issues or vibrations or anything like that, and, it’s not always the same spokes. It’s possible that I need the wheel pro trued, or that I’m just not tightening the spokes tight enough or something. Any thoughts?

Not all spokes or nipples come out with perfect . You might try to loosen those a bit, put some thread lock
on the exposed threads, & retighten. I kinda ping my spokes by feel looking for the right tension & note.
It may be that threads or nipples are stripped if they refuse to tighten.

 

[ixo]

Not all spokes or nipples come out with perfect . You might try to loosen those a bit, put some thread lock
on the exposed threads, & retighten. I kinda ping my spokes by feel looking for the right tension & note.
It may be that threads or nipples are stripped if they refuse to tighten.

Thanks, they do all tighten however when I get home one or two is usually loose again. It may be I’m just being too gentle with tightening them and maybe not getting them tight enough.

 

[john peck]

Thanks, they do all tighten however when I get home one or two is usually loose again. It may be I’m just being too gentle with tightening them and maybe not getting them tight enough.

They may tighten, but imperfect spokes & nipples will still work loose. It threadlock doesn´t work, you´ll
need to replace both spoke & nipple. This happens when a power tool is used in the wheel build.

 

[ixo]

They may tighten, but imperfect spokes & nipples will still work loose. It threadlock doesn´t work, you´ll
need to replace both spoke & nipple. This happens when a power tool is used in the wheel build.

How do you apply thread locker? When I do have the loose spokes I don’t even see the thread at all.

 

[john peck]

I did. They said I can pick it up. Thank you all for your support and recommendations. This doesn't seem to be a supper common issue.... so i should be more careful in the future, and hopefully i'll stay in the clear!!

Shout outs to (1 ) Peck and (2) Sierratim.

I hope this short journey is done.

Ah, the joys of bike maintenance! Doesn´t matter what you ride; there´s always gonna be sumpin´.