Matter of truing the rim or replacing it

I got a used commuter that I fixed up a bit and now LOVE :D Anyway, the front wheel had TONS of wobble. I'm not expert wheel-truer (oooh so tedious...plus my perfectionist tendencies work against me.....) but I trued it a bit but it still touches one of the brake pads at 1 or 2 places when I ride (I can hear it :().

Here is what I've been considering:

1) Loosen my brake pads a bit.

2) Attempt another wheel truing.

3) Replace the front wheel rim.

Any thoughts? :)

I'd take it into the LBS and have the spokes looked over. It might be something as simple as replacing one or some.

Only loosen the brake pads enough that you can still get adequate braking performance. That's really not an ideal solution though.

Are we talking about a slight, say, <1 millimeter wobble here? If that's the case, play around with truing it some more and see if that takes care of it. Remember to make small changes at each adjustment.

If it's a huge movement, your rim may be damaged. It may also be a spoke issue as mentioned above. An LBS can assess whether one of those is the case.

Either way, play around with truing it for a bit and see if you can make it better. If that fails, take it in and have a mechanic true it. It's not like it costs you any more if you screw it up further before taking it in :)

I ended up truing the wheel, although I can't help but suspect that the spokes are probably in disrepair :-o

I will take it into my LBS soon to have it checked out by a professional :)

What does truing the wheel mean? I have also noticed that my back wheel is slightly crooked so the rear brake has been rubbing on the wheel. My bike is only a few weeks old. Does riding on uneven pavement and going over bumps cause the wheel to get out of alignment?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Midmichigangal

What does truing the wheel mean? I have also noticed that my back wheel is slightly crooked so the rear brake has been rubbing on the wheel. My bike is only a few weeks old. Does riding on uneven pavement and going over bumps cause the wheel to get out of alignment?

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Truing a wheel means adjusting the spokes so that the rim forms a straight line when viewed edge-on. Wheels can go out of true for any number of reasons, including going over bumps.

If your rim is rubbing against the brake pads all the time, make sure the wheel is sitting straight in the drop outs. If it's just hitting in a few spots every rotation, then your wheel needs to be trued.

Here is a video

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Midmichigangal

What does truing the wheel mean? I have also noticed that my back wheel is slightly crooked so the rear brake has been rubbing on the wheel. My bike is only a few weeks old. Does riding on uneven pavement and going over bumps cause the wheel to get out of alignment?

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If you bike is new, the bike shop should do adjustments as part of the purchase---most bike shops do.

Make sure there is no play in the hub also.