Newbie bike problem

Dave B said:

Hi Folks,

I'm a newbie commuter (about 4.5 miles both ways) who just recently
bought a Ridgeback cyclone from one of his local bike shops (Glasgow).

I'm really enjoying it even when it has been p*ss*ng it down with rain
(which happens on occasion in Glasgow!).

Anyway yesterday when I was fitting my computer to the bike, which I had
my first try of today :-) I noticed that when I spin my front wheel it
rubs agains one of the break blocks for a small part of each rotation.
Is this just a slight misalignment of the wheel in the forks, i.e. I
need to have a fiddle, or is it something more sinister wrong with the
wheel, i.e. the shop needs to fiddle or replace. Just wanted to check
before I have a look at it over the weekend.

Thanks for the help

Dave

Does the rim only catch on the brake block slightly? if so, almost
certainly your wheel is slightly out of true, i.e., the rim isn't in a
perfectly flat plane. It's easily fixed using a spoke key of the
correct size - you can get quite clear instructions for the job on a
number of websites, probably just by Googling for wheel truing or
something. If your bike shop is any good, they should be able to do a
quicker and better job of truing it, although be warned that not all
bike shops are what they seem.

It's a good idea to learn how to do it, because your wheel will probably
need such slight adjustments from time to time in future.

--
Brian G

Dave B said:

Anyway yesterday when I was fitting my computer to the bike, which I had
my first try of today :-) I noticed that when I spin my front wheel it
rubs agains one of the break blocks for a small part of each rotation.
Is this just a slight misalignment of the wheel in the forks, i.e. I
need to have a fiddle, or is it something more sinister wrong with the
wheel, i.e. the shop needs to fiddle or replace. Just wanted to check
before I have a look at it over the weekend.

It's quite hard to misalign a wheel in the forks (although I've done it
:-). Invert the bike, make sure the bolts/quick release is done up
tight, spin the wheel, use the Mk 1 Eyeball to check it's straight.

There's also a small chance your forks are out of whack if you've hit
something hard, but you'll probably know that.

What's more likely is that the wheel has come out of true. It's
possible to fix this oneself with the assistance of a spoke key; the
general idea is that you tighten the spokes on the non-rubbing side and
slacken them on the rubbing side to haul the rim over. It really is as
simple as that; HOWEVER it also takes a certain amount of experience and
foreknowledge to make sure you don't overtighten/undertighten things
and end up with a serial spoke-snapping wheel. People have recommended
Jobst Brandt's The Bicycle Wheel as the bible of wheel-related stuff.
Alternatively, any decent local bike shop should retrue and retension
the wheel properly for around a tenner.

R.

Dave B said:

Hi Folks,

I'm a newbie commuter (about 4.5 miles both ways) who just
recently bought a Ridgeback cyclone from one of his local bike
shops (Glasgow).

I'm really enjoying it even when it has been p*ss*ng it down with
rain (which happens on occasion in Glasgow!).

Anyway yesterday when I was fitting my computer to the bike, which
I had my first try of today :-) I noticed that when I spin my
front wheel it rubs agains one of the break blocks for a small
part of each rotation. Is this just a slight misalignment of the
wheel in the forks, i.e. I need to have a fiddle, or is it
something more sinister wrong with the wheel, i.e. the shop needs
to fiddle or replace. Just wanted to check before I have a look at
it over the weekend.

As the rubbing is for part of the wheel's rotation either the wheel is
slightly out of true or there is some other irregularity. This could be
either the joint in the wheel rim, the side wall of the tyre, or
something like a peeling label on the rim.

You say the bike is new. Most shops give a free first service. If
you've not yet had this, truing the wheel should be included. The wheel
seems to have gone out of true quite quickly, and this is typical of
machine assembled wheels. Ideally you should get the shop to retension,
retrue, and stress relieve both wheels although they may give you a
blank look when you say "stress relieve". The wheels should then stay
true for years.

If you want to tackle this job yourself you could look at the following
web page <http://www.sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html> which comes
under the urc acronym AUSHTA (As Usual Sheldon Has The Answer). You can
read the whole page for interest - it's a brilliantly clear exposition
of a fascinating subject - but the bit you really need is between the
headings "Tensioning and truing" and "Which Side of the Flange?". You
will need a spoke key. Ideally you would also have a truing stand but
you can do a pretty good job with the wheel in the bicycle's forks and
using your brake blocks as gauges.

--
Dave...

dkahn400 said:

As the rubbing is for part of the wheel's rotation either the wheel is
slightly out of true or there is some other irregularity. This could be
either the joint in the wheel rim, the side wall of the tyre, or
something like a peeling label on the rim.

You say the bike is new. Most shops give a free first service. If
you've not yet had this, truing the wheel should be included. The wheel
seems to have gone out of true quite quickly, and this is typical of
machine assembled wheels. Ideally you should get the shop to retension,
retrue, and stress relieve both wheels although they may give you a
blank look when you say "stress relieve". The wheels should then stay
true for years.

If you want to tackle this job yourself you could look at the following
web page <http://www.sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html> which comes
under the urc acronym AUSHTA (As Usual Sheldon Has The Answer). You can
read the whole page for interest - it's a brilliantly clear exposition
of a fascinating subject - but the bit you really need is between the
headings "Tensioning and truing" and "Which Side of the Flange?". You
will need a spoke key. Ideally you would also have a truing stand but
you can do a pretty good job with the wheel in the bicycle's forks and
using your brake blocks as gauges.

Thanks Guys.

I wondered what the spoke key was for on my multitool! It is due its
free service at the end of this month so I will see if I can get the
spokes tweeked then. I think I would rather practice on an old wheel
before I tried it on my new one.

I've come across Sheldon's web site before. Certainly seems like there
is a lot of good information there. I'm beginning to realise there's a
lot to this cycling malarky! When I bought my bike I entered into a
whole new world....... :-)

Cheers

Dave

Dave B said:

When I bought my bike I entered into a whole new world....... :-)

Welcome to it!

--
Dave...

Dave B said:

Hi Folks,

I'm a newbie commuter (about 4.5 miles both ways) who just recently
bought a Ridgeback cyclone from one of his local bike shops (Glasgow).

I'm really enjoying it even when it has been p*ss*ng it down with rain
(which happens on occasion in Glasgow!).

That's a good sign :-)

Quoted message said:

Anyway yesterday when I was fitting my computer to the bike, which I
had my first try of today :-) I noticed that when I spin my front
wheel it rubs agains one of the break blocks for a small part of each
rotation.

Because the rubbing is only on part of the rotation it means the wheel is
certainly out of true. BUT the brake may also be off-centre and
centering* it may stop the rubbing. This /might/ be all you need do if
not bothered about a slight 'buckle'. Wheels are rarely perfectly true
and usually don't need to be. However, I would true the wheel if it was
out enough to interefere with braking or braking feel. This becomes more
of an issue when you like the brake blocks set very close to the rim (like
I do).

Also check wheel is fitted properly and no spokes are broken.

* http://www.parktool.com/repair_help/FAQindex.shtml#brakes

~PB

in message <[email hidden]>, Dave B

(') said:

Anyway yesterday when I was fitting my computer to the bike, which I
had my first try of today :-) I noticed that when I spin my front wheel
it rubs agains one of the break blocks for a small part of each
rotation. Is this just a slight misalignment of the wheel in the forks,

No, the wheel is slightly out of true. Machine built wheels, particularly
cheaper ones, tend to go a little out of true. Take it into your LBS and
ask them to true and stress relieve it. That's typically about 20-30
minutes workshop time.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

---===***<<< This space to let! >>>***===---
Yes! You, too, can SPAM in the Famous Brooke Rotating .sig!
---===***<<< Only $300 per line >>>***===---

Richard said:

HOWEVER it also takes a certain amount of experience and
foreknowledge to make sure you don't overtighten/undertighten things
and end up with a serial spoke-snapping wheel.

Its pretty difficult to do that by truing a wheel. Setting overall
tension it is only really undertension that is a problem for spoke
breakages and it is very difficult to overtension most modern rims and
spokes unless you are going for 40 or 48 spoke wheels.

Quoted message said:

People have recommended
Jobst Brandt's The Bicycle Wheel as the bible of wheel-related stuff.
Alternatively, any decent local bike shop should retrue and retension
the wheel properly for around a tenner.

An excellent book but Sheldon Brown's web section on wheelbuilding is
the other recommendation. Look on http://www.sheldonbrown.com
--
Tony

"I did make a mistake once - I thought I'd made a mistake but I hadn't"
Anon

Dave B said:

Hi Folks,

I'm a newbie commuter (about 4.5 miles both ways) who just recently
bought a Ridgeback cyclone from one of his local bike shops (Glasgow).

I'm really enjoying it even when it has been p*ss*ng it down with rain
(which happens on occasion in Glasgow!).

Anyway yesterday when I was fitting my computer to the bike, which I had
my first try of today :-) I noticed that when I spin my front wheel it
rubs agains one of the break blocks for a small part of each rotation.
Is this just a slight misalignment of the wheel in the forks, i.e. I
need to have a fiddle, or is it something more sinister wrong with the
wheel, i.e. the shop needs to fiddle or replace. Just wanted to check
before I have a look at it over the weekend.

It could be the wheel going out of true - quite normal for machine built
wheels - in which case it a bike shop or DIY job (look under
wheelbuilding on http://www.sheldonbrown.com). More likely though is
the rim or brakes are slightly off centre leading to rubbing on the
inevitable high spot as no wheel is absolutely true. Make sure the
wheel is securely in the drop outs by releasing the quick release then
leaning on the handlebars while doing it up. Then spin the wheel and
look to see if the gap between the brake block and rim is roughly equal
on both sides or whether one brake is closer than the other. There
should be an adjusting screw/nut that allows you to recenter the brakes
if they are off. Lastly the brakes may be set up too close to the rim
in which case just wind the adjuster out to create more space while
ensuring the brake levers don't go all the way to the bars when you
squeeze hard.

--
Tony

"I did make a mistake once - I thought I'd made a mistake but I hadn't"
Anon

Tony Raven said:

Richard said:

HOWEVER it also takes a certain amount of experience and
foreknowledge to make sure you don't overtighten/undertighten things
and end up with a serial spoke-snapping wheel.

Its pretty difficult to do that by truing a wheel. Setting overall
tension it is only really undertension that is a problem for spoke
breakages and it is very difficult to overtension most modern rims and
spokes unless you are going for 40 or 48 spoke wheels.

I agree it's difficult to mess up the wheel permanently when attempting to
correct just a few spokes, but it is all too easy to damage modern rims by
overtension if ALL spokes are tightened too much.

The improvement in spoke threads and nipples makes it easier to
overtension than it was years ago. The spoke/nipple used to be the
limiting factor (because the nipple would become too hard to turn), now
the rim is.

Overtensioning can damage a rim around the spoke holes, partcularly with
single/non eyeletted ones, and lightweight 28-36h rims like Open Pro will
taco.

~PB

On Fri, 22 Jul 2005 08:50:47 +0100, Dave B <[email hidden]>
wrote:

Hi there,

<Waves>

Quoted message said:

I'm a newbie commuter (about 4.5 miles both ways) who just recently
bought a Ridgeback cyclone from one of his local bike shops (Glasgow).

I'm a newbie with a Ridgeback Cyclone too! Hello :-)

Best wishes,
--
,,
(**)PeeWiglet~~
/ \ / \ pee AT [guessthisbit].co.uk

Following on from Tony Raven's message. . .

Quoted message said:

It could be the wheel going out of true - quite normal for machine built
wheels - in which case it a bike shop or DIY job (look under
wheelbuilding on http://www.sheldonbrown.com). More likely though is
the rim or brakes are slightly off centre leading to rubbing on the
inevitable high spot as no wheel is absolutely true. Make sure the
wheel is securely in the drop outs by releasing the quick release then
leaning on the handlebars while doing it up. Then spin the wheel and
look to see if the gap between the brake block and rim is roughly equal
on both sides or whether one brake is closer than the other. There
should be an adjusting screw/nut that allows you to recenter the brakes
if they are off. Lastly the brakes may be set up too close to the rim
in which case just wind the adjuster out to create more space while
ensuring the brake levers don't go all the way to the bars when you
squeeze hard.

Excellent answer.

Also
* You can have a go at _tweaking_ the spokes yourself. It is an art
that you can quickly pick up if you're good at man-machine
relationships. Something you might want to learn on a long winter's
evening. (Leave wheel on bike and be systematic - only for de-kinking
or odd spoke replacement.)

* Adjusting brakes is a frustrating and fiddly learning curve, but
something you'll need from time to time as they wear and lose
lubrication. Read a book which will tell you about the many little
adjustments that are possible. (Tip: When adjusting brakes ALWAYS try
them out for real afterwards.)

* If it's not broken don't fix it. Bikes like a bit of TLC but (after
1st 100 miles) shouldn't need frequent adjusting. (Also every trip to
the bike shop for X at £2 ends up also with Y and Z and a £50 dent in
the plastic!)

--
PETER FOX Not the same since the deckchair business folded
[email hidden]
www.eminent.demon.co.uk - Lots for cyclists