Wheel truing question

psycholist said:

I have a relatively new, custom-built wheel. Wheelsmith XL14/17/14 spokes (24) laced radially
to a Speedcific hub and a Velocity Aerohead rim. The wheel arrived nice and true, but after
only a few rides it started to lose it and now I can't keep it in true.

I'm no wheel builder, but shouldn't all the spokes on a radially-laced front wheel be tensioned
quite similarly? I'm curious why, when I ping the spokes in this wheel they seem to alternate
almost precisely ... ping ... pong ... ping ... pong -- two different tones. And I can true it up
nice and take one ride and it's rubbing the brake shoes before I'm home.

I had a rear wheel with this set I bought. I sent it back 'cuz it wasn't true when it arrived. The
replacement I got has been excellent so far. I'm just wondering if the original set I got was
built when the builder was on an off day or something and I need to send the front back to be
replaced, too.

Bob C.

Any wheel with no dish will have equal tension on either side, by definition. The situation you
described is what is found in a dished wheel, that is, the rim isn't centered between the flanges.
Your front wheel is either a dished wheel, such as a disc brake wheel, or it was built incorrectly.

Even if a wheel is laced and trued properly, it won't stay that way unless the spokes are stress-
relieved and tensioned properly.

I would suggest that the best thing to do is to learn to do these steps. It isn't all that difficult
and takes very little in equipment and then you have a useful skill. But if you don't feel like
doing that, take that wheel back where you got it. The seller may be able to improve it, but it's
possible that they can't. There are plenty of shops that don't know how to build good wheels.

--
Ted Bennett Portland OR

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

I have a relatively new, custom-built wheel. Wheelsmith XL14/17/14 spokes (24) laced radially
to a Speedcific hub and a Velocity Aerohead rim. The wheel arrived nice and true, but after
only a few rides it started to lose it and now I can't keep it in true.

I'm no wheel builder, but shouldn't all the spokes on a radially-laced front wheel be tensioned
quite similarly?

If well built, yes.

Quoted message said:

I'm curious why, when I ping the spokes in this wheel they seem to alternate almost precisely ...
ping ... pong ... ping ... pong -- two different tones. And I can true it up nice and take one ride
and it's rubbing the brake shoes before I'm home.

Sounds like a poorly built wheel.

Quoted message said:

I had a rear wheel with this set I bought. I sent it back 'cuz it wasn't true when it arrived. The
replacement I got has been excellent so far. I'm just wondering if the original set I got was
built when the builder was on an off day or something and I need to send the front back to be
replaced, too.

It sounds like the wheels were built with too low a tension. It is hard to get the wheels up to the
necessary tension using 14/17/14 spokes. The center section is so thin that when you are getting the
spokes up to tension, they tend to wind up. You have to be carefull not to let the spokes wind up
too much or the spokes might break. With low spoke count wheels the tension necessarily has to be
higher, so it is even harder to get the tension right without breaking a spoke.
-------------
Alex

psycholist-<< I have a relatively new, custom-built wheel. Wheelsmith
XL14/17/14 spokes (24) laced radially to a Speedcific hub and a Velocity Aerohead rim. The wheel
arrived nice and true, but after only a few rides it started to lose it and now I can't keep
it in true. >><BR><BR>

I suspect that either the tension wasn't proper for the wheel when new or there was lots of spoke
windup in the wheel when new. Did it ping a lot first ride? If not, the tension is probably low, and
now perhaps the rim is deformed, so consistent tension is going to be tough.

Peter Chisholm Vecchio's Bicicletteria 1833 Pearl St. Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535 vecchios.comvecchios.comOpen ↗ "Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"