# How often should you true a wheel?



## tommyrhodes (Aug 19, 2009)

I ride about 100 miles a week on mostly flat paved bike path. On Friday I picked my bike up from the LBS after having it tuned/trued. On saturday I i was forced to ride about a half to 3/4 of a mile on light mountainbike trail. Basically just a dirt path. I had no choice but to ride the path and did so very cautiously. Even after riding on the dirt path I still had another 40 miles left in my ride, no problems were noticed.
On monday morning I rode and encountered my first section of road with cobblestone. Absolutely horrible experience, I now understand why the riders complain, it got so violent that I lost a water bottle out of its holder.
After the ride I was going over my bike and realized my rear wheel was rubbing a brake pad. The wheel was clearly warped bad enough that the only way to fix the problem was to lossen the brakes a little bit....

I am still using the Mavic CXP22's that came with my giant defy2. I weigh 210 pounds, perhaps this is part of the problem?

My question is how often do you guys true your wheels? 
Thanks in advance!!


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## PlatyPius (Feb 1, 2009)

I bunnyhop my road bike, hit some massive potholes when I'm not paying attention, and generally thrash my wheels. I weigh 290. I haven't trued any of my wheels this year.

I have a set of Mavic Aksium Races, a set of Torelli carbon Aspects, a pair of 650B Sun CR-18/Veloce/SRAM iLight dynamo wheels that I built, a pair of 105/Shimano Dynamo/Mavic Open Sport wheels that I built, a set of Shimano R500s, and a set of Fulcrum RedMetal 29'er wheels. All are still true.


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## Mr. Versatile (Nov 24, 2005)

Depends what rims & how many spokes you're using. I use Velocity Deep Vee rims & 32 spokes. I haven't trued a wheel in at least 3 years.


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## tommyrhodes (Aug 19, 2009)

Yea thats what makes this strange to me. I just retired a walmart bike ($150 Schwinn Varsity) with about 2700 miles on it. I never once trued a wheel. I'm not sure if I'm just being overly cautious now that I finally have a decent bike or if maybe there was cause for concern. But apparently a little bend in your wheel is normal i guess... or at least thats what I'm gathering


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## jmlapoint (Sep 4, 2008)

I also use Velocity Deep V's/32's and they stay pretty true.
If I see a noticeable wobble develop, I break out the spoke wrench, but once again it is pretty infrequent. I don't off road, and ride fairly nice roads, however.


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## Guest (Aug 26, 2009)

As often as they need it, but unless they're poorly built or not suited to your style or riding I don't think it should be something you do all the time.


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## Gnarly 928 (Nov 19, 2005)

If it wobbles you should true it up. If it goes right out of true again very soon, you need to look at the wheel and the mechanic. One of them is not right. Wheels should stay pretty true until you really bash em or put some extraordinary stress on them. If they don't for you you may need a different set-up for what you are doing with them.

I have a 12 spoke carbon front wheel for TTs. I train on a 28 spoke Zipp 303 front. If I rode my training rides on the 12 spoke, it would go out of whack quickly and I would be trueing it every few rides..With the Zipp I have (165lb rider..about 250mi per week) I only have to true it a couple of times per year...unless I crash or my 100lb dog jumps on the wheelbag..
I have some old Mavic 36f 32r spoke clincher rims that have stayed true for about 15 years..Good heavy wheels with quality spokes and well built..
Just spin em in the bike and watch...if they are wobbling more than a millimeter (~) true em up..


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## tihsepa (Nov 27, 2008)

Good wheels and lost of spokes. I never true wheels.


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## FBinNY (Jan 24, 2009)

How often *should* you have to true a wheel? *Never.* 

But that's in a perfect world. Wheels need to be trued as often as they need it. and that frequency varies tremendously wheel to wheel, builder to builder, rider to rider, and road to road.

Well built wheels of sufficiently strong components matched to the rider and riding conditions should stay true until extraordinarily stressed. If they *never* go out of true no matter what you probably could afford to go to lighter rims and spokes, If they *always* need truing, rebuild heavier duty next time.

The rider is also a large factor in wheel life expectancy. Many years ago I had two regular riding buddies, a ballerina (yes, a 110 pound dancer with the NYC Ballet) and a 225 linebacker type. Guess who couldn't keep a pair of wheels for any length of time? That's when I learned that there are gorillas that ride like ballerinas, and ballerinas that ride like gorillas.


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## tommyrhodes (Aug 19, 2009)

wow, so many replies in such a short time. Well, it seems like my wheels is gonna be high maintenance. There is certainly more than a millimeter of wobble. I'm a pretty heavy guys so I'm sure that is the problem. 

Next question would be is it possible to true the wheel while it's still on the bike? Seems to me like the brake calipers should be able to tell me if my adjustments are working.... I've never trued a bike before and quite frankly I'm a little intimidated by the procedure and have no idea where to start. I'm very handy with tools however so i'm sure i'll be able to figure it out with the right guidance....


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## FBinNY (Jan 24, 2009)

Your weight may be a factor, but so is your riding style. Heavier riders need to help the bike a bit by coming out of the saddle and letting the bike rise over the bump, taking the energy with flexed knees.

Yes, you can true the wheel in the frame using the brake shoes as a guide. If you're doing adjustments of anything more than 1 full turn of the nipples, work with the tire removed to ensure against a protruding spoke puncturing the tube.

I always suggest that newbies practice wheel alignment on a wheel they aren't invested in, because it takes a bit of practice to develop good hand feel for the job. If you search the forums you'll find lots of threads started by folks who've rounded nipples or otherwise gotten in over their heads trying their first wheel alignment. 

BTW- front wheels are far easier to work on than rears, so if that wheels needs work do it first.


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## Guest (Aug 26, 2009)

Riding style is important, when you read about Paris-Roubaix many of the mechanics say the wheels used there are trashed and often are no longer of use after the race but they say Roger DeV.'s wheels from the same race once they were wiped down often looked good as new and he could cover that course faster than anyone.


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## Sriajuda (Jan 7, 2009)

tommyrhodes said:


> Next question would be is it possible to true the wheel while it's still on the bike? Seems to me like the brake calipers should be able to tell me if my adjustments are working.... I've never trued a bike before and quite frankly I'm a little intimidated by the procedure and have no idea where to start. I'm very handy with tools however so i'm sure i'll be able to figure it out with the right guidance....


I actually prefer to true a wheel on the bike. Adjust your brakes so that the brake pad is just rubbing on the rim where the bulge is. Move the wheel backwards and forwards to get a feel for the shape of the bulge. Use your spoke wrench wisely. Don't forget to overshoot 1/4 turn and than loosen it again by 1/4 turn - keeps torsion out of the spokes.

Repeat until you are happy. I find I can true a wheel in no time to a tolerance of 1/10 mm or better with that technique.

If you have wheel deformation regularly, if might also be a case of undertensioned spokes. Rule of thumb: with a standard 28" rim and 32 spokes, the average spoke should sound at the note 'a' or 'b' when plucked. (Front wheel) Rear wheel has higher spoke tension on the drive side, lower tension on the non.drive side. Deviation is about one full note.


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## Puchnuts (Oct 9, 2008)

A well-built wheel doesn't need truing. Maybe once or twice in it's life. If it needs to be trued more often - you've got a deeper problem that's calling out for attention.


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