# Buying used wheels....how to tell if they are true?



## Erion929 (Jun 10, 2010)

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Newbie here, never bought wheels separately. An acquaintance of mine has a used set of Shimano 7850 Dura Ace wheels that he would sell me. They are off the bike and without tires....how can I tell if they are true? Is it legit to just spin them and hold the spindle on both sides, or do you have to mount them with a skewer on a bike first, or what?

Any other things to look for, that aren't obvious?

thanks for any info!


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## Mailmover (Mar 29, 2011)

If your "acquaintance" will let you, take them to a Bike Shop and ask them to look at them for you and check for true. However, I doubt your "acquaintance" would try to pass off a set of Dura Ace Wheels as being ridable when they were not.


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## Erion929 (Jun 10, 2010)

Well, he's a cyclist I met through a friend of mine, but I don't know him well enough to know if he's doing me a favor or just getting rid of wheels with issues. I don't want to buy used if I have to then spend money to true them or fix them, as I don't know how to do it myself.


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## andulong (Nov 23, 2006)

Bring your bike along and clamp them into your fork/frame. Give them a good spin and check to see that they are relatively true and the bearings seem nice and smooth too. You can't tell how true they are by spining them in your hands but holding the wheel and rolling the axle in your fingers will give you a good idea of the condition of the bearings. If you have a truing stand, or the guy selling them does that will work even better. Also go around the wheel and squeeze paired spokes in your hands...nice and firmly to see that they all feel fairly tight. Look at the rim where the spokes exit and look for any cracks, not a good thing. Make sure the freehub works properly too and will accept the cassette you are planning to use. Campy and Shimano are different. Good luck!


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