Wheel no longer true?

GoldenMotor.com

Toothy

New Member
Mar 25, 2014
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San Diego
Hi All,
My back wheel is no longer true and causing all sorts of problems. This is the second time that it has mysteriously gone out of whack. I have a rag joint on the back. I’m sure if I had a nice hub adapter set it would be beneficial in many ways and perhaps prevent this but that is a future purchase.
Is this a common problem? I’m loathed to take the back wheel off and take it down to the local store to get ‘fixed’.
Any ideas to prevent this?
 
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2door

Moderator
Staff member
Sep 15, 2008
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Littleton, Colorado
Toothy,
If this is the second time, how did you fix it the first time? Did you true the wheel or did a bike shop do it?

If installed properly the rag joint won't cause this problem. There are many bikes on the road with hundreds or thousands of miles using rag joints and the wheels are fine.

Loose spokes can allow uneven stress on the rim which might account for your problem. Riding style and your terrain will also impact rim truness. Pot holes, jumping curbs, etc.

If the rag joint isn't installed tight enough it can move and loosen spokes. If installed wrong with the sprocket against the spokes that too can cause problems.
Just a few suggestions. There'll be others.

Tom
 

Toothy

New Member
Mar 25, 2014
181
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San Diego
Tom,
I took it down to the bike shop last time and they adjusted the spokes. Kind of a pain. I may need to check the rag joint and make sure its not loose. Cant wait to by a nice hub adaptor. Next time I build a bike I'm parting the whole thing out.
 

greaser_monkey_87

New Member
Mar 30, 2014
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USA
I recommend learning to true wheels yourself. Truing and even building wheels is not as difficult as some people seem to think it is. It does take some time and practice to learn, but it's simple enough. I started out first learning to true, then to build. I've only built one wheel so far, but I'm getting ready to build two custom wheels for my next project. Here is a link to a tutorial on wheel lacing, if you're interested : I use a spare frame to true my wheels, and I'll share my method, rudimentary as it is. I keep the frame turned upside down with a pair of handlebars to keep it balanced. I bolt the wheel into the rear dropouts, and I clamp a pair of needlenose vise grips to the frame so that the ends of the needlenose are pointing just a few mm away from the rim's braking surface. When the rim rubs the needlenose, I loosen the spokes on the side that's rubbing, and tighten on the opposite side. When one side is true, I move the vise grips to the other side of the frame and repeat the process, doing both sides more than once if necessary until I'm satisfied that the rim is spinning true. I got a spoke wrench on ebay that does multiple sizes of spokes for maybe $12 or so, been awhile so I don't remember exactly. Truing your own wheels will not only add to your repertoire of mechanical skills and give you a sense of accomplishment, it will also save you money.
 
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2door

Moderator
Staff member
Sep 15, 2008
16,302
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Littleton, Colorado
No doubt the aftermarket sprocket adapters make the installion of the rear sprocket easier. What I'm saying is that many have used the rag joint and it has performed perfectly for them.
I've used both and the adapter I tried is flawless but on several other builds the rag joint has never given me any problems.

If you take your rim back to the bike shop for truing I'd suggest removing the rag joint and sprocket. Most bike shops are a little sketchy about working on a rim with a sprocket attached. And, don't tell them it is going on a motorized bicycle.

Tom
 

Toothy

New Member
Mar 25, 2014
181
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San Diego
Thanks Greaser / Tom,
I've watched a couple of videos on YouTube and it looks like something I could do. Great idea using an old frame BTW. Good skill to have. I'm mounting my first disc brake ever so once thats done I'll tackle the wheel!
 
Sep 4, 2012
242
1
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America's Hi-five
Thanks Greaser / Tom,
I've watched a couple of videos on YouTube and it looks like something I could do. Great idea using an old frame BTW. Good skill to have. I'm mounting my first disc brake ever so once thats done I'll tackle the wheel!
I'm sure you can true a wheel. I learned it from youtube and sheldon brown website. I was very intimidated at first, but there is nothing to fear. I use an old front fork to hold it while I work. I've broken a couple spokes on my rear wheel and not noticed it (other than wobble) since the rag joint holds the spoke in place. Make sure you investigate those spokes. Once you have made one wheel true, you"ll be replacing a spoke as fast as a tire change and probably less often as well with your properly tensioned wheel. Good luck!
 

Toothy

New Member
Mar 25, 2014
181
1
0
San Diego
I'm sure you can true a wheel. I learned it from youtube and sheldon brown website. I was very intimidated at first, but there is nothing to fear. I use an old front fork to hold it while I work. I've broken a couple spokes on my rear wheel and not noticed it (other than wobble) since the rag joint holds the spoke in place. Make sure you investigate those spokes. Once you have made one wheel true, you"ll be replacing a spoke as fast as a tire change and probably less often as well with your properly tensioned wheel. Good luck!
Great point about the spokes. I'll check them when I get home. Can you work on the back wheel on the front fork you have set up? I have a fork that I could use in my pile of parts that has developed.
 

Toothy

New Member
Mar 25, 2014
181
1
0
San Diego
I'm sure you can true a wheel. I learned it from youtube and sheldon brown website. I was very intimidated at first, but there is nothing to fear. I use an old front fork to hold it while I work. I've broken a couple spokes on my rear wheel and not noticed it (other than wobble) since the rag joint holds the spoke in place. Make sure you investigate those spokes. Once you have made one wheel true, you"ll be replacing a spoke as fast as a tire change and probably less often as well with your properly tensioned wheel. Good luck!
Broken spoke.....thanks
What a PITA!
 
Sep 4, 2012
242
1
16
America's Hi-five
Great point about the spokes. I'll check them when I get home. Can you work on the back wheel on the front fork you have set up? I have a fork that I could use in my pile of parts that has developed.
probably. the fork I use is wide enough to fit my front and rear wheel with a cb110 coaster. I dont think i could do a rear wheel with the tire on though, not that I would anyways. I just crank the stem in a vise to hold it while I work. Its also helpful to mount and true the sprocket this way too.

Funny enough since I opened my mouth on this topic I was wobblin down the road yesterday with a broken spoke! If you do have a broken one, make sure you take a real good look at the points where the spokes cross between the sprocket adapter. I had one broken spoke, right at the hook end but it was probably due to the spokes stretching because they were worn almost in half. This could have turned bad for me.
here are a few pics.


Its tough to see, but there is serious wear there. I ended up replacing all of the sprocket side spokes since I luckily had some extras around.
 

KCvale

Well-Known Member
Feb 28, 2010
3,966
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Phoenix,AZ
I use an old front fork to hold it while I work.
I have a front fork wide enough to take a coaster brake wheel under the bench vice.

We just pop the fork in the vice and drop the wheel on and use it to true the wheel as well as the rag joint sprocket visually using fixed marks on the shelves behind and on the side of the wheel.

One other thing to consider for others with a wheel wobble problem is the wheel bearings which on $100 wallyworld bikes can give out before you even get the engine broken in.
 

greaser_monkey_87

New Member
Mar 30, 2014
397
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0
USA
Cup and cone bearings in general can be a hassle, always having to take the wheel apart and grease everything and making sure they're properly adjusted, yadda yadda yadda. Sealed bearings are a good idea if you can find a wheel that has them. Freewheel hubs would most likely have sealed bearings. I'm using a moped rear hub and motorcycle drum up front on my next build, both of which have sealed bearings. Not everyone needs to go to that extent just for sealed bearings, though.
 

Toothy

New Member
Mar 25, 2014
181
1
0
San Diego
probably. the fork I use is wide enough to fit my front and rear wheel with a cb110 coaster. I dont think i could do a rear wheel with the tire on though, not that I would anyways. I just crank the stem in a vise to hold it while I work. Its also helpful to mount and true the sprocket this way too.

Funny enough since I opened my mouth on this topic I was wobblin down the road yesterday with a broken spoke! If you do have a broken one, make sure you take a real good look at the points where the spokes cross between the sprocket adapter. I had one broken spoke, right at the hook end but it was probably due to the spokes stretching because they were worn almost in half. This could have turned bad for me.
here are a few pics.

Its tough to see, but there is serious wear there. I ended up replacing all of the sprocket side spokes since I luckily had some extras around.
Oh the irony,
I ended up buying a 12 gauge wheel with a cb110 coaster. I was on my list of things to buy and the breakdown forced my hand. I also bought a hub mount so hopefully I won’t run into the wear issue that you found.