Repairing bicycle wheels

If you experience a bump, bump, bump, during riding is caused by a couple of issues. One of these may not necessary a distorted rim a but a distorted inner tube causing a lump on the tip of a worn out tire or showing though a old nail puncture cut that can be can be checked by eye. With the bike upside down resting on the seat and handle bars, roll the wheel round at a moderate pace enough to observe an up and down bumping.

If you find the bump the tire is pretty thin and worn or the inner tube starting to show though an old nail cut puncture. We can easily see from the spinning if it's not in the rim. If not in the tire we can equally observes it's the rim. A distorted rim is caused by an egg shape caused by a missing or broken spokes.

On going braking spoke problem is caused by the mistake of tightening every replaced spoke. With the bike upside down resting on the seat and handle bars rotating the wheel what looks like a side to side wobble, when looking again, you will observe an up and down bumping. The rim is twisted to one side where replacement spokes where the rim acts like a cork on the ripples of a beach.

As you keep tighten replacement spokes they pull the rim twisting to one side and pulling a bow. The rest of the spokes pushes a razed bump and twisting the rim opposite corner causing the egg shape, The replacement spokes are either the gear cluster or opposite. sides of the whole wheel.

Note. In correcting the issue brake rubbers of rim brake bikes can be used as a guide to help straighten out the wobble. Observe how close a gap between the rubbers and the rim is. In the case of disc brake bikes the disc between the gap of brake calliper as a guide straightening the rim wobble by spoke tension is possible.

The tire and inner tube removed re-mounted the wheel back in the bike turning the wheel so the new spoke is vertical between the two brake rubbers. Similarly with disc brake bikes the new spoke vertical to the disc.

Don't tighten the new spoke. Instead loosen two spokes opposite the replaced spoke and loosen only one the other side. You should have loosened three spokes leaving a total of four loose spokes in a row in a bow. Tracing the spokes two will be the gear cluster side and the other two the opposite side along the bow.

Turn the wheel round so the opposite corner. If you have a rim brake bike is between the brakes rubbers if or in the case of a disc brake bike the razed hump in line with disc where you adjust spokes here. You can start with the gear cluster side tightening the two spokes only a half turn or so. The same applies if you start first with the opposite side if you wish. Which ever side doesn't matter. If you started with the gear cluster side first after adjusting those spokes turn your attention to the two spokes of the opposite side only a half turn or so.

You may observe if you have rim brakes may start to move away from one brake pad towards the opposite rubber as  you alternate each side. The same movement applies to all rims including disc brakes the disc between the calliper will appear to line up straighter. If you concentrate only on one side potentially causes twisting the rim to that side causing a twist in the rim. Alternate in turn between the gear cluster and opposite side pattern.

Turn the wheel round back to the new spoke. If you have rim brakes between the brake rubbers or vertical to the disc if you have a disc brake bike. You will find when you adjusted this corner the loose spokes you loosed ( now the opposite corner ) had taken up some slack straightening out the opposite corner bump and twist as you adjusted  these spokes in the bow Conner.

All that is left is fine tuning adjusting spoke tensions alternating between each corner of the rim at a time alternating between the gear cluster and opposite side fine tuning adjustment. In this way the rim should look good running straight and true between the bake rubbers of your rim brake bike or your bike is disc brake type the disc between the crack of the main calliper.

One of the biggest mistakes causing on going braking spoke problems in the first place is swooping wheels between bikes. Wheels are not that interchangeable because a few design issues.

The main issue what is expressed as dished and symmetrical wheels. If you look head on the rear wheels of any bike you'll be able to detect some bikes the gear clusters sides looks like a dish bulge, opposite side looking flat. Then there are wheels the gear cluster side looks flat while the opposite side looks dished. Then there are bikes with both sides looking dished. The combinations of the dish like appearances is expressed as dished wheels.

However there are wheels that both sides that look flat expressed as symmetrical wheels. There consequences between dish and symmetrical wheel appearances between front forks and rear wheel drops outs widths is significant. A wrong symmetry type wheel for the front forks or rear wheel drop out constantly keeps the wheel twisted the cause of on going braking spoke problems.

 If  I may use an extreme example to illustrate a point. If a symmetrical wheel is fitted to a front fork or rear wheel drop out width meant for a meant a dished wheel can cause problems. The hub of the dished wheel off sets the entire wheel in the symmetrical front fork or rear drop out to one side causing problems with not only wheel alignment between the widths causes braking problems because the rim is off set rubbing on the brakes. Not only that on the rear wheel drop out stays or front forks. This issue is critical if there is any intention of rebuilding wheels using parts from different wheels.

Tape measures read a difference of a few centimetres across both front forks and rear wheel drop outs. The rear drop out widths accommodate room for a variety of rear wheel sprockets and front chain wheel sprocket arrangements not to mention  dished or symmetrical wheels. The narrowest rear wheel drop out is a five rear wheel sprocket set symmetrical wheel allowing room only for a double front chain wheel arrangement a typical ten speed arrangement where the gear cluster. If there is a triple chain wheel set room is needed for the third sprocket and accommodating for symmetrical or dished wheels a fifteen speed bikes.

More room is needed to accommodate six rear wheel sprockets and either only allowing for a double front chain wheel arrangement ( twelve speed )  or if a triple front chain wheel symmetrical or dished wheel arrangement room has to be needed for the three sprockets of eighteen speeds. Lots of room is required to accommodate seven sprockets allowing room only for a double front chain wheel arrangement ( fourteen speed ) or if a triple chain wheel arrangement extra width room required for the three sprockets (A twenty one speed ) and to accommodate for a symmetrical or dished wheel arrangement.

Tap measures are an ideal tools assessing profile information of any bike frame dimensions specially if there is any wheel rebuilding intentions choosing the right wheel parts suitable. They are ideal in assessing the length of spokes required. Knowing the rear wheel drop out width's can help in choosing the right speed, dish or symmetric wheel arrangement suitable fitting the drop out properly of the intended frame.

If I may use another extreme example intensions of converting a ten speed into a twenty one rebuilding the original  ten speed rim onto a twenty one speed hub meant for a dished drop out the twenty one speed hub designed for a symmetrical wheel will off-set forcing the ten speed drop out stays apart to fit mere millimetres from the rear wheel drop out stay possibly even rubbing the wall of the tire not to mention on the rim  brake arms and brake rubbers and will not fit properly. If you  have a disc brake bike the disc won't fit between  the gap of the brake pad calliper. The opposite effect has the same problem only the ten speed hub forces the twenty one speed stays inward. The bike will only grab as you ride.

You will have problems trying to get the wheel cantered. The effect the rear wheel won't be following aligned with the front wheel the why they should. You'll be riding a crabbing frame wearing out tires unevenly. But all is not lost  interchanging any hub inside any rear wheel droop out so lone as the drop out and hub is a match for each other with careful selecting with tape measures for proper fits.

If you carefully select the right hub length, with a tape measure the right symmetry rim suitable for the front forks or rear wheel drop width from all your spare wheel parts bin everything including spokes will all fit like a glove.