Lexi01

Hi Guys,

For those of you that have bought wheelsets online do they come straight and true or is there a need to adjust/fiddle/true them when you get them.

Truing a wheel is something I'm yet to master - not for want of trying. Every time I adjust a spoke it seems to make it worse and I end up losing track of what Ive touched...ends up very frustrating...

I'm trying to avoid the uncomfortable visit to the LBS - "hi guys...I bought some wheels online cos they were way cheaper than you guys could do it - but could you true them for me?? ta."

lesdunham

I bought a set Vuelta Corsa's and a set Soul 3.0's online in the last 5 years they are still near perfect. Symetrical spoke spacing and 20 front , 24 rear is the right answer when looking at wheels.

Lexi01

Which site?

MegaTom

Bought two sets of wheels online. Psimet (almost 1 year old) and Bicycle Wheel Warehouse (2.5 years old). Neither one has needed any truing, except for when I had to have the rear BWW wheel rebuilt after an accident. I can't speak to any factory-built wheels though, so I guess the real answer is "Depends...."

coasting 

i bought 3 sets...a dirt cheap r500 and 2 sets of pro-lite braccianos which I am very very happy with. They all stayed true and I'm not exactly light. I kept trying to kill the r500 to find an excuse to get another set but i failed.

Lexi01

Ha. I'm the same... I have some RS10s and I was fortunate enough to get an upgraded frame after finding a crack recently... So the RS10s seem a little out of place on a high mod bike...

But the RS10s have been perfect and I'm also pretty heavy (225).

jlp1976

I bought a set from ebay and they came brand new in the box. Unfortunetely they didn't carry the warranty though because they didnt come with a dealership reciept. Great wheels though.

wrr1020

I've bought two sets of wheels online, one a set from Bicycle wheel warehouse and a set of Boyds. Both came true out of the box with no issues.

Mike F

I got Boyds'. No problem what so ever. Even thought the UPS knuckle dragger must have used it as a step.... Good packaging

billydonn

Same here, but I have bought three sets from BWW and one from Psimet. One of the rear wheels from BWW had a small section of spokes loosen and I had them adjusted at the LBS without guilt or issue. Otherwise the wheels have run true 100% and I'm a Clydesdale.

fishymamba

My Souls came in true. After a spoke broke I took the wheel to my LBS to get a new one. As soon as I said I got the wheel online he handed me the wheel back and told me that they were "special" spokes and he could not fix the wheels.

Accordion

Williams System 30s. One year on them. One broken spoke - it was an anomaly and I was sent four new spokes at no charge and haven't had a problem since.

The wheels are and have always been true.

Lexi01

That's what I'm afraid of...I have a great LBS. Very helpful in so many ways - and I don't want to screw with them. But I also don't want to pay $600 for a set of wheels I can get for $360 on Ribble.

Accordion

Find another LBS. No decent LBS is going to turn away business. And if they don't have bladed spokes lying around you don't want them working on your bike anyway.

He should have just grabbed a spoke, installed it, trued up your wheel and charged you $15. You'd come back the next time you had a problem and he just made $15.

Andy_K 

Why should the LBS care where the wheel came from? If they didn't sell it, you're going to pay them to true it. That's money in their pocket.

Lexi01

Logically I'd say you're correct...but there's a whole lot of angst from LBSs about online sales.

abstractform20

only idiots would refuse to perform paid labor for such a basic mechanical task.

i just hope you arent one of the a-ss-holes that wastes the LBS time/money by asking for their advice and/or trying shoes, clothes, etc. without any intention of actually buying it from the LBS.

fishymamba

Yup, I did find a new LBS, the only reason I go to the other one is for nutrition products, their prices are just too good!

Velo Vol 

Too much hand-wringing here.

If a shop gives you grief over where you bought your wheels, find another one. They aren't entitled to your business.

volosong

Got a set of D/A C24 last year and Ultegra wheels earlier this year off the bay. No problem with either set. Good wheels.

RollCNY

Not to speak in defense of all LBS's, but don't some wheels use a proprietary, or at least unusual spoke? My LBS has helped me with my Easton's, but they told me up front that they don't have spokes for them and that I'd have to get them from Easton if I ever had an issue. I have read that same thing with Easton's other places, so I think some LBS valid responses depend on the wheel.

halfspeed

It depends upon the wheels. I had Easton EA-50s come perfectly. C-4 wheels came built with the wrong spokes. Torelli Bormio needed slight truing. OP/Record from Performance needed to be detensioned and rebuilt. Souls were true but had issues with the nipples. The rest of my wheels have been built by me or came on the bike.

LemondFanForeve

Winner winner chicken dinner. Who cares where you got your wheels? Its like taking a Chevy to s Ford delearship for servicing, & Ford turning them away bc they didnt buy a Ford from them. If an LBS is butthurt bc you didnt buy the wheels there, im sure there are several more shops whod gladly take your business instead? Plus, wouldnt be surprised if while casually mentioning what happened, they offer to fix stuff for free in the future, or at a discount.

coasting 

I never take my car to the brand's showroom for a service. Any garage will service my car.

X-LinkedRider

I am pretty particular about who I buy from and pretty much stick to Williams wheels when not going through a sponsor. So far every set I have bought online (Hand built from Williams or S-Lite) has come straight and true. U have yet to even need to adjust any of them yet. They each have a couple thousand miles besides the newest set. Machine built wheels will ALWAYS need to be hand adjusted within a thousand miles or so and not uncommonly right out of the box.