lowlux

I can't find anyone that is willing to show me how to true a bicycle wheel, I am going to have to walk 5 miles to bike shop to get the rim trued, I can not ride the bike, The rim is hitting the brakes.

How much do shops charge?

pablosnazzy

depends on the shop. $15-25 is standard.

i bet there is a video or two of how to true a wheel somewhere on the internet, like youtube or something. google is your buddy.

lowlux

those videos suck! Thats why i can't ride the bike.

Steely Dan

standard truing price at chicago shops seems to be 25 bucks.


depending on how severely your wheel is out of true, you could undo the brake on the wheel that is wobbling and ride the bike softly to your bike shop. by riding softly i mean taking it easy on the bike, no abrupt acceleration or deceleration, keep speed reasonable, don't go jumping any curbs or potholes, allow for plenty of stopping distance, etc. you don't want to ride too long on an out of true wheel, but it should get you the 5 miles to the bike shop, unless you've got an egregiously out of true wheel or if you busted a bunch of spokes as well.

wahoonc

My LBS runs between free and $20 depending on how bad the wheel is and how good a customer you are.

Truing a wheel takes a bit of practice but it isn't too hard once you get the technique down.

I also second the idea to release the brake and ride gently to the bike shop, been there done that on tour more than once.

Aaron

drmweaver2

In New Orleans, it costs anywhere from $10-$40 depending on time requirements and whether the mech sees you as a "sucker" or a friend.

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FWIW, I found an old unsused wheel and used it as a practice/experiment item to teach myself. Took me 1hr 45 mins the first time - had a tough time understanding what I was actually doing for some reason. Deliberately untrued it by loosening the spokes all around and retrued it again - multiple times. Now I can take the same wheel and retrue it from all-spokes-totally-loose in under 45 mins. Time well spent in terms of self-sufficiency and future money savings.

sknhgy 

$10 if they are just making adjustments.

Trakhak

If the wheel's bad enough to force you to walk, there's a good chance that the rim is bent so badly that it can't be trued. Bring enough to pay for a new wheel, just in case. Call for an estimate for the wheel plus transferring the tire, tube, etc. to the new wheel.

Doohickie

Or... it might have a broken spoke. Check all the spokes to make sure they are intact. My LBS charges $20 for truing; to replace a broken spoke they generally just charge the cost of the spoke and nipple on top of the normal truing cost (another buck or so).

Retro Grouch 

I don't think that anybody can give a valid answer to your question without seeing the wheel.

"Rim is hitting the brakes." Honestly, I suspect that you have a seriously bent rim. If that's the case, depending on the quality of your wheel components, your most cost effective alternative is probably a whole replacement wheel.

Captain Blight

The bike shop I work at charges $10 for a wheel true.

I want to second what Trakhak said. If the rim is badly out of true, what might have happened is that the metal on the outside of the curve has stretched; there really is no way to true a rim to which that's happened.

johnr783

I went to the bike shop, bought a truing stand, spoke wrenches and trued it myself. The best thing about it is, if need be, I can true by sight now. It is one of my favorite things to do.

If you lived in San Antonio, I would help you learn how to true a wheel.

safariofthemind

Round here it's 15-20 bucks. Often you can get a complete "tune up" to include the drive train, any adjustments and both wheels trued, if needed, for 30-35 dollars near NC State. I think the shops do it to get people in the door and shopping...

doc0c

Try this article. https://waterloobikes.ca/2010/11/03/w...g-on-a-budget/

Southpaws

I seriously bent my front rim on a drop once and had to ride it home five miles from a trail (after removing the wheel and beating it back into place far enough to make spoke adjustments worthwhile).

Like others have suggested, I released the brake and rode SLOWLY up and downhill for 5 miles, and it beat the heck out of walking.

This video doesn't suck. The process does suck if you're a beginner, and it'll take a lot of time and trial and error. $25 to have someone else do it sounds like a good deal unless you have a lot of time and patience.

How To True a Wheel

corkscrew

Cost me $12 yesterday. Standard shop prices for my LBS chain is 12-20, depending on how bad the wheel is.

I called REI the other day for a quote, they said $8 per side.

Southpaws

"$8 per side? Okay, I can only afford the left side today so just do that one."

Seriously, doesn't sound like a bad price.

Pouhana

I was in the bike shop 2 weeks ago. I was told their business is tripple times normal. Asked for 1 spoke, It is in the shop. Mechanic told me to have a look around, they needed to"cut a spoke" to fit. Sold me 2 uncut spokes and said it would be a while because someone left his machine out of adjustment.

Cutting a spoke means cutting length and cutting new threads.

Oneder

This guy (sick biker) is pretty good at explaining.


It is pretty easy to get it decently trued just make sure you are turning it the right way. Getting it razor sharp is beyond me but then I don't have the time and patience to spend a long time on it, or a dedicated stand.

Russ Roth

Last shop I was at was 12-20 depending on how difficult, price of spokes if required and 5.00 to pull the cassette if needed to replace a spoke. Critical to riding is if its touching the frame. We don't know how close your brakes sit to the rim so touching the brakes may be a whole lot of nothing, just a simple true and even if it rubs against the brake its still faster then walking. 2 things to check before riding, does the brake pad touch the tire, which can happen from it going out of true due to a flat spot, you'll quickly ruin the tire and really need to adjust the pads away from that. Does it touch the frame, if it does it can do anything from ruining the pain on a 4130 steel frame to wearing through the stay on a nice aluminum frame and I've seen that happen. if its neither just ride and save the time.

Miele Man

Where I am in Canada the shops charge about $40.00 to true a wheel. It's a price they can't really quote you over the phone because as others have said they need to see the wheel to be sure it's not a broken spoke or a bent rim.

A wheel can be bent by hitting it in a big longitudinal gap in the road or in a trolley or train track gap. If that happens then taking the wheel off the bike, making sure the tire is inflated HARD, then holding the wheel laterally and striking the proud section of the TIRE against the ground (pavement is best) can sometimes spring the wheel back enough to let one ride to a bicycle shop or home. Ditto for a potato-chip wheel.

If you post whereabouts you are located there may be someone here able to help you out.

Cheers

dedhed

You know you were replying to an almost 10 year old post?

Gconan

Ten year old thread. Why did you revive it?

branko_76 

not only old, but dumb as well. Why didn't the op just call a local bike shop?