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Do wheels suddenly pop out of true?
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Did my FTP test yesterday and everything was fine. Got on bike tonight for a ride and the rear wheel was rubbing on the right side of frame then left side. WAAAAY out of true. Hub spins true and there are no bent spokes. My first thought was the kids hit it horse playing but they all plead not guilty. Our Doberman thinks he is a bucking spinning bull so it could have been him while I was at work. Or... Do wheels just pop out of true? Like way out of true. It's a 2014(?) Reynolds 72mm Aero wheel. Happy Thanksgiving.

http://www.sfuelsgolonger.com
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Re: Do wheels suddenly pop out of true? [timr] [ In reply to ]
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Just to clarify, the you squeezed all of the spokes to verify tension and not just visually inspected.

Usually a wheel only goes out of true like that when a spoke breaks or if a spoke(s) gets really loose.
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Re: Do wheels suddenly pop out of true? [Jason N] [ In reply to ]
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There is one spoke a little loose. I can only imagine that it somehow pulled though the threads? They are flat spokes and I regularly clean them and nothing has every been crooked. I really don't want to ruin my kids Christmas because I need new wheels but....

http://www.sfuelsgolonger.com
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Re: Do wheels suddenly pop out of true? [timr] [ In reply to ]
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Decent possibility that the spoke or spoke nipple broke. I have had that happen a few times. Takes about 10 minutes to fix.
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Re: Do wheels suddenly pop out of true? [timr] [ In reply to ]
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Is the wheel out of true at the location of the loose spoke?
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Re: Do wheels suddenly pop out of true? [jimatbeyond] [ In reply to ]
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It's not. It's about 3/4 of the way from it. I read it's a 5mm wrench but my socket doesn't go through deep enough to touch anything. Just put new rim tape on too.

http://www.sfuelsgolonger.com
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Re: Do wheels suddenly pop out of true? [exxxviii] [ In reply to ]
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I hope it's that easy. I guess Friday I will head to the local bike store and see if they have a wrench so I can figure it out.

http://www.sfuelsgolonger.com
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Re: Do wheels suddenly pop out of true? [timr] [ In reply to ]
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3/4 what?
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Re: Do wheels suddenly pop out of true? [timr] [ In reply to ]
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timr wrote:
There is one spoke a little loose. I can only imagine that it somehow pulled though the threads? They are flat spokes and I regularly clean them and nothing has every been crooked. I really don't want to ruin my kids Christmas because I need new wheels but....

Dude, take it to your LBS. should be easy & cheap for them to fix. With all due respect, if you are on here asking about it, you are just going to make it worse by trying to fix it.
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Re: Do wheels suddenly pop out of true? [jimatbeyond] [ In reply to ]
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jimatbeyond wrote:
3/4 what?


He is saying the knock in the wheel is 3/4 of a rotation of the wheel from the loose spoke. Again, take it to someone that can build wheels.
Last edited by: turningscrews: Nov 22, 17 17:33
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Re: Do wheels suddenly pop out of true? [turningscrews] [ In reply to ]
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I was once told by a great wheel builder a long time ago. When you pick up a spoke wrench think to yourself. "This tool can really mess up a perfectly good wheel" Only he said it in a much rougher form. Sometimes a spoke can just unwind and lose its tension. Not too sure over the web a proper answer can be given. I would get it checked out if you have never messed with wheel truing.
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Re: Do wheels suddenly pop out of true? [turningscrews] [ In reply to ]
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3/4 of a rotation seems to be an odd way of saying that.

I would think one would say 1/4 of a rotation.
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Re: Do wheels suddenly pop out of true? [G-man] [ In reply to ]
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G-man wrote:
I was once told by a great wheel builder a long time ago. When you pick up a spoke wrench think to yourself. "This tool can really mess up a perfectly good wheel" Only he said it in a much rougher form.

A mechanic I worked with years ago told me that at the shop he previously worked for, the owner had a goldfish bowl full of spoke wrenches next to the cash register, marked 75 cents each. That was one of their biggest impulse buy items, and despite selling them at a loss, they more than made up the difference by constantly truing and rebuilding wheels...

"I'm thinking of a number between 1 and 10, and I don't know why!"
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Re: Do wheels suddenly pop out of true? [turningscrews] [ In reply to ]
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Good advice. Sometimes we just need too hear that. I will drop it off to them Friday and hope for a quick turn around.

http://www.sfuelsgolonger.com
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Re: Do wheels suddenly pop out of true? [timr] [ In reply to ]
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Yes. Once I hit a bump at Leon's Tri around 1990 & my custom low spoke front popped way out of true. Too tight of spokes I guess. Another time, a year or so ago, I hit a brick in the bike lane while keeping my head down. Rim bent & out of true. But those are my only experiences with out of true wheels. Except that time at IM CALI 2000 when I landed on my front wheel after a volunteer body checked me in transition. Okay. Three times. Seriously though, a well built wheel with proper tension should not pop out of true suddenly unless there is a material defect or otherwise cause like mine. It can get out of true with use. All the rough roads & bumps you hit over time can loosen the nipples over time. But from one second to the next, it doesn't sound like that is normal/common as much it is a material issue.
Last edited by: Rocky M: Nov 26, 17 19:40
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Re: Do wheels suddenly pop out of true? [G-man] [ In reply to ]
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G-man wrote:
I was once told by a great wheel builder a long time ago. When you pick up a spoke wrench think to yourself. "This tool can really mess up a perfectly good wheel" Only he said it in a much rougher form. Sometimes a spoke can just unwind and lose its tension. Not too sure over the web a proper answer can be given. I would get it checked out if you have never messed with wheel truing.

Flat spokes don't unwind, unless someone can totally miss a flat spoke being twisted out of plane.

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"Go yell at an M&M"
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Re: Do wheels suddenly pop out of true? [klehner] [ In reply to ]
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Reynolds wheels use KT hubs with straight pull spokes, so yes a spoke could turn.
Usually a loose spoke will cause a buckle at the loose spoke and a corresponding lesser one roughly a quarter wheel away.
Sounds like it just loosened because you never serviced it and just needs to be tightened up.
Mark the loose spoke with tape and then tighten it up until it rings the same as it's neighbours and see where your wheel is.

If it is still wooped then give it to someone who knows and tell him the spoke with tape on was loose and you tightened it.
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Re: Do wheels suddenly pop out of true? [lyrrad] [ In reply to ]
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lyrrad wrote:
Reynolds wheels use KT hubs with straight pull spokes, so yes a spoke could turn.
Usually a loose spoke will cause a buckle at the loose spoke and a corresponding lesser one roughly a quarter wheel away.
Sounds like it just loosened because you never serviced it and just needs to be tightened up.
Mark the loose spoke with tape and then tighten it up until it rings the same as it's neighbours and see where your wheel is.

If it is still wooped then give it to someone who knows and tell him the spoke with tape on was loose and you tightened it.

Flat spokes != straight pull spokes. Unless "flat" means "round with no bends," as opposed to "flat instead of round."

----------------------------------
"Go yell at an M&M"
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Re: Do wheels suddenly pop out of true? [klehner] [ In reply to ]
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Flat spokes are blades as in aero type spokes.
Straight pull means no elbow at the hub.
Two different entities.
Spokes can be either, or both.
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Re: Do wheels suddenly pop out of true? [lyrrad] [ In reply to ]
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lyrrad wrote:
Flat spokes are blades as in aero type spokes.
Straight pull means no elbow at the hub.
Two different entities.
Spokes can be either, or both.

The OP indicated that the spokes are flat spokes.

----------------------------------
"Go yell at an M&M"
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Re: Do wheels suddenly pop out of true? [timr] [ In reply to ]
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There are several ways a wheel can become untrue. While wheels can become untrue slowly, every time I have had one become massively out of true like you describe, it has happened pretty suddenly so what you are describing is a "normal" failure.

FWIW i have a friend who runs Reynolds aero wheels and he had a wheel go out of true like you describe. He took the wheel into the shop and It turned out several of his nipples were corroded and one had failed. (He does ride them on salted roads in the winter . . . ) That type of thing is not unique to Reynolds. On many aero wheels you can not see the nipples so you are not likely to see anything in advance before one goes. Anyway, it is a simple and relatively cheap fix.
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Re: Do wheels suddenly pop out of true? [lyrrad] [ In reply to ]
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Yes, flat spokes. I dropped it off at the lbs Saturday morning. $15.00 to true a wheel. I can't believe it's that cheap and I am glad I didn't try to fix it myself. They did say it was so far out they wanted to wait until Monday (today) for "the guy" to come in and fix it. They didn't feel qualified to try to fix it Saturday being a carbon wheel so far out of true. Reminds me I have to call and ask them how it's going.

http://www.sfuelsgolonger.com
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Re: Do wheels suddenly pop out of true? [STP] [ In reply to ]
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The nipples are inside the wheel and I did hear something rolling around inside, like a small nipple, but when I took the tape off all I shook out was dried sealant. Hopefully it's nothing crazy and the lbs can fix it quickly.

http://www.sfuelsgolonger.com
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