Ken wrote:
Okay to get right to the point. I have this old mtb that I just got and the
back wheel had some major wobbles to it when I got it. I used the tire and
frame as a guide and got the *big* wobbles out. Then last night I was going
to ride it for my after dinner short ride and I had a flat tire, I took the
wheel off the bike, took the tire and tube off the rim and patched and
re-assembled. Now when I spin the wheel my tire rubs on my chainstays. I
have tried changing the angle of the wheel slightly and it seems that if I
do the tire rubs on the other side. Now I know this is probably caused by
the tire not being mounted back on the rim in exactly the same place. My
question should I try to *re-true* the back wheel using my tire / frame
method. Or is there some other simpler solution to my problem?

The simplest solution is a new wheel. But that requires cash, and I'm a
cheap bastid.

You trued up the wheel but didn't take into consideration the dish of
the wheel, and thusly, the dishing is screwed.

Centering a wheel without a wheel stand or bicycle stand in two flips
and one (or two) beer(s):

First, get a cold beer. Open beer. Sip.

2. Put the bike, wheels up, on the floor, table, workbench or Starrett
pink granite surface plate. Use shop rags or old tee-shirts to keep from
marring the bike's saddle and bars.

3. Deflate tire.

4. Open quick release on brakes.

5. Loosen wheel quick release, remove tire, reinsert back into dropouts,
make sure that the wheel sits all the way in the dropouts, tighten quick
release.

6. Take a scale (ruler) and measure how far off center between the seat
stays or chain stays the rim is.

7. Loosen the side that is closest to the chain or seat stays 1/4 turn.
Tighten opposite side 1/4 turn. Keep doing this until you have it
roughly centered with the scale. To keep track of spokes you have
worked on, I suggest using a hash mark from a marker or use the valve
stem as a point of reference.

8. Check for wheel hops by placing a scale against the outside of the
rim and spinning the wheel. Fix them as best you can. Try to keep from
inducing hops throughout the following steps. (this is why you removed
the tire)

9. Check beer. Beer must have hops. I suggest a beer and wheel
hops-check each time around the wheel.

10. Once you have it roughly centered and sortof hop free, close quick
release on brakes. Pick a brake pad, and mark it. Measure a distance
from that pad to the rim and write it down.

11. Remove wheel.

12. FLIP wheel around, reinsert into dropouts backwards. Tighten quick
release.

13. Measure with a scale again between the rim and the same pad you
picked before. Subtract. Divide by two.

14. Check beer for hops.

15. Proceed to loosen the close side and tighten the far side until the
rim has moved the distance you calculated.

16. Center brake pads on wheel. Use thumb adjustment on cable to bring
pads closer to the rim. Measure pad-to-rim again.

17. Remove wheel.

18. Flip wheel and reinsert into dropouts the right way 'round. Tighten
quick release.

19. Sip some more beer. Hops in beer=Good. Hops in wheel=bad.

20. Tweak spokes until you have moved the rim 1/2 the difference, again.
Recenter brakes, and bring them even closer with the thumb adjustment.
Flip wheel. This time it should be pretty much dead-on.

If you go slow, sip beer, and take your time, it shouldn't be difficult.

--
BMO