Wheel truing question

I have a relatively new, custom-built wheel. Wheelsmith XL14/17/14
spokes (24) laced radially to a Speedcific hub and a Velocity Aerohead rim.
The wheel arrived nice and true, but after only a few rides it started to
lose it and now I can't keep it in true.

I'm no wheel builder, but shouldn't all the spokes on a radially-laced front
wheel be tensioned quite similarly? I'm curious why, when I ping the spokes
in this wheel they seem to alternate almost precisely ... ping ... pong ...
ping ... pong -- two different tones. And I can true it up nice and take
one ride and it's rubbing the brake shoes before I'm home.

I had a rear wheel with this set I bought. I sent it back 'cuz it wasn't
true when it arrived. The replacement I got has been excellent so far. I'm
just wondering if the original set I got was built when the builder was on
an off day or something and I need to send the front back to be replaced,
too.

Bob C.

"psycholist" wrote:

I have a relatively new, custom-built wheel. Wheelsmith XL14/17/14
spokes (24) laced radially to a Speedcific hub and a Velocity Aerohead rim.
The wheel arrived nice and true, but after only a few rides it started to
lose it and now I can't keep it in true.

I'm no wheel builder, but shouldn't all the spokes on a radially-laced front
wheel be tensioned quite similarly? I'm curious why, when I ping the spokes
in this wheel they seem to alternate almost precisely ... ping ... pong ...
ping ... pong -- two different tones. And I can true it up nice and take
one ride and it's rubbing the brake shoes before I'm home.

I had a rear wheel with this set I bought. I sent it back 'cuz it wasn't
true when it arrived. The replacement I got has been excellent so far. I'm
just wondering if the original set I got was built when the builder was on
an off day or something and I need to send the front back to be replaced,
too.

Bob C.


Any wheel with no dish will have equal tension on either side, by
definition. The situation you described is what is found in a dished
wheel, that is, the rim isn't centered between the flanges. Your front
wheel is either a dished wheel, such as a disc brake wheel, or it was
built incorrectly.

Even if a wheel is laced and trued properly, it won't stay that way
unless the spokes are stress-relieved and tensioned properly.

I would suggest that the best thing to do is to learn to do these steps.
It isn't all that difficult and takes very little in equipment and then
you have a useful skill. But if you don't feel like doing that, take
that wheel back where you got it. The seller may be able to improve it,
but it's possible that they can't. There are plenty of shops that don't
know how to build good wheels.

--
Ted Bennett
Portland OR

In article , says...
I have a relatively new, custom-built wheel. Wheelsmith XL14/17/14
spokes (24) laced radially to a Speedcific hub and a Velocity Aerohead rim.
The wheel arrived nice and true, but after only a few rides it started to
lose it and now I can't keep it in true.

I'm no wheel builder, but shouldn't all the spokes on a radially-laced front
wheel be tensioned quite similarly?

If well built, yes.

I'm curious why, when I ping the spokes
in this wheel they seem to alternate almost precisely ... ping ... pong ...
ping ... pong -- two different tones. And I can true it up nice and take
one ride and it's rubbing the brake shoes before I'm home.

Sounds like a poorly built wheel.

I had a rear wheel with this set I bought. I sent it back 'cuz it wasn't
true when it arrived. The replacement I got has been excellent so far. I'm
just wondering if the original set I got was built when the builder was on
an off day or something and I need to send the front back to be replaced,
too.

It sounds like the wheels were built with too low a tension. It is hard
to get the wheels up to the necessary tension using 14/17/14 spokes. The
center section is so thin that when you are getting the spokes up to tension,
they tend to wind up. You have to be carefull not to let the spokes wind
up too much or the spokes might break. With low spoke count wheels the tension
necessarily has to be higher, so it is even harder to get the tension right
without breaking a spoke.
-------------
Alex

psycholist- I have a relatively new, custom-built wheel. Wheelsmith
XL14/17/14
spokes (24) laced radially to a Speedcific hub and a Velocity Aerohead rim.
The wheel arrived nice and true, but after only a few rides it started to
lose it and now I can't keep it in true. BRBR

I suspect that either the tension wasn't proper for the wheel when new or there
was lots of spoke windup in the wheel when new. Did it ping a lot first ride?
If not, the tension is probably low, and now perhaps the rim is deformed, so
consistent tension is going to be tough.

Peter Chisholm
Vecchio's Bicicletteria
1833 Pearl St.
Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535
http://www.vecchios.com
"Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"