How to True a Wheel
Aspects of wheel truing covered include radial, lateral, centering (or dishing) and spoke tension.
Wheel truing is a delicate procedure that requires time and patience. In this tutorial I’ll try and demonstrate the many aspects as clearly as possible. Ideally you’ll want to have a wheel truing stand, good lighting and a comfortable workspace.
Wheel Truing Tips
If you don’t have a truing stand, lateral, or side to side adjustments can be done using your brake pads as a guide. If truing the wheel on your bike, be sure to deflate the tire before you begin. For radial, or up and down adjustments, you can use an L-square as a guide by attaching it to your fork or frame.
It is very important to use the correct size spoke wrench to avoid stripping the spoke nipples.
Before you begin, carefully inspect your wheel for any bent or broken spokes. Make sure your hub bearings don’t have any play and then carefully squeeze a drop of light oil into all of your spoke holes.
Spoke nipples have a regular right-hand thread, but that while you’re truing a wheel, you will be looking at the nipple upside-down, so you have to turn the spoke wrench clockwise to loosen and counter-clockwise to tighten.
Make sure the spoke doesn’t turn with the nipple, which will cause it to twist and break. If it does turn, apply some light oil to the nipple threads and try again.
If a spoke does break while you’re truing, it’ll shoot out the spoke hole with great force, so be careful not to place your face in line with the rim. Safety glasses are highly recommended.
Radial (Vertical) Adjustments
To check radial alignment, place the guide near the highest point on the outer edge of your rim. Find the high spots in your rim by spinning the wheel and correct them by tightening both left and right side spokes evenly. Correct any low spots by equally loosening the spokes in the effected area.
Tighten or loosen spokes in 1/4 turn increments. For example, if the effected area spans the length of four spokes, tighten all four spokes 1/4 turn, and then tighten the middle two spokes another 1/4 turn. Then re-check the radial alignment and repeat the process as needed.
Lateral (Side to Side) Adjustments
To check lateral adjustment, place the guide close to the rim sidewall and look for high spots on either side. To correct a left or right high spot, tighten the spoke that leads to the opposing hub flange and equally loosen the spoke that leads to the hub flange on the same side as the high spot.
Just like radial adjustments, tighten or loosen the spokes in 1/4 increments. Again if the effected area spans four spokes, loosen and tighten all four spokes 1/4 turn, and then loosen and tighten the middle two spokes another 1/4 turn.
Re-check the lateral alignment and re-adjust as needed. Remember that on the rear wheel, the right side spokes have a lesser angle and effect lateral movement less than the left. The left side spokes have greater angle and effect radial alignment less than right. To compensate for this difference, the right side spokes should be adjusted two turns for every turn on left.
Centering (Dishing)
Rims should be exactly centered between the axle nuts. To check this you can use either a dishing tool, or your frame to check the measurement on each side.
If the rim is off-center, pull it in either direction by equally tightening all of the spokes on one side 1/4 turn, and loosening all of the spokes on the other. Then check the alignment again and repeat the process until the rim is centered.
Spoke Tension
To check spoke tension, pluck each spoke in the middle and listen to the sound. On the front wheel, all of the spokes should sound the same on both sides. On the rear wheel, each side should sound slightly different, but the spokes on each side should sound the same as each other.
Most people don’t have a spoke tensiometer, so it’s a good idea to compare the sound of your spokes to the sound of a wheel that you already know has proper tension. Remember that spoke changes effect the whole wheel, so you might have to repeat these steps several times before it is true.
Stress-Relieving Spokes
After the wheel is true you should always pre-stress the spokes and re-adjust before riding. Failure to do this could cause broken spokes later. There are two ways to do this. The first way is to squeeze together the parellel spokes on both sides of the wheel. The second method involves resting the wheel sideways on the floor and gently pushing down on both sides of the rim, all the way around the wheel in 1/8 increments.
After pre-stressing the spokes you will usually have to re-check and make some minor adjustments. If after stressing the wheel you notice that your rim is severly warped, it means that your spoke tension is too high. Loosen all of the spokes 1/2 turn and re-true the wheel.
Related Links
- Jim Langley: Wheelbuilding
- Park Tool: Wheel and Rim Truing
- Park Tool: Wheel Tension Measurement
- Sheldon Brown: Truing Wheels
- Bicycle Torque Specifications
Related Tools
- Park Tool SW Spoke Wrenches
- Park Tool SW-7 Triple Spoke Wrench
- Park Tool SBC-1 Spoke, Bearing, and Cotter Gauge
- Park Tool TM-1 Spoke Tension Meter
- Park Tool TS-8 Home Truing Stand
- Park Tool TS-2.2 Home Truing Stand
Categories
Discuss this topic in the Wheel Forums
Rim Wear - How do I Know When It's Excessive?
2018 Lastest post 8 months agoHow can I tell whether my rims are worn to the extent that they're liable to split from tyre pressure? They've had about 7000 miles of travel but the wear depth is probably 1/4 mm. It could be more, but since the pads have worn all over the width of the rim, there's no unworn section to compare it to. I could measure the thickness with a micrometer....
Read moreWheel compatibility
2018 Lastest post 12 months agoAm thinking of buying a new bike and was wondering if anyone could tell me if the wheel,that I use on my trainer would fit on the new bike. The wheel in question is an XRIMS y2000 622x20 6061-T6. It has a Shimano CS H631-8 Cassette on it. I use it on an 08 Trek 7200. I am thinking about buying a Fuji Absolute 1.9 and am wondering if this wheel will fit as is....
Read moreTire help
2017 Lastest post 1 year agoHey everyone, new here, and also new to riding bikes. After 29 years, I finally learned to ride and after a month of riding, this morning my tire messed up. I'm still not sure what happened (and forgive me for not knowing the proper names of specific parts) Here's a picture of the damage, hopefully someone can explain to me what happened and how it can be fixed? Much appreciation. If this is s...
Read moreShimano FH-1055 Rear hub assembly
2017 Lastest post 1 year agoHi there, I have an old Shimano FH-1055 hub which I have dismounted it and now I cannot figure out the order of reassembly for the spacers/cones/washers (I know, stupid me that I have not take care in the first place) The biggest issue is on the cassette side where I have 4 or 5 separate pieces. Not sure if relevant but note that the cassete is 7 speed and has no dirt seal (like I saw on other ...
Read moreMavic hub service
2017 Lastest post 1 year agoHi everyone, Recently I had some trouble with my freehub. As my local bikes shops are reluctant to fix my bike, because of being a b'twin (it's my work bike), I tried fixing the problem myself. Now, servicing my freehub and bearings wasn't much of a problem. En passent I also installed a fresh cassette and chain. Plenty of information on that online. The problems are now in trying to reinstall ...
Read moreRear hub spins to a near stop, then reverses to a stop
2017 Lastest post 2 years agoI have 2 fairly new, mid-range folders which ride quite well d seem like good bikes for the cost. 8 sp. Shimano components. I have a 7 second video of this. When I was recently cleaning-lubing the drivetrain, one of them was wheels-up and I did the customary pedal-spin the rear wheel and when it the wheel slows down to a near stop, it reverses direction for a small fraction of a rotation, then s...
Read moreFixed Gear Bike
2017 Lastest post 2 years agoI have an unusual question I'm hoping to get answered on this forum. I've got a fixed gear bike that I want to convert to a horse training device. How do I get the rear wheel to become free wheeling, so I can turn it backwards as well as forwards? It has a bendix brake on it. Do I need to remove that, and if so, is there a special way to tighten the chain and hub? I'm kind of grasping here, s...
Read moreInstalling an IGH in a Trek District SSB
2017 Lastest post 2 years agoI own a Trek District SSB, which uses Trek's proprietary belt drive system. I'd wanted a bike with an internal gear hub, but they only offered a 3-speed version as an upgrade, so I decided to buy the SSB and upgrade it myself to something a little beefier. The SSB has the same frame as the IGH 3, so it already has the cable guides for the hub. I'm going to take my bike to a local community shop t...
Read moreStrange metal part on real axle '86 schwinn
2017 Lastest post 2 years agoI bought an old bicycle and see an unusual metal part attached on rear axle. Derailleur side. Starting from end I see a closed (no hole) bolt, two washers, then this "handle", a washer, then a deep nut, then a washer, then the derailleur, and then the bike frame. "Handle" is about one inch across and three inches deep, quite thick metal...flat but one edge has a perpendicular flange about 3/8 i...
Read moreSchwinn Meridian Rear Wheel Bearings
2017 Lastest post 2 years agoI think the rearing bearings are 13mm ID and 30mm OD. Are these measurements correct? Please help. Thanks....
Read moreNew wheels
2017 Lastest post 2 years agoI have a 10 year old Trek 7200 Hybrid. I am thinking of replacing the wheels in a while and was wondering what you guys could recommend. It came with Matrix 750's but they are no longer available. I tip the scales around 230lbs. and am looking to spend around $300. any suggestions....
Read moreHow to remove wheel with internal gearhub
2017 Lastest post 2 years agoI won a Specialized Daily in a contest. It is a pretty sweet bike. But it has an internal gearhub on the rear wheel. I have never had this type of gear setup before. I am afraid to mess with it to get the wheel off. How the heck do I remove this wheel to change my flat tube? Thank you in advance for any assistance. ...
Read moreKnocking sound coming from freewheel? (Especially form when riding uphill).
2017 Lastest post 2 years agoHi. I have a fairly cheepish bike, Appolo Evade Mountain Bike. (The reason for it having a freewheel was probably due to price not age). Anyways. So, there is a tiny bit of freewheel wobble which I have come across on a lot of freewheel bikes so I never considered this a problem. Freewheels just tend to get a little bent right? Despite this, shifting is just fine and smooth and the whole drive ...
Read moreNo action on wheels in cold conditions
2016 Lastest post 2 years agoI recently bought a second hand Giant Upland SE and to be frank, it is my first bike with multiple gears. The bike functioned normally for the first day or two. I could shift between all the gears. When the bike is stored indoors, the pedal and wheel work fine but once I take it out in the cold (anywhere from -10 to -30 degrees celsius), the pedals rotate freely and have no action on the wheel. Al...
Read moreAxle too long
2016 Lastest post 2 years agoreplaced the rear wheel with new one the axle is slightly longer approx 4mm had to use washers as a temporary measure. i was wondering can you get knurled washers that will do the job better thanks chris...
Read more
