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Message started by AlphaBarney on 05/09/12 at 15:11:50

Title: Truing the front wheel
Post by AlphaBarney on 05/09/12 at 15:11:50

Checking the torque on my axles today cause I was noticing the front end feeling a bit wobbly. When I had it up on the lift I spun the front wheel and I'm pretty sure the rim is not trued anymore. The rotor was also rubbing the brake pads, which is normal I know, but would catch more in one area of the rotor than the others, so I'm also wondering if that's warped.
I'm thinking of taking the wheel off and take it to a shop to have it trued and see if the rotor is warped at all. Anybody have ideas on what I should expect to pay to have the wheel trued up? Is this something I could do in my garage?
It rides okay now, just a little wobbly at slow speeds.

Title: Re: Truing the front wheel
Post by verslagen1 on 05/09/12 at 15:46:18

Truing is an art.
loosen one side, tighten the other.
A wire clamped in place to provide a better indication of how much is wobbly.

Title: Re: Truing the front wheel
Post by AlphaBarney on 05/09/12 at 15:48:32

So, better left to the "professionals" then?

Title: Re: Truing the front wheel
Post by Dave on 05/09/12 at 16:31:02

I have trued wheels before.....it is not that hard if you are patient and somewhat mechanical minded. It is much easier in a truing stand with the tire off - but sometimes that is not necessary.

You can find several good videos on YouTube. Most of them are bicycle related - but it is the same. It comes down to carefully loosening spokes one side and tightening the ones on the other side to pull the wheel toward the side that needs moved out. The forks can work as a good holder and you can tape cardboard to act as your reference. You should also tap the spoke and listen to the tone of the spoke and get the spokes to sound as close to the same not as possible. Dull thuds indicate that spokes are loose.

If both your wheel rim and brake disc are moving the same direction in/out......I would wonder if you have a bearing or hub problem.

Title: Re: Truing the front wheel
Post by KMSBobbed on 05/09/12 at 18:35:28

I never could find the patience to tackle this kind of project, that and I don't trust myself to do it right.

Title: Re: Truing the front wheel
Post by skeebo on 05/09/12 at 20:17:56

Check your wheel bearings....a wheel out of true wont cause uneven wear on the rotor...thats at the hub.

Title: Re: Truing the front wheel
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 05/09/12 at 23:24:28

Get the wheel off the ground & freely rotating, If theres something abnormal about the brake, deal with that first.A wire poked into a board set with a bend in it, pointing at the rim so you can see how far the rim swings left & right & up & down, Now, you need to decide what part of the rim is on center & which part is pulled left & which is pulled right. Its not hard, its okay if its not exactly perfect. I let a screwdriver clink on the spokes & watch the rim wobble at the same time, too..If you hear the spokes tone dropping on one side of the wheel, & the wheel is wobbling away from that area,, that mite be a clue,

I did a lot of wheel truing in my 20's, on 10 speeds, No professional needed, you can do it,

Title: Re: Truing the front wheel
Post by AlphaBarney on 05/10/12 at 02:36:51

Thanks for the quick replies guys. I'll pop off the wheel tonight and check the hub and bearings. Anything in particular I should be looking for? I have the Clymers, but that isn't always on point I've heard.

Title: Re: Truing the front wheel
Post by Spamy on 05/10/12 at 07:51:44

Hubs dont usually have problems that will affect the brake disk unless you ran into something pretty hard. Its more likely that the disk is warped.

Or perhaps your hub bearings are going. I dont see that making the brake disk wear uneven, but more like binding and rattling. But to check the hub bearings lift up the front of the bike and see if you have any wobble in the wheel. If you think the brake caliper is not letting it wobble then take off the two bolts holding the caliper and then check for looseness.

If the hub has any play more than just a very small amount, then the bearings should be replaced. I think a bearing for this bike is only like 20 bucks.

Daves post above is pretty good for a home spoke adjustment. I like the spoke tone technique myself. Even if you dont do the adjustment yourself you could check it like he said and see where you are at.

Title: Re: Truing the front wheel
Post by Spamy on 05/10/12 at 07:54:59

Oh yea, and locally they charge around 50 bucks to lace a wheel and true it. So I imagine the charge will be similar.

Title: Re: Truing the front wheel
Post by kernel ken on 05/10/12 at 08:20:36

In case you'd like to check things out yourself, take a look at this post in the Tech Section. Details and photos on how to lace and true a wheel. It's not all that bad.

http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1302363211

Title: Re: Truing the front wheel
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 05/10/12 at 08:36:14

Its really easy, no need for the dial indicator, your eye will pick up amazingly small swings with a reference point. A wire works great & can be set closer & closer as the swing is taken out,

Title: Re: Truing the front wheel
Post by youzguyz on 05/10/12 at 09:48:18

Definitely check the bearings to see if that is part of your problem (if not all of it)

First check: Jack up front of bike. Have someone hold the handlebars as still as they can. See if you can wiggle the wheel at the tire. Any wiggle at all is not acceptable.

Second check: Pull wheel off the forks. Put finger in the inner race of the bearing and wiggle. If there is any slop between the inner and outer race, it is too much.

You don't need to buy the bearings from a motorcycle dealer (unless you want to pay for the privilege). They are standard size and should be stamped on the bearing race. You can get them from any place that sells bearings.
Replacing them.. that's a whole nother story if that's what needs done.
I did it.. you can too.

Title: Re: Truing the front wheel
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 05/10/12 at 09:59:59

They are standard size and should be stamped on the bearing race. You can get them from any place that sells bearings.

This is a TRemendously valuable bit of advice,.What you can spend $20.00 on at a dealership can be $5.00 at the bearing supply house.
I could have bought bearings for my mower at TRactor supply.,.& Boy were they gonna be expensive, IIRC between 35 & 50,, & I got them for about 8 each, been in there for 3 years, the replacements have lasted longer than the originals,