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Bicycle wheel repair tools on JensonUSA.com
Wheel repair is pretty much needed when the wheels get warped. There are many causes of this dilemma, one of which is riding in difficult terrains, thereby subjecting your wheels to rough handling, causing them to warp. Of course, buying a new set of wheels is an option, but another option is a simple bicycle wheel repair that you can do at home, costing you a lot less. With a few simple tools, and a little time and dedication on your part, you will be able to get your wheels back to good condition.
Identify the Problem
The first thing you need to do when doing your bicycle wheel repair is to look for the problem – that is identifying the warped portion of the wheel.
Tip: If the spokes are becoming looser, you're turning them in the wrong direction.
You may become confused about which way to turn the spokes. It's very simple to find the right direction.
Just use your spoke wrench to turn the spokes a couple of rounds in one direction. They should be getting tighter, not looser. If they're getting looser, turn them in the other direction!
clock-wise to loosen.
The best tool that will make your bicycle repair work much easier is a wheel truing stand. If you don't have one, then you can just turn the bike upside down and let it rest on the handlebars. This makes it easier for you to work on the bike rather than setting it up on its stand. Then, slowly turn the wheel of the bike, and while doing so, look at the brake pads. This is the easiest way to look for the warped area, as the warped area will surely hit the brake pads or get close enough, once it gets there.
If you are running disk brakes then you simply get a zip tie and use the same method as in the bicycle brake repair guide. Tie it to the fork and cut it in a way that it's close to the rim, but not touching quite yet. Then simply use that as a guide instead of the brake pads.
Bicycle Wheel Repair - Step By Step
Step 1: Marking the Warped Area
For the next step, you will need a pencil or chalk. You need to mark the warped area that you identified in the first step. It is important because you don't want to touch the spokes that aren't involved in the warped area.
You need to identify at least three wheel spokes that will help you keep track of the area that you will need to work on. After this, you need to identify which way the bike is warped or bent. To do this, check if the wheel is rubbing against the right brake pad. If yes, then the wheel is warped towards the right. If the wheel rubs against the left brake pad, then the wheel is warped towards the left.
Step 2: Tightening the Spokes
After you have marked the warped area, you need to have a spoke wrench and a set of pliers. You can get both from a bicycle repair shop if you or your friends don't have one already.
If the wheel is bent on the right side, you will need to tighten the spokes on the left side of the wheel and loosen the spokes on the right side of the wheel, while pulling the wheel to the left.
You should not turn all spokes of the wheel. Turn just the ones that are being affected by the warping area. Don't turn them a lot, a quarter turn at the time for each spoke you loosen or tighten the right amount. You can do this by turning the spokes counterclockwise. Then you need to loosen the spoke on the right side of the wheel, which you can do by turning the spokes counterclockwise. If the bent is on the left side, do the opposite of these steps.
Step 3: Check for Mistakes
After you finish tightening and loosening, slowly turn the wheels again to see if the problem has been resolved. If the wheel still touches the brake pads, then you will need to tighten the spokes some more. Remember that you should turn the opposite spoke to loosen it the same amount of cycles as you turn the spoke that you are tightening.
If the wheel now touches the other brake pad, then you have tightened the spokes a little too much. Don't worry; you don't have to rush to a bicycle wheel repair shop just yet. You can still fix the problem by reversing it little by little until you get the right tightness, and your wheel doesn't touch or rub against the brake pads anymore.
If the rim has an egg shape, you have to tighten the spokes of the side of the rim that has a bigger distance from the hub, tighten at least six spokes, three from each side, and test it to see if the egg shape is gone. If not, try again and use common sense to tighten or loosen more spokes. Be patient as this task might be time-consuming, but it will pay off big time. Whenever you finally get to ride your bike, not only it will improve your riding performance, but it's also a huge safety increase.
Tip: swing your wheel making the warped area get close to the pads, one way and the other several times so that you can see where it's still warped and you need to correct it.
Note: Do not try to turn the spoke alone. What you are tightening or loosening is the spoke nipple, the small metal square-shaped thing that connects the spoke with the rim. Trying to turn the spoke with a set of pliers alone will damage the spoke and the hub.
Buying a Bicycle Wheel Repair Tools
If you are interested in buying bicycle wheel repair tools you can buy them in one of these trusted online stores:
Bicycle Wheel Repair Tools Online
Last Word About Bicycle Wheel Repair
After you finish fixing the warped wheel, take your bike for a test drive, just to make sure that it is running smoothly again. If it does, then kudos to you, you have just saved yourself some cash by doing a bicycle wheel repair on your own.
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