Wheel Truing

caveman592

Been Around the Block
So I know the basics behind wheel truing but I haven't found a good estimate on tolerances. I got the vertical to .025 inches and the horizontal to .015 inches is that good enough or should I keep going? So far I found that it should be less than 1/16 of an inch but that seems like a lot any help is appreciated.
 
You should really aim for 1/32" max runout lateral and roundness assuming the rim is not damaged or deformed. An experienced builder will true to 1/64" max. And you'll always have a small wiggle at the weld seam opposite the valve hole, that's normal. Your runouts look good, as long as the spokes are tight enough and the wheel is dished to center. This is important because rear wheels are rarely if ever symmetrical. Hub flanges are offset to allow room for the spocket so the rim needs to be pulled over by tightening the sprocket side spokes more than the non sprocket side.
 
Well it seems I may have a problem as I wasn't able to measure an offset due to the wheel being so messed up to begin with. Thanks for the numbers though that's helpful. Also I am unsure how to get the spokes to the correct tightness. I went by sound pinging them to as close as I could get but everything was so rusty that its difficult to tell you could move one and get the sound then shake it and get the sound again and it would sound different. Another thing being a noob what do you mean by dished to center? I kinda feel like I got in too deep on this one maybe spokes need to be replaced? I am definitely at a loss to whether I did it right though. I mean yeah the tolerances are good but the offset I don't know about that?
 
You need to shoot for +- 0.010. Some wheels have offsets, some don't. Its very easy to tell if yours do or not and in the telling you can see how little it matters when you are thinking about truing a wheel. You do not deal with the offset when you true the wheel, that part is done when you lace it. Look at your hub, are the flanges where the spoke holes are located even in height? Now look at your spokes, how many different lengths of spoke do you have? If you have an offset hub you will have at least 3 different lengths or bends of spokes, but if you've only got two different kinds of spokes then there is no offset. Got that? Offset is something that is controlled by the length of the spokes, you deal with it when you lace the wheel. When you are truing the wheel you only concern yourself with the rim's runout laterally and from center. Aside from wheel offset being something that is not addressed when truing its also almost never a high tolerance measurement and even if it was any variance can be addressed with the wheel spacers.

By the way, I also notice that you are giving measurements in fractional inches. Its no problem that you use inches but if you are using fractional measurement then you are clearly not using a dial indicator to true the wheel. You need more accuracy here than a ruler can give you. You need one, a dial indicator that is. You don't just need it for this job either, you'll use it for lots of things. They can be had used for very little money. Thirty to fifty bucks will buy you a high quality dial indicator and various setup hardware in a kit. Its a mighty useful thing to have around
 
25 thou is OK, you'll need to re-check them after couple of hundred miles.
After the wheels have been run and bounced/vibrated around things usually move slightly.
You may find it easier to re-true and get within 10 thou.
Up to 1/16" will work, but, wyou may feel vibration/wobble over 60mph.
The faster you go, the closer to 'perfect' the wheels need to be
 
My God excellent information here. Thanks. Also I am using a dial indicator its just that all the tolerances I found were in fractional notation. My values are .025 and .015 for roundness and lateral runout respectively. I guess I will have to take the tire off and redo them soon if not before I put the wheels back on the bike. One more question real quick do you think that rust could be impeding the accuracy of the truing/be causing the problems with the tension? Thanks for the information on offset that's really good stuff that I haven't been able to find anywhere.
 
Yes I true the wheels with the tire off. And the rust is mostly on the nipples and on the inside of the rime where the nipples touch. Most of them I had to break free as they were rusted tight. None of them were poking out so far as too tear though the rim strip or the tube though.
 
What Swivel forgot to mention: with factory spokes (or proper replacements) and everything else stock, and the wheel is even remotely true, the spokes won't come near the tube. There's a pretty good gap between the end of the spoke and the tube.

Caveman, I highly recommend finding another wheel on eBay and cleaning it up properly while you run your current one. Rust is never good anywhere, and lacing/truing/ mounting tires is enough of a pita to do it once.
 
Thanks for the advice and yes they are no where near the tube. And will definitely get new wheel. I was hoping to upgrade to something lighter if I can find it anyway at least down the road. I also totally agree lacing/truing/mounting tires is a pain in the butt.
 
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