Wheels are the most important part of a bike. For wheels to be good, it is not enough to balance them when buying. By tightening the spokes yourself, you can make the wheels more reliable and extend their service life.
It is necessary
- - a machine for balancing a bicycle wheel;
- - the key for the spokes.
Instructions
Step 1
Before tightening the knitting needles, screw all the nipples to the same depth. For short knitting needles, tighten until the same number of threads are visible. If the needles are long, then set their outgoing ends flush with the splines of the nipples. By evenly wrapping the nipples, you will facilitate further work on the spoke tension.
Step 2
Begin screwing in the nipples from the valve hole, making one turn for each. Check if there is any slack in the spokes. If so, make another turn for each nipple. If after turning three-quarters of the rim the nipples become difficult to turn, turn them back one turn. Then screw each nipple in half a turn.
Step 3
Place the wheel on the machine, see which unevenness on the rim is greater. Depending on this, you need to edit. If horizontal unevenness prevails and part of the rim has shifted to the right by four spokes, two of which go to the left flange and two to the right, tighten the left nipples one quarter of a turn. Release the right nipples one quarter and move the rim section to the left. In this case, the tension of the spokes will remain unchanged, since the number and degree of tension of the loosened spokes are equal to the tensioned.
Step 4
If the steps taken are not enough to correct the unevenness, find the worst deflection to the left and tighten it. This way, by going from one side to the other, you can keep the pre-defined umbrella. However, at this stage, do not try to straighten the figure eight by more than 0.3 cm. You can do this during the final adjustment.
Step 5
To correct vertical unevenness, locate the portion of the rim that is farthest from the hub. By tightening the knitting needles in this area, you will be able to bring the rim closer to it. This will increase the rigidity of the wheel. Balance the wheel ellipse in the same way as for balancing the figure eight as described in the previous step.
Step 6
Tighten the spokes as much as possible to keep them from loosening under load and to give the wheel strength. If the wheel is already round and you see insufficient tension on the spokes, tighten all the nipples equally. Check wheel concentricity again.
Step 7
Shrink the spokes. To do this, grasp the wheel with both hands and press down firmly on the spokes where they intersect. After turning the wheel, squeeze the next four spokes. Sit the needles around the entire circumference. Characteristic sounds will indicate shrinkage of the spokes. A wheel that will fail after this procedure, rebalance it and shrink. Repeat these steps until no more crackling or squeaking sounds as the spoke shrinks.
