If your spokes are so loose they rattle,
they’re providing virtually no strength to the wheel structure
. It’s no better than if that spoke were missing or broken. It’s a big indicator that your bike wheels need truing.
Can I tighten my spokes?
The spokes on a bicycle wheel run from the rim to alternate sides of the hub. In order to pull the rim back into true,
you have to tighten the spokes that lead to the side of the rim opposite the bump
. To tighten spokes, you don’t actually turn the spoke. Instead, you turn the nipple that holds the spoke into the rim.
Can you tighten spokes on a bike?
The key to truing is adjusting the spoke(s) on the correct side of the wheel. Note that the spokes have nut-like devices at the rim called nipples. When viewed from above,
nipples are turned clockwise with the spoke wrench to tighten spoke tension and counterclockwise to loosen it
.
How do you tighten spokes without tools?
How much does it cost to replace bike spokes?
Spokes are usually $1.00 – $2.00 each. Any shop will sell individual spokes. Labor to replace a spoke is
$10 – $20
depending on your location.
Do loose spokes cause wheel to wobble?
If even one spoke gets loose it’ll upset the balance and causes a wobble
. Tightening that spoke makes the wheel run true again, and when the rest of the spokes are still tensioned, that’s an easy fix. … If the wheel still wobbles toward those spokes, tighten it more util it’s good enough.
Is it safe to ride a bike with a wobbly wheel?
The greater the wobble, the more likely you are to get broken spokes. Therefore,
a wobbly rear bike wheel may not pose any danger to the rider, but it could lead to more damage to the bike components
. Notably, most riders admitted to having ridden bikes with wobbly tires at one time or another to get them home.
How do I know if my spokes are tight enough?
Once the rim is free from blips and serious flat spots, check the tension of the spokes. Put your thumb around one spoke and your fingers around the spoke next to it and squeeze.
The spokes should feel tight and firm
. They should have just a little give when you squeeze them fairly hard.
How much does it cost to true a bike wheel?
If the wheel is fixable–it generally looks good but has a wobble–you can expect your local bike shop to charge
$20 – $30
to true it using professional equipment like a truing stand for the perfect line and roundness.
How do you tighten MX spokes?
What can I use instead of a spoke tool?
How do you true a bicycle wheel at home?
How do you true a bike wheel with zip ties?
How do you true a bicycle tire at home?
Why are my bike spokes breaking?
Bike spokes break most commonly due to
wear and tear
. A high-frequent cause for spoke breaks is that the rider has hit a curb or pothole, doesn’t maintain the bike well, or the passenger is too heavy for that model. Rougher terrain will also deteriorate the rims faster, which in turn deteriorates the spokes faster.
How do I know what size spokes I need?
- The number of spoke holes in the hub and rim.
- The effective rim diameter, called the “ERD”
- Hub flange diameter at the spoke holes, also known as the Spoke Pitch Diameter.
- Left and right hub flange spacing relative to the hub center.
When should you tighten spokes?
Generally
it is preferable to tighten spokes rather than loosening them
– spokes may loosen themselves over time if they are run too loose, but they will not tighten up on their own.
Why do bike wheels go out of true?
One of the most common reasons wheels go out of true:
loose spokes
. Check tension by squeezing two spokes at a time between your thumb and fingers, says LaPorta. A really loose spoke will be obvious (as you do this more often, you’ll be able to feel subtle differences).
How do you fix a loose rear bike wheel?
What causes loose spokes?
Spokes loosen
mainly because they stretch
, and much of the “stretch” is due to the elbow straightening out. During the dawn of downhill racing in Scotland we would build the wheels up, use red loctite, take them out and put some stress (jumps) on them and come back to the shop for a final true.
Can you true a wheel with the tire on?
As long as there are no loose spokes and the wheel is reasonably straight (the rim and tire mustn’t rub on the brake pads), it will ride nicely and hold up fine.
