Rant: That day I spent 4 hours truing a wheel only to realize the rim was bent

Had a customer drop off a bike last Thursday claiming the wheel was just out of true, so I took my time on the stand getting it perfect, then noticed the rim had a flat spot the size of a quarter when I spun it in the truing stand again and now I gotta explain why a new wheel costs $80 instead of the $15 true they wanted.

2 comments

2 Comments

john4301mo ago

Hey that exact same thing happened to me back in February. Had a guy bring in a bike from Target, swore up and down it just needed a little tightening. I spent like 2 hours on it in the stand, got it spinning true, then noticed the brake pads were hitting the rim in one spot every rotation. Checked it on the flat surface and sure enough there was a dent you could feel with your finger. Charged him $12 for the true and felt like an idiot when I had to explain the whole rim was shot. Now I always run a caliper across the rim first before touching the spokes, saves everyone time. That flat spot trick is frustrating because no matter how perfect you get the spokes, the rim shape is already garbage.

the_felix1mo agoTop Commenter

Nah john430, a dented rim can still ride fine for years if you set it up right and the customer knows what theyre getting.