Wheel truing

[Irishjew]

I changed out my tires this weekend to a more dirt oriented type and noticed that my front wheel was out of whack I from side to side. I’ve never attempted to true a wheel before and with a lot of time and beer I got it pretty dang close. My question is that there is one area of the wheel where it seems to be welded together(picture below) and cant seem to get this area of wheel to true up. I got pretty close but it’s over the 2mm recommendation. Do y’all have any suggestions or do I just let it fly?

[Megadan]

The welded spot will likely never be trued perfect without taking the hoop and physically correcting the warp in the metal where the two ends were welded. If you don't feel it while riding and it isn't causing poor wear then I wouldn't be worried about it.

[OneLeggedRider]

Sadly wheel lacing and truing is something I never mastered in school. I barely got it in spec to pass the class. And anytime one came into the shop I usually tried to pass it off to another Tech lol. But my front rim needs it badly so I might fool with it tomorrow.

[Irishjew]

Yeah mine was pretty bad. It’s still not perfect but I got tired of fiddling with it. I learned that small adjustments were key. Not gonna lie.... I spent 3 hours on it because I initially made it worse. The part I’m struggling with is the radial runout at the welded seam.

[OneLeggedRider]

My front wheel feels like it's hopping up and down at speeds over 40mph. Some of that is because the bead isn't seated uniformly, but the rest has to be the rim. Gonna raise it off the ground and spin it tomorrow to see what's actually happening.

[kingofqueenz]

Any good YouToob videos that you used to reference for the procedure?

King

[ChipToothy]

A sometimes trick is to deflate the tire and then reflate after mushing and standing around on the tire with your foot to help with bead setting and tube wrinkles or shift. When I did my tire swap I pumped them up to 40 psi a few times before remounting the wheels back to the bike. Just a trick I borrowed from bicycling to get out any bulges but it’s saved me there a few times.

[timcosby]

a buddy of mine that restores vintage harleys said the old harley wheels were perfect not hard to true at all but the new Taiwanese rims almost cant be trued!

[roundhouse]

I spent 5 hours trying to true my front wheel. I got close and called it "good". It was one of the most time consuming, frustrating things I have done. I guess I suck at it. Hope you have better luck than me.

[OneLeggedRider]

Well I finally got around to checking out my front wheel and tire. I put a zip tie around the fork and used the tip as a reference point. The rim is surprisingly true! No deviation vertically and maybe a millimeter horizontally.

So we pulled the tire and valve stem valve and with airing it up and down several times along with forcing, pulling, stepping on, and cussing the tire got the bead to sit uniformly on the rim. Then put it back on the bike.

The problem is the tire itself! There's about an 8" section that stands taller and the knobbies lean to the left at that point. And the deviation is formidable to say the least. About 5 or 6mm vertically and 10mm horizontally. Which explains the hopping sensation.

So the next question is do I order the same tire and hope I get a decent one? And I want actual knobbies, I'm not gonna settle for an enduro tire which I consider a waste of money. They're a compromise, not really good on pavement and I've seen firsthand they absolutely suck offroad. I guess I should do some shopping for a DOT approved knobby. Push come to shove I could get a dirt tire but it might wear really fast.

[Megadan]

So the next question is do I order the same tire and hope I get a decent one? And I want actual knobbies, I'm not gonna settle for an enduro tire which I consider a waste of money. They're a compromise, not really good on pavement and I've seen firsthand they absolutely suck offroad. I guess I should do some shopping for a DOT approved knobby. Push come to shove I could get a dirt tire but it might wear really fast.

The Kenda K760 Trackmaster 2 sounds right up your alley, and about the closest thing you can get to the stock tires. Very aggressive off road tire that is DOT legal.

As far as compromises go, I have been quite happy with my Shinko 700 tires. They won't do as well as something like the K760 off road, but they are plenty capable for most scenarios I find myself in and are immensely better on road. For somebody like me that finds myself mostly on hard pack and loose gravel about as often as I do on the highway they fit the role quite well. Finer loose surfaces they leave something to be desired, but still do decently when aired down a bit. Loose WET surfaces are their only real Achilles heel. They don't like mud much and will pack up. I liken them to an all-terrain tire in the truck world. Not great at anything, but reasonably capable in most scenarios and just require a little adjustment in technique to get the job done.

[OneLeggedRider]

[QUOTE=Megadan;307092]The Kenda K760 Trackmaster 2 sounds right up your alley, and about the closest thing you can get to the stock tires. Very aggressive off road tire that is DOT legal.

As usual Dan your wealth of knowledge never ceases to amaze. Motosport.com has the trakmaster 1 for $52, and Amazon has the trakmaster 2 for $55 and free shipping. Couldn't really see much difference in tread pattern and both had really good reviews.

As far as the compromise, my buddy's son Kerry bought a DR250 and the rear tire was dry rotted and really worn. He replaced it with the popular enduro tire you see on here and the fb groups, 720 or something. Southern Ohio is very hilly and muddy most of the year and our trails are as well.

He tagged along with me and 3 other riders and did alright on the mild stuff but as soon as we hit actual mud and steep hills his bike was useless. We spent the afternoon helping him up hills and through mud holes, ruined the entire ride. Needless to say we didn't invite him on any more rides until he traded it for a quad.

[Irishjew]

I will look at the tires that MegaDan recommended next time around. I went from shinko 705s to 244s due to the 705s sucking really bad offroad in anything other than hardpack.

[Megadan]

I lwill ook at the tires that MegaDan recommended next time around. I went from shinko 705s to 244s due to the 705s sucking really bad offroad in anything other than hardpack.

The 705 is an 80/20 tire. It's basically a road tire that can handle only the lightest of off road work. I.E. A dirt or gravel road in the country, If the Shinko 700 and 244 are All Terrain tires, the 705 is a light truck tire with some slightly bigger tread grooves.

[pete]

I'm not gonna settle for an enduro tire which I consider a waste of money. They're a compromise, not really good on pavement and I've seen firsthand they absolutely suck offroad.



I don't like them either...
The FIM rated enduro tyres only have 13mm high knobs..
Graham Jarvis / Johnny Walker and the other guys that
ride the hard enduro series don't seem have to much trouble
with them..
Lucky the rule was not in place when I won my 2 A grade national
enduro tites.. Pirelli Pentacross were my tyre of choice back then..
Now it is Golden Tyre 333 or 316 front and 230 rear..
a very good DOT rated rear tyre is the Michelin AC10 rear
but AC10 front is crap..

http://www.chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=22325





.

[OneLeggedRider]

I don't like them either...
The FIM rated enduro tyres only have 13mm high knobs..
Graham Jarvis / Johnny Walker and the other guys that
ride the hard enduro series don't seem have to much trouble
with them..
Lucky the rule was not in place when I won my 2 A grade national
enduro tites.. Pirelli Pentacross were my tyre of choice back then..
Now it is Golden Tyre 333 or 316 front and 230 rear..
a very good DOT rated rear tyre is the Michelin AC10 rear
but AC10 front is crap..

http://www.chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=22325





.


Wow, that thing looked like a monster with the 2 of you standing next to it, and it definitely had plenty of knobs on it. Kinda reminds me of my old XT 500. I raced hare scrambles in my younger years and that's where I learned a narrow rear tire will hold a better line over rough and muddy terrain.