thanks…i do know how to true the wheel in theory…im just not very good at it…i may get a book and some of the better tools they have so i can teach myself, b/c around here the guys aren’t real good at it. I asked the owners of a shop if they would assemble a wheel for me if i got all the parts and they said to have an internet shop do it b/c it wasn’t worth their time for the money …yes i too wonder how they are still in business with that attitude:p so i dont think i would trust them to teach me;)
edit: on that note…any wheel builders with any helpful tips? thanks for any help!!!
Well, I’m no wheel builder, if your wheel is tweeked enough for the tire to rub the rim, just adjusting the spokes may not be enough. A rubber mallet may need to be taken to it. I’d take it to a bigger shop, who has a lot of good MTB’s.
Remove your tire and tube, then bolt the wheel back in the frame w/o them.
Put something on the frame leg so it sticks out and just barely touches the rim when its at its closest point. You could use a zip-tie w/ a bit of the excess cord left on, a taped on piece of cardboard, or just your finger and a ruler/tape measure.
Take your spoke wrench and loosen 2 or 3 of the spokes on the close side and tighten an equal # of spokes on the other side (both at 12:00, not 12 & 6:00). Only tighten each spoke 1/2 turn, then go to step 4.
Since the opposite end of the wheel is prob having the same problem w/ the other side, rotate the wheel a half turn and repeat step 3 on the other side of the frame.
You may have to repeat this several times. Now you may have the wheel wobbling in and out several times in one revolution. this is where it gets a bit difficult. Rotate the wheel until it gets to the point where, say the right side is the closest to the right side and do steps 3 & 4. Repeat 3-5 until your wheel runs straight.
Make sure all the spokes are relatively at the same tension, if not loosen the tight ones, while making sure the rim stays straight w/ steps 3-5.
Now your rim may not wobble side to side but it may be off center or out of round, acting like an egg rolling end over end.
7 a. To check if the rim is off center, measure how far it is from the rim to the fork leg, it should be the same dist on each side. If the rim is more to the right loosen all of the right spokes 1/2 turn, then tighten all the left spokes the same amount. If more to the left, do the opposite.
7 b. If your rim is out of round, loosen a few ~4 spokes (2 L, 2 R) on the side closest to the hub and loosen an equal # of spokes on the opposite side, while maintaining equal tightness on all spokes. Also make sure the rim doesn’t get square, if you maintain equal tension on the spokes, this shouldn’t happen.
Now your rim is true But you still need to make sure all spokes are tight. So start at one part of the wheel (I start at the stem) & tighten all the left and then the right spokes 1/2 rotation each until they are all tight. You can get them pretty tight, but be careful to not strip the nipples, as this will make it hard to true later or remove them if you replace the rim.
Your rim is now tight and true!!!:D:D
Whew!
When you get better you can tighten/loosen the nipples more at a time, but if you do this regularly, you should never need to do more than 1/2 turn and your rim will likely last a VERY long time, if not forever.
I think this is the step that i always screw up on, b/c i get the rim rinning straight, but i get that “egg” effect. the spokes are all differently tensioned(even side to side) and then when i try to get equal tension it brings it back out of true(straight wise, but gets rid of the egg. Next time i do it ill take my tire off…that should help.
ps: the Muni rim isnt horribly out of true, but with such small clearence it doesnt take much to hit the frame.
yeah, i have the same exact problem, only my rim was delivered out of true, and I’m too cheap to have someone professional fix it, and i keep messing it up:o It’s weird though b/c it will be rubbing really bad, then ill ride and it’ll true itself, and then it will suddenly start rubbing again.
Tire clearance depends on which tire and rim you’re using. I know that several local riders are using the latest wide KH rim with Gazz 3.0 tires, and there’s not much clearance. It’s important to keep the wheel true so that the tire doesn’t rub.
Speaking of MUni, has anyone here played with shorter length cranks? No, not long 150s. I’ve been toying with 137s on my KH24, and I really like them. I would consider shorter if I had a brake. The only downside I’ve noticed is that steep downhills require a greater commitment. People say longer cranks give you more leverage for climbing; my experience is that longer than 137 mm cranks feel like more work to climb with. And I feel so much speedier on flat sections.
i run the irc kujo 24x3 and for trail it is great, on flat stuff, the knobbies are a pain… also my rim is not quite wide enouhg(alex dx) and so i get tire fold during hopping" excercises.
i jsut went from 165s on my 24 to 150s on a 26… and talk about so much smoother, I still have enough torque to get up steeps, but everything is so much smoother
running a 2.6 kenda on my 26 and while I miss the volume of the 3.0 and fear pinch flats and bottoming out on drops the lack of roll over when hopping makes pecking and getting over larger obstacles far easier…
How much does a different tire affect how a muni feels. (I dont have one) I understand why trials riders prefer different tires better grip is better for trials. But how does a different tread pattern affect muni
I’ve always been really surprised at how little difference different setups have. I rode a KH with a 24x3 duro rather than my normal 26x2.6" gazz, a bit back when my muni broke on a trip, and I borrowed one, and it made surprisingly little difference. Similarly, I’ve ridden 26x3 gazz and 26x3 duro and again the difference is not that much.
Hopping up big things the extra weight of the 26x3 makes a difference, but I find whatever you ride, by half a mile down the trail you’ll have got used to it for general riding.
Borrowing 170 vs my normal 150mm cranks, I found similar, to the point that I pretty much forgot about the 170s after a couple of miles. The only time I did notice them was on downhills, where I spun fast enough to completely lose my feet on the pedals at a speed where I’d normally still be riding fine.
I found a big difference between munityres. Nevermind the tread pattern - that is not my concern - but the sidewalls are. If they aren’t thick enough the wheel will go in any direction apart from the desired, after you have deflated them a bit. Tyres without thick sidewalls are also useless for hopping because the thin rubber compresses without resistance leaving no “bouncyness”.
finally a MUni thread! MUni rules! i might go out to the trails later today. i am going on a road trip to my uncle’s farm in MI, lots of great MUni rideing there! there is everything from rail road tracks tocow fields. i cant wait to get some nice fresh cow crap on my wheels!
For one I absolutely detest the duro. The grip it has is so annoying. When I was riding it I would always be sliding down rocks instead of riding down them, and it felt too turny. Like, it has such a round profile that I found it a little harder to control. At $20 it is a great tire though.
I personally ride a 3.0 Gazz, but as these are growing (very) scarce, I’m not quite sure of what I will do once they are gone
I definitely have to disagree here. For me, 150mm vs 170mm is a HUGE difference. With 150s I can ride significantly further, faster and more smoothly without getting tired. The 170s were tediously slow and drained a good bit more energy. Also, while 170s have more leverage for uphills, having to lower the seat to comfortably pedal on the downstroke actually made climbing less efficient for me. With the 150s I could pedal more smoothly and crank right up hills.
I think that the individual’s height has a lot to do with it as well. I’m 5’ 7" and for someone whos taller, the 170s may be more comfortable.
…yes i too wonder how they are still in business with that attitude:p so i dont think i would trust them to teach me;)
But you still need to make sure all spokes are tight. So start at one part of the wheel (I start at the stem) & tighten all the left and then the right spokes 1/2 rotation each until they are all tight. You can get them pretty tight, but be careful to not strip the nipples, as this will make it hard to true later or remove them if you replace the rim.
