Why is it every time I call a bike shop to true my MUni wheel, they go, “Well, I am not sure I can do that, unless I see it.” Then they go on to say they might not be able to do it.
I had my wheel built by a bike shop and it’s been great for the past three years, but now, it finally needs to be tensioned and trued a bit. That LBS is pretty far away and a schlep. I am just looking for something local.
How hard is it to do this with the equipment every LBS should have?
Cheers.
my LBS can true my trials uni wheel no problem, i think they might just be phased by that fact that it is a uni.
Tell them if they can true a wheel on a bike, you can true a unicycle.
Boycott their shop.
They’re obviously extremely thick.
Problem is it won’t fit in a wheel truing jig. That isn’t a big problem but it might put them off a bit. have they ever seen it and refused? I could understand them saying they’re not sure given they won’t know what to expect, but I would expect after you take the uni in (maybe with cranks removed to make it easeier/more balanced) that they’ll realise it’s the same as any other wheel and get on with it.
Rod-
Dress that MUni up in the striking blue swimsuit that was custom fit for it. They won’t be able to keep their hands off of it then.
Better, ask them if they know of a competent bike shop close by.
Truing a wheel isn’t a job you need to pay someone to do, just follow the truing instructions on http://www.sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html . It isn’t like you have to do anything complex like the back wheel of a bike.
Unicycle wheels won’t fit in some wheelbuilding jigs, but apparently will in others. However, it doesn’t really matter, cos a unicycle frame is a pretty good jig.
Joe
That still is one of my all-time favorite threads.
The Picture Link in the thread doesn’t work anymore.
It’s salesmanship 101
You are much more likely to agree to their price after going to the trouble of carting it to their shop. If they quote a price over the phone, it may be to high and you will bring it elsewhere.
The chance that they will refuse the job, at any price, when they are looking at the uni in the shop is near nill. If they are very busy, the chance they will take the job, but ask (and get) a very high price, is good.
I’m with Joe M, you can buy a universal spoke wrench for less then the gas to drive the uni to the shop. It is not difficult to do this work yourself. It’s not like it’s going to blow up or be ruined by beginners attempts. If the rim is already out of true, you can do no harm in learning on that one. Just remember that you must turn the spoke nips counter clockwise when you tighten them from the spoke side of the rim.
Let me highly recommend “Cynergy cycles” in Santa Monica. Diego is the tech who did JL’s wheel build as well as mine. He does a great, solid job and my wheel remains true after several MONTHS on the muni trails! His fees are very reasonable as well! http://www.cynergycycles.com/
… Curses I can’t find it. “Honey, WHERE IS MY SUPER SUIT!?”
Harper, you bust me up. I am cruising down through the thread, and out of nowhere comes the reference to the bathing suit thread. OMG, I lost it totally.
Touche’ Harper.
Steve, thanks for resurrecting the thread. Only us “oldtimers” would have understood.
Everyone’s advice was very good. Good points made by all. Terry, thanks for the recommendation for the Santa Monica bike shop. I will have to keep that for next time, though. I had to take care of this today, and it was prior to getting the later posts in this thread.
I ended up finding a bike shop, that felt comfortable with doing the work, only about 8 miles from my house. The entire experience is better for another thead. Let’s just say I am taking a chance. But, we talked it over and more than one of the mechanics was involved in the discussion.
Cheers to all.
it is probably because their truing stands don’t easily handle the way uni bearings are set up. That would mean they couldn’t use their little guide things and would have to use the uni frame.
My bike shop has a very basic wheel building setup and they still kindly true up all of my wheels (24" KH muni through a 36" nimbus) without issue. They even true the 36ers up in the frame and do a very fine job of doing so. I think it all comes down to the skill of the bike tech you speak with. We always do our business with one manager of our LBS and I would trust him more than some of the other workers at the shop to do it well.
As Joe Marshall said, it really isn’t difficult to do it yourself. All you need is a spoke key (cheap), a set of instructions that you can google (free) and a little time and patience. It is actually quite theraputic and rewarding. Just do it !
Chris
and of course if you do get it wrong, you can always use the LBS - they’re not going to charge you any more that they would’ve anyway.
I’ve only built a couple but it’s good fun - like building blocks or flat-pack furniture but easier.
i learned to true a wheel in ten minutes its rather easy