Wheel trueing

[Buzzsaw]

Hope somebody can pitch in and help me out.......

The past few rides I noticed my front wheel "creeking" and popping. It has been happening while "just riding along" and has been doing it more and more.

So, I pulled the wheel off and put it in the truing stand. As I checked the spoke nipples to see if any were loose I found that all the spokes on the disc side were super tight. The spokes on the other side were all loose. They weren't loose enough to spin with my fingers but snug, turning pretty easy with a spoke wrench. I did two cycles around the wheel, tightening the weak side about a total of half a turn.

Any help in what this might be? The wheels are fairly new, about a year old.

[gurp13]

Spokes can pop and ping when they have been tightened and they are seating themselves. Some lube on the nipples can help them turn better without turning the spokes themselves and could help deal with this problem. I don't know a lot about trueing but I would think that the spokes being tight on one side and loose on the other might be a sign of a problem. You can spin the wheel while the bike is in a stand and eyeball it to see if it's out of true. But, the only way to be for sure for sure is to use a truing stand.

[tkblazer]

i've never even tried to true a wheel, but i would be interested in the process. I've read some sites like sheldon smith and the like. I guess i'm more of a visual learner

[2wheel_lee]

BTW, it's normal for the spokes on the disc side of front wheels to be tighter than the non-disc side. This is required since there isn't as much "dish" or offset from the hub to the rim on the disc side of the wheel.

Just the opposite is common for the rear wheel. Usually, the drive side is tighter.

It's impossible to really diagnose popping or creaking from the front wheel. There are many things to consider. For starters, make sure the skewer is tight. Try making it tighter (this was the cause of several creaks I diagnosed). I've also found that simply tightening the nut on a presta valve stem has solved some noise issues. Some rims that are pinned together and/or welded can make noise. To fix this, use a hammer and centerpunch to repeen the pin. Good luck, and let us know what you find.

tk, that's AltWheels Festival 2004 Larz Anderson Park, Brookline that you're thinking of.

[1_fez_rider]

The spoke lube that Gurp recommended is a good idea. When I first got my Fezzari Alta Peak, it popped and pinged the first few rides. But now its fine.

[Lor]

I've dealt with this riding motocross. Your rims should be seated if they are a year old and have been ridden on. My suggestion is what you've done. Tighten the loose side in the truing stand put it on and do a quick ride with some strong breaking, turning, and acceleration. You should hear some pops or creaking at first but should go away after awhile. If it doesn't then I would have you LBS take a look for safety. Good luck!

[jfromlv]

A touch of lube between the rim and nipple helps as well.

[SAR_boats]

Just a thought but you may want to check the torque on the spokes.

[Buzzsaw]

went on a ride this morning and was pretty stoked to NOT hear the creeking and popping.

I did all the above:

Grease/tighten spoke nipples/checked skewer.

No noise is good noise.

Thanks