How difficult is it to replace a wheel rim?

Question

I have an old bicycle with a Sturmey-Archer gearhub and rod brakes. When I tried to get it serviced I was told that the rear wheel was too buckled to be of any use. How diffecult is it to replace the rim? I know you can still get Westwood rims (quite different from modern ones) but how difficult is it to change them over? Do I have to remove the spokes from the hub? I think that if I did have to, I might not be competant enough to do the job. Give me advice please. Thank you.

Answer 1

I don't know anything about antique bikes... On a modern wheel, you'd just remove all the nipples at the rim. You wouldn't have to remove spokes from the hub unless replacing them.

I did it a couple times and did run into "frozen" nipples. Had to cut and replace some spokes. It wasn't that hard. You have to make sure you completely understand the lacing pattern before starting (you can look at the other wheel if you get stuck). Tighten all the nipples evenly, a turn at a time until the spokes are tight enough. Check for any that are still too loose and tighten. Put the wheel on a bike or truing stand and fine-tune the tightness of spokes to straighten the wheel.

EDIT: I fogot that the spokes going to the sprocket side of the hub on a rear wheel usually get a few extra turns to help center the wheel in the bike frame better. I still disagree that it's extremely hard. It might take you awhile spinning and adjusting to get it round and straight, but it's not that hard. It's pretty easy to tell when the spoke tension is close to right.

http://www.bikerepaironline.com/wheel%20build%20lacing.htm

Answer 2

Was the wheel really beyond use or did the mechanic not want to take the time to true it? Wheels are pretty tough, durable pieces of equipment. Truing wheels takes a lot of time and patience, though. Some mechanics are into working on wheels and others are not. You might want to get a second opinion on that wheel before deciding to rebuild it. If you ask your cycling friends they may be able to give you good recommendations on who to take your wheel to. Also the desire to work on wheels goes way down in the spring and summer when shops are swamped with other work. When things are quiet in the dead of winter they are much more happy to see wheels come in.

Rebuilding a wheel is not that difficult but it does takes some skill, some intellegence, a plan and a lot of care. Building a wheel with a Westwood rim should be no different from building any other wheel.

A big issue with building your own wheel is financial. You are going to need to buy (or build) a truing stand. A nice truing stand can cost as much as taking the wheel to a shop and having them do it for you. If you think you may enjoy this project or will true other wheels, it is a great investment.

If you are going to the trouble to buy a new rim and rebuild a wheel, I'd get entirely new spokes. This probably isn't entirely necessary, but I'd hate to do all that work and have an old spoke pop after a few months.

I suggest before you attempt to do the job you buy a copy of "The Bicycle Wheel" by Jobst Brandt. Very complete information on wheel building and truing is provided in the book. As well, it has lots of information on the history of the wheel and the theory of how wheels work.

Park Tool has good information on wheel truing on their website.:

http://parktool.com/repair/byregion.asp?catid=56&imageField2.x=36&imageField2.y=13

There is also an Electronic Book being offered on the Roadbikerider.com website on wheelbuilding. I have seen excerpts from the book and expect it should be good, but I haven't read it. Here is the link:

http://www.roadbikerider.com/wb_page.htm

Hope this helps you out and you enjoy the bike.

Answer 3

Not that difficult, you can change the rim over for a new one by taking the spokes of the old buckled one using a spoke key which unscrews the spokes from the rim, the trick is when you replace the spokes on the new rim you must make sure that when you spin the wheel it spins with no wobbles in it, if there are you must loosen some of the spokes in one area and tighten others so that it spins even, of course you could buy a new three speed rear wheel and save you all the trouble for if you have not done this before it could take a few hours to get right, Good luck with this.

Answer 4

It's not hard, but it's not easy either. If the spokes are in good shape and the new rim is the same size as the old one, you don't need to remove the spokes. I would replace the nipples in either case. The only tricky part is getting the wheel true and round with the right spoke tension. If you aren't totally sure you're up to it, most shops only charge about $30-$40 for a wheel rebuild and they'll probably let you watch.

Answer 5

The easiest way to do this is to tape the new rim to the old wheel, making sure to line up the valve hole and placing the spoke holes in the same orientation. Place it on a flat surface with the new rim facing up, then start transferring spokes one at a time to the new rim.

You might have to release the tension on all of the spokes first so you are able to reach the new rim, but do NOT take all the spokes out and try to relace.

When the transfer is complete it will need to be dished, tensioned, and trued... something that can approach an artform. Take the wheel to a shop and ask them to complete it.

Answer 6

I don't think anyone who has answered so far realizes how difficult and artful a job wheel building is. You may be able to lace up the wheel correctly, but building a wheel which is both round and straight (different things) is very difficult. This is especially true for for kind of rim you would likely use for this kind of build which may not be the stiffest in the world. I'd go to a shop and see if they have wheel building experience. It is something better left to the professionals.

Answer 7

actually you r thinking to hard first get the bike inspected and find out if its spanish europian or american shaped frame (if you don't you will waste a lot of money finding out)the the bolts the hold the rim to the frame take them off (flatten tire if it isn't already) then find the size of the rim buy a new one that fits the rim (remember the rim has to be the same as the frame Spanish Europian or American)then take the bolts on the side of that off and put the rimm in place and put the bolts on.

p.s make sure the rim is straightof you will bend your rim

Answer 8

I'd go by Jay P advice. I really think you should leave that to professionals, if you want to have the wheel done right. There are some things that you can do yourself for the bike, but wheelbuilding I think it's not one of them, unless you've had some experience and seen the process.

Answer 9

you need to remove all of the spokes from the rim, take the tire off, take the new rim put all the spokes back on and the tire then you need to make sure it dosen't wobble if it does fix it, and that is all, about 3 hours of work

Answer 10

Go drive a car with both sizes. Make sure you are on turns, see how one does not handle so well...... I laugh at these people who put these huge tires on vehicles that obviously can not handle them, then wonder why the (usually pick up truck) rolls over on turns.....