Wheel Truing

Wheel Truing — $25

A true wheel spins straight — no wobble left to right, no hops up and down. When a wheel goes out of true, you’ll see it as a side-to-side shimmy when the wheel rotates, and you’ll feel it as a pulsing through the handlebars or a brake rub that comes and goes. Wheel truing at Bell Lap Cycleworks is $25, and it’s one of the most common services we perform. We true wheels on a professional Park Tool truing stand, adjusting individual spoke tension until the rim tracks perfectly straight.

This service is for wheels with externally accessible spoke nipples — the majority of aluminum training wheels, entry-level and mid-range wheelsets, and many mountain bike wheels. If your wheel has internal spoke nipples (common on carbon aero wheels and higher-end aluminum), see our internal wheel truing service ($40) instead.

What’s Included

Wheel truing is a precision job. Here’s what we do at each step:

• Wheel inspection: Before touching a spoke wrench, we inspect the wheel for damage. A dented or cracked rim, a broken spoke, or a severely bent wheel tells us whether truing alone will solve the problem or if the wheel needs more extensive repair. We’re honest about what truing can and can’t fix.
• Truing stand setup: The wheel goes into the stand and we set the indicators to read lateral (side-to-side) and radial (up-and-down) runout. This shows us exactly where the rim deviates and by how much.
• Lateral truing: We work spoke by spoke around the wheel, tightening and loosening nipples in small increments to pull the rim left or right. The goal is to bring the lateral deviation under 0.5mm — tight enough that disc brakes won’t rub and rim brakes won’t pulse.
• Radial truing: We check for hops — spots where the rim lifts higher or dips lower than the rest of the circle. Radial deviation causes a pulsing feel at the brake lever. We adjust spoke tension to even this out, bringing the rim into a consistent roundness.
• Dish check: We verify the rim sits centered between the hub flanges. A wheel that’s dished off-center will track to one side under load. On rear wheels, this is especially important because the drive side has higher spoke tension than the non-drive side, and any truing work can shift the dish.
• Tension assessment: While truing, we feel the overall spoke tension across the wheel. If some spokes are dramatically looser or tighter than others, the wheel needs more than a minor true — it may need a full re-tension. Uneven tension is the leading cause of wheels going out of true repeatedly.
• Spoke stress relief: After adjustments, we relieve the wind-up stress in the spokes by squeezing parallel pairs together around the wheel. This settles the spoke into its final position and prevents the wheel from de-truing on the first ride after service.

Why Wheels Go Out of True

Wheels don’t just randomly go crooked. There’s always a cause, and understanding it helps prevent repeat trips to the shop:

• Impact damage: Hitting a pothole, a curb, or a rock at speed applies a sudden force that the spokes can’t distribute evenly. One section of spokes gets overloaded, and the rim gets pushed out of true. Raleigh roads — especially after freeze-thaw cycles in late winter — develop potholes that can knock a wheel out of true in a single hit.
• Spoke tension settling: New wheels, especially machine-built factory wheels, lose some spoke tension as the spokes bed into the hub flanges and nipple seats during the first few hundred miles. This is normal — it’s why a first truing after buying a new bike or wheelset is standard shop practice.
• Broken or failing spokes: A single broken spoke immediately throws the wheel out of true because the tension it was carrying gets redistributed unevenly. If you hear a “ping” sound from your wheel, check for a broken spoke.
• Corrosion: Spoke nipples can corrode and seize over time, especially on alloy nipples in contact with aluminum rims in wet conditions. A seized nipple can’t respond to normal tension changes, creating a hard spot that pushes the rim out of true as surrounding spokes stretch.
• General fatigue: Over thousands of miles, spokes stretch slightly and nipples can loosen from vibration. A yearly truing is reasonable maintenance for wheels that see regular use — think of it as a tune-up for your wheels.

When Truing Isn’t Enough

We’ll be straight with you: truing has limits. Some wheel issues go beyond what spoke tension adjustment can fix:

• Dented or cracked rim: A visible dent or crack in the rim means the structure is compromised. No amount of spoke tension can un-dent a rim. Minor dents on aluminum rims can sometimes be trued around (the wheel won’t be perfect, but it’ll be rideable). Cracked rims need to be replaced — they can fail catastrophically.
• Multiple broken spokes: If a wheel has two or more broken spokes, the remaining spokes are carrying too much load. We can true around one broken spoke as a temporary fix, but the wheel needs a full spoke replacement and re-tension before it’s reliable again.
• Severely uneven tension: If some spokes are loose enough to rattle and others are so tight they’re close to breaking, the wheel needs a full re-tension from scratch — not just a touch-up. We’ll let you know if your wheel falls into this category and what it’ll cost to get it right.
• Worn rim brake track: Wheels with rim brakes gradually wear through the brake track surface over thousands of miles. Many rims have a wear indicator — a groove or mark that disappears when the wall is thin. A thin brake track can crack or blow out under tire pressure. If we spot this, we’ll recommend a new rim or wheel.

Standard vs. Internal Truing

We offer two wheel truing services because the spoke nipple location changes the entire job:

Standard truing ($25) is for wheels where the spoke nipples are at the outside edge of the rim — you can see them sitting in the rim’s spoke holes when the tire is off. A spoke wrench fits right onto the nipple from outside the rim. This is the faster, simpler job because we can adjust nipples directly while the wheel spins in the truing stand.

Internal truing ($40) is for wheels where the nipples are hidden inside the rim — accessed from the inner rim bed after removing the tire and rim tape. This is typical on carbon deep-section wheels, many aero road wheels, and some premium aluminum wheelsets. Internal nipples require removing the tire and rim tape to reach, making the job more time-consuming. If you’re running tubeless, we re-tape and re-seal as part of the service.

Not sure which type your wheel needs? Bring it in and we’ll tell you in 10 seconds.

Related Wheel Services

Wheel truing pairs naturally with other wheel maintenance:

• Internal Wheel Truing — $45: For wheels with internal spoke nipples (carbon aero wheels, high-end aluminum). Same precision, different access method.
• Front Hub Bearing Overhaul — $30: While the wheel is in the stand, we can assess hub bearing condition and service if needed.
• Rear Hub Bearing Service — $40: Same opportunity — hub service pairs well with truing since the wheel is already off the bike.
• Tire Installation & Flat Repair — $15: If a pothole caused both a flat and a wobble, we’ll fix both in one visit.
• Custom Wheel Building — $100: If truing reveals that the rim is beyond repair, a custom rebuild on new components is the ultimate solution.

View all our wheel services for the complete list, or check our tune-up packages that bundle multiple services at a better price.

Pricing

Service	Price
Wheel Truing (external nipples)	$25
Wheel Truing (internal nipples)	$40
Spoke Replacement (if needed)	Varies by spoke

Price covers the full truing process — inspection, lateral and radial adjustment, dish verification, tension assessment, and stress relief. Replacement spokes are additional if any are broken. We stock common spoke lengths and can order specific sizes for most wheelsets within a day or two.

Straighten Things Out

A properly trued wheel is one of those things you notice immediately — the brake rub disappears, the steering feels solid, and the whole bike just tracks straighter. Use the booking buttons in the sidebar to schedule at either location, or stop by either Raleigh location — 6300 Creedmoor Rd #138 or 8480 Honeycutt Rd #126 (Lafayette Village). You can also reach us through our contact page. Most truing jobs are done same-day.