How to Fix a Bike Wheel

Bicycle wheels can take an incredible beating but sometimes slamming them into rocks, trees, curbs or anything with enough force, or at just the right angle, can cause the wheel to bend or lose tension. This creates a wobble in the rotation of the wheel. A tiny amount can be acceptable but when it becomes visual, or when there's enough side to side movement to contact the brake pad with every revolution of the wheel, it's time to fix it. Bike wheels are held together by spokes under tension pulling evenly from both sides creating a balance. When you upset this balance, your wheel begins to wobble. Here's how to get your balance back. This article is for a quick fix or emergency repair on the road. Other problems with wheels such as rim welds breaking or hub failure can't be fixed and should be replaced.

Things You'll Need

  • Bent wheel on bike
  • Spoke wrench
  • Black marker
Show More

Instructions

  1. Repairing a Bike Wheel

    • 1

      Flip your bike upside down and balance it on the seat and handlebars. Do not remove the wheel or the tire. Crouch down behind the wheel that's bent, get eye level to it and give it a spin with your hand, focusing on the spot where the tire passes between the brake pads. If you can't see the wobble this way, gently apply the brakes until the wheel starts to rub the pad.

    • 2

      Using the brake pads as reference, watch the space between the wheel and the pad as the wheel turns. A perfectly balance wheel will maintain equal spacing between BOTH brake pads as the wheel spins. If yours wobbles to one side and contacts the pad with each revolution, it means a spoke has lost tension and your wheel has become bent.

    • 3

      To identify which spoke has lost tension and needs to be tightened, spin the tire slowly. When the wheel touches the pad, stop the wheel. Move it back and forth a few times, letting the wheel scrape against the pad back and forth, then stop it at the high center of the wobble, or the place where you feel the most resistance. The OPPOSITE spoke nearest the pad at this point is the one that has lost tension. Mark it with a piece of tape or a black marker. Spin the tire again, and repeat this step until you're confident you've identified the worst wobbles. There might be more than one.

    • 4

      Now that you have marked the loose spokes, slide your spoke wrench into place on the spoke that you've identified. Let it seat onto the nipple, and begin tightening the spoke. It might offer some resistance at first; if it resists reposition your wrench and try again. Give it one or two turns. If the spoke begins to get loose, you've turned it the wrong way. After making sure you've tightened it, spin the tire again, watching for the wobble using the brake pad as reference. If some wobble still persists, tighten more, and spin again. Do this to the spokes you've identified several times until the wobble is gone.