How to Fix a Warped Bike Tire

Warped or bent bicycle tires come with cycling. Whether you are an off road freerider or a strictly paved road warrior, there will come a time when you miss that exit, hit a log, or slam into a pothole that not only flattens your tire but warps the rim as well. Warped rims are the result of hard hits causing more tension to act on one section of the rim than another section. Perfectly true bike tires are that way because there is even equal pressure along the entirety of the wheel.

Things You'll Need

  • spoke wrench
  • truing stand
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Instructions

    • 1

      Remove the tire off of the bike. Loosen the axel nuts with the wrench set and unhook the brakes. Slide the wheel out of the forks and set it in the truing stand. Tighten the locknuts down to hold the wheel in the stand.

    • 2

      Spin the wheel to isolate the warped section or sections. Use a piece of chalk or crayon to mark the warped sections. Mark where the wheel first starts going out of true all the way to the end of the warped section.

    • 3

      Using the spoke wrench, tighten the spokes that are opposite the direction of warpage and loosen the spokes that are in the same direction of warpage. Do a series of 2-3 spokes at a time and then spin the wheel to see what affect your adjustment had. Repeat the procedure until your wheel is true again.

    • 4

      Take the wheel out of the truing stand and mount it back on the bike by reversing step 1. Take it for a spin and ignore the "creaking and cracking" you hear coming from the rim. Its just the spokes "settling". After your spin, check to see if the rim is still true. If not, straighten it again by repeating step 3.