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Truing Wheels: how important with disk brakes?
Used to be, when my wheels went out of true my disk brakes would rub and I'd adjust my spokes until the brakes no longer rubbed. Now I have a bike with disk brakes. So, how important is it to keep my wheels true? Is it OK to simply ignore a slight wobble?
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7 comments
An out of true wheel isn't as noticeable with disc brakes, so it's worth checking every so often to spot potential issues. I'd go for just eyeballing the rim (not the tyre) whilst spinning the wheel and if there's an obvious deflection then it's worth fixing it if only to prevent issues with spokes breaking or rims pretzeling etc.
I only noticed my rear wheel had got a slight wobble when fitting mudguards recently. I'm ignoring it unless it starts rubbing on anything. Another low-maintenance win for disc brakes!
The OP didn't say the wheel was rubbing the frame, I believe he meant to say that when he had *rim* brakes then an out of true wheel mean the brake track would rub the brake pad. With disc brakes and more generous clearance round the tyre, that doesn't happen.
I don't think a slight wheel out of trueness matters much, it's more a question of whether it offends you or not. Always a good idea to ping the spokes to see if one has lost tension though.
I'm probably missing something, but if the disc is rubbing the frame this isn't a wheel truing issu, there is something catastrophically wrong with the disc/mount/hub. The true of the wheel should have no appreciable effect on discs
To be clear, truing wheels is important in it's own right and should not be ignored. Apart from a nicer ride, I'm reliably informed that it wins Olympic medals....
It *is* OK to ignore a slight wobble; as long as the tyre isn't touching the chainstay or seatstays (even under load) then it's probably fine.
However, any un-true-ness is a sign that something's not quite right; either you've got a spoke tension imbalance, or the rim is warped (or dented), maybe that the threads on a nipple have given up, etc. For spoke tension issues especially that can lead to premature wear on the hub/rim hole, including on the 'opposite' side, broken spokes etc and it's just not as efficient (you might be wasting half a watt per 100km at 40kph in a vacuum!).
If it rubs on the frame or is noticable when you're riding, then get it sorted. If you can only tell by putting it on a truing stand, probably fine to leave it.
With rim brakes a lateral deviation of 1.5mm is likely to rub the brakes, but I'd say 5mm on a disk brake wheel is tolerable. But as above check there are no loose spokes and te fewer spokes you have the more important this is.