Went for a ride a while back and noticed, somehow that the rear wheel was buckled- a definite kink when looked at by the naked eye if I span the wheel.

Took it to the shop and when I got it back the guy said that he had managed to true it and it was now within less than a 1mm ‘out’. I think as the spoke nipples had seized he couldn’t do any better than this but as I understand it this is fine? It certainly doesn’t sound like enough to worry about to me?

So I got the wheel back and fitted it naked, with no tube or tyre into the drop outs and span it- seems perfectly straight to me.

The thing is, as soon as I fit a tube and tyre to it and spin it then, there is a definite visible kink 😕

Being pretty low skilled when it comes to these kind of maintenance issues, I am a bit confused.

Would the less-than-1mm kink in the wheel really translate to a visible and seemingly quite noticeable buckle in the wheel once the tube and tyre are fitted?

Or is there another variable at work here that I don’t know about? The hub is pretty new and there is no play in it if I wiggle the rear wheel.

Or (please no) have I done something to the frame? I can’t think of anything I’ve done that would seem likely to bend it or dent it etc.

I even swapped the tyres out with brand new nobby nics (which I was planning on doing anyway) but it’s the same.

Maybe I’m going slightly mental or need my eyes testing?

Or is this one of those things that I should just ignore and forget about? Am I expecting too much for it to be perfectly straight and true with the tube and tyre on?

I sometimes wonder whether the pressure from the tyre/ bead on the rim can push/ pull it out of true.
Also, tyres are often never perfectly moulded and can make it look like the rim is buckled.
Either way, I wouldn’t worry about it.

Sounds like the tyre bead isn’t sitting in the rim properly.
2 ways of sorting:
1 – Let about half the air out and go around each side pressing with your thumbs just above the rim to seat the bead.
2 – If this doesn’t do it pump the tyre up REALLY hard – i.e. 70-80 psi and the bead should pop into place.

Could be a few things I suppose..
Are you seating the tyre and tube correctly ?
When I demod a bike the other day the tyre wasnt seated properly causing a nasty king when riding. Just took it off an refitted. Visibly you couldnt see the kink at all. Seeing as youve tried another set it seems unlikely though..

Did the LBS guy say anything about a flat spot in your rim? Flat spots sometime manifest themselves in odd ways that can look like the wheel is out of true.

I’d just fling it all together and go for a ride. If you can feel it then maybe new rim time? If not, then just ride.

If the spoke tension is not even then tyre pressure may put the wheel out.

Spoke tension should be even on each side of the wheel within reason. If the spoke nipples are siezed there is little point in trying to true the wheel as they should be replaced. Turing a wheel with siezed nipples means it will have uneven spoke tension.

However it may not be the wheel, it may be the tyre as brakes has said. Within a 1mm side to side movement is probably O.K but is it round. It is important to true radially and latteraly. I hope your LBS did that.

When I true I true for even spoke tension and to get the wheel down to 0.5mm or less radial or lateral movement. Radial and lateral movement on good quality rims can be got down to ~0.2mm while keeping even spoke tension. The more even the tension the more durable the wheel.

Get the nipples changed or it will happen again.

Thanks for the replies guys.

I did wonder if I am not being careful enough when seating the tyre and tube- I do have a ‘just get them on any way possible’ kind of method but as I’ve unfitted and re-fitted both several times and also fitted a brand new set of tyres I would have thought that I would have done it correctly at least once or twice, but it’s the same every time. I will try the methods suggested by Ajontom though and see if this helps.

The LBS guy didn’t mention anything about a flat-spot in the rim- what is this? Similar to a dent in the side of the rim?

Seems it’s OK for me to just carry on anyway though if I can’t feel it when riding?

If the spoke tension is not even then tyre pressure may put the wheel out.

Thanks for the reply bmop700f- hmmm, yes that would make sense actually^^^. I guess that would explain the wheel being (mostly) true when ‘naked’ but out of true with the tyre inflated.

If I can eliminate the tyre being seated incorrectly explanation than I will pursue this avenue- getting the nipples changed.

I suppose eventually I can just swap the wheels out entirely if I want but really could do with not spending more cash.