Managed to slam a rock into my derailleur the other night which slammed into my rear wheel. Wheel now has pretty significant wobble. Was just going to take it to my lbs to fix but I’m always keen to learn so was wondering how much of a task it would be to do myself. Fancy learning how to wheel build at some point so don’t mind investing in a few tools (recommendations welcome).
Any pointers/order of tasks would be much appreciated.

Watch a couple of YouTube videos to see how it’s done. Easier than trying to describe it on here. Just need a spoke key. Most multitools have one but a proper key is much easier to use. Bike turned upside down as a wheel jig. Some pencils held on the frame with cable ties or elastic bands to act as guides. Pretty simple, just take your time

Just slightly more difficult than truing a front wheel. Unless it’s a Cannondale with the stupid rear offset

Assuming the spokes and nipples are all okay then its not a hard job. Just take a bit of patience and a basic understanding of what you are actually doing to the rim when you tighten or loosen a nipple.

If its got a big wobble then there is bound to be a couple of spokes that have lost a lot of tension. Go round the wheel giving the spoke pairs a squeeze. Tighten up any that feel really slack. Once you’ve got more even tension then start truing the wheel. As above the frame and cable ties / pencils / allen keys is fine as a guide.

Ok great, I’ll look for a youtube tutorial. What’s a good spoke key? It’s for a dt swiss xm1501 alloy wheel if that makes a difference to what I need.
Also, is best to take the tyre off?

It’s not hard to do. Doing it well, on the other hand, is a different matter.

I do literally everything on my bike down to complete suspension rebuilds. I’ll fix small wobbles myself, but if I need a proper truing job or a wheel build I’ll take it to a pro.

Also, is best to take the tyre off?

Nah. You don’t need to get at the back of the nipples if you’re just truing it.

Go get Roger Mussons Wheel building e-book, only a few £ but well worth it. He has a very in-depth description of the whole process…and the book is well-laid out so easy to find relevant sections.

I’m in the same boat as you however, it wasn’t a rock it was a shopping trolley, and no never properly tried to true a wheel in my life before.

It’s easy enough unless the nipples are seized and made of cheese. This is the case 99% of the time.

Easy enough is theory, in practice however…

I found it pretty simple, followed the park tool youtube video, and watched a few others before setting about doing it.

I managed to break a spoke on a ride and therefore replaced that and then trued.

Used cable ties on the frame for reference points, just take your time and make small adjustments at a time, its worth giving a go as if you bugger it up completely, then it will cost the same at a shop as it would have anyway, and you might just learn something new. I did.

It depends on why it’s buckled.

If the spokes have lost tension then it’s easy to tighten the nipples and re tension the spokes.

If the rim is bent then the only way to straighten it is with incredibly tight spokes one side and loose the other. This results in a very weak wheel and the spokes will probably snap. Even spoke tension is more important than a perfectly true wheel.

If it’s not badly bent then you can usually get a compromise.

It’s one of that jobs that’s easy to do reasonably well but hard to do perfectly. I’m usually happy with my results so never paid anyone to do it for me.
What is required is a comfy chair, beverages of choice and snacks to go with, enough time.
Oh and a spoke key. 😂

Second the Roger Musson book mentioned above, especially if you have a work printer where they won’t mind you printing 50 pages! I went from novice to easily building wheels with that book, really explains it well

Easy, just get prepped and take your time. I find it quite relaxing

You don’t need a jig for trueing – you can do it in the bike using zip ties as reference points

Wind tension up gradually and a quarter of a turn at a time

Tighten the spokes in pairs / quads (depending on size of buckle) so you aren’t overtensioning a particular spoke

^^^Depends on whether distortion is due to spoke tension or whether the rim itself is buckled. More that 10-15mm from true and you might be in trouble. If you can’t get it true with adjusting the spoke tension, often best to wind-off tension on all spokes and see how much rim is distorted

Yup

A small distortion is easy

If the rim is bent or flat spotted it gets more difficult

It’s an almost brand new wheel (doh) so nipples shouldn’t be seized. Theres no damage to the rim so I’m pretty sure its been caused by the rock crashing the derailleur into the spokes and affecting the tension (by bending them slightly? I imagine that’s the only cause possible for loss of tension as they can’t have unwound?). So my thought is that the spokes on the other side of the wobble should still be at the correct tension and I just need to adjust the spokes that the derailleur has crashed into. Or maybe it’s not that simple!
Whats a good spoke key brand?

Go get Roger Mussons Wheel building e-book

Have heard of that book before, will get it now I have a reason to use it 👍

Relatively easy – just give yourself time & peace/quiet… & don’t rush. Be prepared to do some, leave it (i.e. walk away! – it can/did/does get infuriating!), and go again. Decent tunes and beverages help. As does the customary shop apron. It is actually therapeutic, almost mesmerising.

We (myself and our two lads, 11 & 13) learned just this last week. We nailed it, from scratch, within 2/3 hours. I kid you not, better than when I’ve paid for it to be done. They were way better than me and got both sides down to 0.2mm with equal/balanced spoke tension*.

* DS spokes will typically have a higher tension than NDS, due to the angle they leave the hub.

Check out some vids first – we found Park Tool, GCN/GMBN & RJ The Bike Guy to be the most helpful.

We oiled each nipple first, to ensure it moved free. We held some spokes (e.g. with mole grips) to limit ‘twisting’. Do 2-3 at a time, to start with. Work in 1/8 or 1/4 turns, at most. Small tweaks, spin, check, repeat. Easy does it.

A decent spoke key helps for sure – get the correct size by measuring the nipples with a caliper. Park are good but they’re Park prices. Pedros/Cyclo are also decent… Tyre off is preferable as it’s easier to ‘see’ (even decent, new tyres can appear to ‘wobble’, affecting what you’re actually seeing) but we did it with it on, no problem. A truing jig is preferable and certainly much easier to get a low tolerance but they’re not cheap – we were able to borrow one. As has been said the bike frame, upside down, can be used with hex keys/zip ties/pens/lollipop sticks as markers.

Remember that ‘lateral’ truing is only one aspect – there’s also ‘radial’ truing, dishing, spoke tension/balance & so on… and as others have said, truing doesn’t necessarily repair a damaged rim.

Hope our recent learning experience helps a bit. Go for it! Make mistakes, it’s often the best way to learn. You’ll soon put them right and nail it!

Thanks for the info Phil. Sounds like you really got into it. I can see wheel building being a meditative process, as long as it goes ok!

Second the Roger Musson book mentioned above, especially if you have a work printer where they won’t mind you printing 50 pages! I went from novice to easily building wheels with that book, really explains it well

Thirds it…..