GEBE wheel not true

M

Mary

Guest
I bought a GEBE kit and a 12 guage wheel from them. After doing a ton of research on this board, I decided to buy an Armadillo tire and a Slime Tube for the rear wheel rather than turning it into a frame mount. I just put the wheel back on the bike last night.

Today, I discovered the wheel is wobbly. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Anyone else besides Sam had this problem?

I am assuming I will now need to learn how to true a wheel unless I want to spend more money, which I don't. Grrrrrrrrrrr.

Any ideas?

Thanks
 
check the bearings, the axle may only be loose a little
shouldn't have bent anything just changing/installing a tire
 
Just to be on the safe side, check that the tire is on the rim correctly.
I have inflated some bicycle tires and not watched the seating of the bead and it wobbled.
1. So I fill the tire up just until its firm and I then go around the tire and rim to make sure the bead is seating evenly.
2.With it firm you can use finger and palms to pull the tire into the correct position on the rim.
Good luck and I hope that is all it is.
 
More advice and a different approach here ...

Spin the wheel and see if the rim to brake clearance is consistent. If it is, then the wheel is true and the apparent wobble is from an incorrectly installed tire which is fixable with Abeagle's approach.

But, perhaps the wheel was wobbling before, and you did not notice it.

If the rim is wobbling such that it is touching the brakes, then you can either true the wheel or adjust the brakes wider such that there is no rubbing anymore. Whether you true the wheel or adjust the brakes depends on how much wobble there is and how lazy you are that evening. :)

If the wheel is not wobbling very much, the wheel cam be trued while it is on the bike. Just lift up the rear wheel with something like a bike trainer, identify which part of the wheel is too near a brake pad, and tighten the appropriate spokes 1/8 turn at a time.

Most brakes have a fine screw adjustment that can be used to open the rim brakes away from the rim a tiny bit. If you do this, make sure there is sufficient remaining brake lever action to stop your bike under emergency conditions.

The above recommendations assume that the wheel is just a little wobbly. If the wheel is a lot wobbly, then there is something else going on.
 
Well? We are waiting with great longing as to what the problem was. Was it an easy fix? I am about to buy a GEBE wheel. It would be nice to know if their wheels are as good as they say or was it not the wheel that was the problem?
 
You have the 40 tanaka, right? 12 guage should hold up with that engine. Have you hit any curbs or potholes that you can remember Mary? I ask because you stated you changed to a better tire and was just curious if you had a flat that needed fixing. I agree w/ Abeagle that the tire may not have seated the bead to the rim properly. Let us know, we're dyin' here...
 
Took it to a bicycle shop today-the wheel is fine

Sorry about the delay in getting back to the board. I've been out of town.

I took the bike to a bike shop this afternoon and asked the owner to look at it. It turns out there is no problem, the wheel is just fine. :D

I had put a Slime Tube with an Armadillo tire on the wheel. The Armadillo tire is red and black and being a novice, I was looking at the tire as it was turning and NOT the side of the wheel as it passed the brake pads.

My eye caught the side of the tire as well as the top and it gave me the illusion that the tire was wobbly.

Thanks to all who responded.

Happy New Year!

Mary
 
You have the 40 tanaka, right? 12 guage should hold up with that engine. Have you hit any curbs or potholes that you can remember Mary? I ask because you stated you changed to a better tire and was just curious if you had a flat that needed fixing. I agree w/ Abeagle that the tire may not have seated the bead to the rim properly. Let us know, we're dyin' here...


Hi Jim,

You know what? I haven't even rode the bike with the engine yet.

After reading a lot of posts on this board, I decided to take a cautious approach to the GEBE kit and make doggone sure I was doing "it right".
Because this is all new to me, I thought it was better to wait and do the research than to just put it on and take off.

Yes, I have the Tanaka 40.

I changed to a better tire because I didn't want to deal with the hassle of having to take off the engine and rack in order to deal with a flat tire X amount of miles from home. I thought that was easier than trying to make the kit into a frame mount. The tire is seated on the rim just fine, I had it done by a bike shop and watched the guy do it so I could do it the next time. The tire looks terrific. :D

A second reason for changing the tire was my old tires have knobbies on the sides and IMO, there wasn't enough clearance - it would have done a number on the GEBE belt.

Happy New Year,

Mary
 
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