Wheel Maintenance

The main components of your wheel are the hub, the rim and the pieces that join the two together - the spokes. Around the outside of the rim there is obviously also your inner tube and tyre. The spokes of a wheel are attached to a screw thread attachment on the rim (a.k.a. a nipple). And by adjusting these it is possible to re-align a buckled wheel, I've never managed to succeed in realigning a buckled wheel however this is probably because of my maverick approach. This site is a good guide to either realigning a damaged wheel or building a new wheel from its component parts. If only I'd seen it before playing around with my damaged wheels. Unless you're really in to your bike maintenance and have a lot of time on your hands I would always recommend sending any buckled wheels in to your local shop to get them aligned by someone who knows what they're doing, from personal experience I know it's easy to make them worse when you're trying to make them better (if you don't know what you're doing anyway). If you insist on making your own wheels have a look at DT Swiss a respeted retailer (with a very nice site), they also have a spoke length calculator tool to help you choose the right spoke length. If your spokes are too long they can puncture your inner tubes! You can access the spoke tool calculato directly here.

Most wheels have 36 spokes although some have 32 or 28 (and some tandem cycles can have 48) but if you're looking for the widest range - a 36 spoke wheel is best. As far as rims go, the choice is again varied, from rectangular rims to those with an aero profile and anything inbetween. When buying your wheels check the rims to see if there is a seam where the two ends of the rim are joined. Higher quality rims are engineered to elminate this seam which can cause uneven brake pad wear and unpredictable braking efficiency. Try to avoid steel rims as well as these are poor for braking in wet weather (assuming you have V or U brakes).

To keep your inner-tubes going there a few options to help prevent punctures although ensuring that your tyres are inflated to the correct pressure is a good start. The first option - tyre liners - are designed to go between your wheel and your tyre, they are usually made from kevlar to create a bullet-proof vest style barrier against any sharp objects that might come through your tyre. Check some online reviews to get real-life feedback on their effectiveness. The second is inner tube sealant which can be bought either as a fluid that can be be pumped in to any inner tube or tubes that can be bought that are already impregnated with it. The more widespread version of this is slime, however the product which seems to get better customer reviews is "The Solution". The main downside with inner tube sealants is that they usually allow a little air to scape either when the punctures occur or over time once they have happened so you may need to pump your tyres up periodically. You can also buy tyres with a kevlar belt built in to the tyre, unfortunately the strip of kevlar is not usually wide enough to protect from all punctures but it does help.

The most common cause for punctures is thorns or other sharp objects penetrating the tyre and inner tube however if your tyres are not pumped up enough then you can get a "snakebite" puncture. This happens when your tyre lands hard or hits and obstocale and the innertube is pinched between the rim and the ground/onject you hit. This isn't usually a problem when road biking as the tyres are pumped up to a higher pressure for increased efficiency (and the terrain is less severe) although when mountain biking a lower tyre pressure will give increased grip - this is usually when a snakebite punture occurs and they can cause your tyre to become completely flat very quickly. I've had my tyre empty in seconds however this was a particularly bad occurence and I could easily hear the air rushing out of the inner tube.

There are lots of sites around with information on wheel construction and maintenance from an idiots guide to something much more indepth, you can always find the information you need so good luck with your wheels.