How to Straighten a Bicycle Wheel

As a bicycle repairman I often get asked by friends and neighbors to fix their bikes. One common problem is the straightening of wheels. The techniques you are about to learn are for fixing the wheels from what I call department store bikes, and are not necessarily the top quality bikes you get from an independent bike shop. These tricks are for helping out your neighborhood kids and your local homeless person who, unlike serious cyclists, usually cannot afford new wheels. Most likely they could buy a new bike for the same or less cost than repairing the wheel at a bike shop, but to help out until they become better bikers, or have more money, you can fix their wheel for them.

The wheels get bent usually by people doing things they don't know any better to do, or doing things they shouldn't. Like hitting speed bumps at full speed, or riding over a street drain, crashing into a pole, or trying to jump a curb. Sometimes it is from trying to do tricks with their bike that it wasn't designed to do, like ramp jumping. The common term around here is "taco"; to have tacoed your wheel is to have bent it so that your bicycle can no longer be ridden.

First things first, the tools you will need. You will need a rubber hammer, a regular hammer, a block of wood, your regular tools of course, and your grill or trash can. You will learn about each as we progress through the lesson.