Wheel lacing/truing tips

[forgotmyusername]

I have a '15 450F and a set of TCR hubs that I want to put on. I'm going to attempt to do the project myself. I have a truing stand and the process seems pretty straight forward. Today someone told me to make sure the offset is right...what?

So are the rims offset? If so any tips to get them offset to the right spec?

[grayracer513]

Offset, in this case, means that viewed from the front (or back), the rim center is not centered between the spoke flanges.  This happens more often at the rear than the front.  If your current wheels are in good shape, the easiest way to get it right is to stand the wheel up in your truing stand and measure for any such offset they currently have, and duplicate it as you relace the new hubs in.

 

Offset is sometimes referred to as "dishing", also, particularly by bicyclists.  Looking at a typical rear whee on a derailleur bike will give you an excellent example of a dished or offset wheel.  The drive side spokes will be considerably more vertical than the off side spokes. 

[stealman]

Is there a spec for the offset published in the manual or otherwise available for a stock rear hub?

[forgotmyusername]

Offset, in this case, means that viewed from the front (or back), the rim center is not centered between the spoke flanges.  This happens more often at the rear than the front.  If your current wheels are in good shape, the easiest way to get it right is to stand the wheel up in your truing stand and measure for any such offset they currently have, and duplicate it as you relace the new hubs in.

 

Offset is sometimes referred to as "dishing", also, particularly by bicyclists.  Looking at a typical rear whee on a derailleur bike will give you an excellent example of a dished or offset wheel.  The drive side spokes will be considerably more vertical than the off side spokes. 

 

I've watched as many lacing videos as I can find and none mentioned anything about the offset. It this something that occurs naturally from the different length spokes or something that has to be adjusted for?

[grayracer513]

It has to do with the way the hub is set up.  To an extent, the thing that controls the rear hub is the location of the output shaft sprocket.  That dictates the lateral location of the rear sprocket, and that in turn influences where the spoke flange can be placed on that side of the hub.  The two spoke flanges need to be as far apart as practicable to maximize the strength of the wheel against lateral loads, so IF the sprocket pushes one side of the wheel too close to the center of the fork or swing arm, the other side might need to be fudged over a ways farther the same direction to allow a suitable width between flanges.  This is normally not the case with most current dirt bikes, and the wheel can simply be centered between the spoke flanges and be where it should be. 

 

The correct offset may well be zero, in fact, but even if the wheel should properly be laced up centered on the spoke flanges, it's something that you have to take into consideration as you run the spokes up to initially position the rim for tightening and truing.  Getting the wheel a few MM off of its correct center can cause handling problems under certain conditions, and can cause tires to rub chains, that sort of thing. 

 

If the spoke set is made right for the bike and hubs in use, you can normally just go by running the nipples down the same distance on all of them as you snug them up and come out very close to right. 

[forgotmyusername]

thanks

[forgotmyusername]

I talked to the guys at Faster USA and was told the Yamaha is easy. The front is centered and the rear offset of 1-3/4 - 2" on the drive side is achieved through normal lacing. WHEW