I recently bought a pair a AC350 wheels, through ebay but new in the box. They weren't perfectly true when I got them, and after a couple of rides they were a little worse. Now I'm trying to true them, and they're all over the place. Any tips or advice?

See this link from the AC website http://www.amclassic.com/Tech_Truing.html

They recommend using this tool known as a "Twist Resist" spoke clamp tool, manufactured by Competition Cycles.




Cheers,

I tried the twist resist, but i had trouble getting it to grab the skinny revolution spokes.

What i found that worked best on mine is to make a little mark on each spoke right above the nipple (with a black sharpie if you have silver spokes or a sliver paint marker if you have black spokes.) Then you can watch the spoke twist as you turn the nipple with a spoke wrench and you know how much your turning of the nipple contributed to spoke windup and how much actually tightened or loosened the spoke. Then you can "unwind" the spoke after you have tightened or loosened it the proper amount.

I think I got that from a Barnette book.

Truing wheels comes from experience, masters require years of LBS experience but anyone can learn.

If grippping the spoke is a problem, use a screw driver after removing the tyre and rim strip.

Use a wheel truing stand for best results (particularly for vertical symetricy).

I'd be interested to know how you go.

Brian

Same thing happened to me, so I took it to the LBS to have them true it. But after a few rides the front came untrue again. So I'll be taking it back to true once more. If it comes untrue AGAIN I'm going to have them re-lace the wheel to a stronger spoke pattern. I don't think that the LBS employees are incompetant, I just think that these wheels are just not sturdy enough - a penalty for such light weight. Note: Only the front rim is giving me problems, rear is fine.

Find a good wheelbuilder.

A wheel too light for for the rider will be flexy, but should not come loose.

_________________
Success is how far you you bounce back up after being knocked down

I'm not an advocate of bonded spoke nipples. From my experience proper spoke tension is the key to success when building a light and stiff wheel. Spoke Freeze/Loctite in conjunction with round spokes can be a nightmare (as observed by the thread starter).

Since I 'know' my wheels I use grease on aluminum nipples to avoid seizing - works best for me in the past 17 years.

Wheel repair and or building especially on high-end wheels should only be performed by skilled wheel builders. Having spent a large part of my younger years working in shops I can attest that unless you are familiar with the skills of the person (not just the shops reputation) performing the work you many not be getting someone with the skills to ensure wheel with keep it’s proper tension and remain true.

Of course YMMV but that has just been my experience.

_________________
Cheers,


"Ride lots." -- Eddy Merckx

Click Here to see my Scott CR1.

I built my AC350 set when the components were still available. A quick check on the dimensions of the rear hub and rim suggested this combo might be a candidate for radial drive side lacing. Yes, I punched the model into finite element code (Ansys v 5.4) and estimation of the cross section of the rim with all of the properties of the spokes pointed me to selecting DT Revo's all around. Radial drive, 2X non-drive and radial front.


I had no trouble even though I used aluminum nipples since I used Spline Drives. I also lubricated with a special extreme pressure lube. Its NOT a grease but a dry film lube and as such, can be messy.

To this lube I added another friction modifier that can be "softened" to reduce friction even more. In its normal state, it acts better than the spoke freeze because it increases friction above the dry film lubricant.

Yes, I had some wind up but soon learned the permanent marker trick.

After 2 sets of tires (Conti SS and GP3k's), wheels are fine true. Tension is nearly EQUAL statically and increases about 10% on maximum windup torque. There is a slight bias at the end of the windup but the drive side spokes are actually lower stressed than the non-drive for all except my weight (165 lb)on a 175 mm crank pulling a 39 tooth in the front and a 25 on the rear.