A customer left a Shamal Ultra front wheel with me.
One spoke got caught in the rotation.
Originally, it should have been just that one spoke replacement,
but because of some crappy shop's wheel truing nonsense,
I was forced to do extra work.
↑The bent spoke.
A spoke bent into a Z or V shape means
the shortest straight line connecting both ends
becomes its effective length,
so it's like mixing in one shorter spoke,
and you get clear lateral runout right under that phase.
If you take out just the lateral runout from there, you get radial runout.
This is unavoidable unless you either replace the spoke
or, as a temporary measure, bend it back close to straight
and reinstall it.
So attempting to true the wheel with the spoke like this
is pointless work,
but maybe they messed with it
（looking for justification to steal money from the customer）
And on top of that unnecessary work,
they twisted several neighboring spokes.
I said lateral runout "only" earlier,
but actually they didn't even get the lateral runout right—
there was also hub centering error.
The amount of this error exceeds the shipping standards for Shamal Ultra and
Racing Zero, and unlike the rear wheel, it doesn't shift from age and use,
so it can only be the result of an idiot messing with it.
Fixed it.
I've marked five consecutive spokes across both flanges with tape.
The blue tape marks where I replaced a spoke,
and the white tape marks spokes with some twisting
that I judged didn't need replacing.
↑The replaced spokes.
The bent one at the top is the one that had to be replaced,
The two twisted ones are the crappy shop's screw-up.
What's strange is, in this repair I probably turned all 16 nipples,
and not a single nipple was seized or even close to seizing,
and even the twisted spokes
turned smoothly despite being twisted,
so I was able to remove them without breaking them or changing the twist—
which makes me wonder how they managed to twist the spokes so much
with nipples in that condition.
And since it's obvious they're the ones who caused the damage,
they should at least say something like:
"I now realize I'm intellectually incompetent and have no technical skill,
so please take this wheel to someone who can actually fix it.
Bring me the receipt and I'll cover the cost as compensation."
The fact they can't say that probably means
they really do have a problem with their intelligence
and feel no shame.
Wheel truing is the same as wheel building.
Every builder has their compromise point at 100%—
beyond which precision can't be pushed further—
and a pro would charge money and not be embarrassed
only up to that point.
In that sense, "fixing a runout wheel" and "finishing a partially built wheel"
are the same job.
With the former, the material isn't new, so you have to consider
whether the rim is deformed or the spokes are bent.
What I'm trying to say is,
some amateurs, and occasionally even pros, will say:
"I can't build wheels, but I can true them,"
but that's impossible.
Being able to "true a Shamal Ultra or replace spokes"
has to mean
"I can assemble a Shamal Ultra from individual parts
to at least the precision of the factory standard,"
otherwise you shouldn't claim to be able to do it.
Do you ever see a brand-new Shamal Ultra
with twisted spokes
or such obvious radial runout that the rim clearly bounces?
To think you can do it, attempt it, make it worse than before,
and then still ask for labor charges—
that's way too disrespectful.
I learned which crappy shop this came from
under the condition I wouldn't post it here,
but before I could say "Why would you take it somewhere like that?"
the customer beat me to it and said
"Taking it to a place like that was my mistake."
One spoke got caught in the rotation.
Originally, it should have been just that one spoke replacement,
but because of some crappy shop's wheel truing nonsense,
I was forced to do extra work.
↑The bent spoke.
A spoke bent into a Z or V shape means
the shortest straight line connecting both ends
becomes its effective length,
so it's like mixing in one shorter spoke,
and you get clear lateral runout right under that phase.
If you take out just the lateral runout from there, you get radial runout.
This is unavoidable unless you either replace the spoke
or, as a temporary measure, bend it back close to straight
and reinstall it.
So attempting to true the wheel with the spoke like this
is pointless work,
but maybe they messed with it
（looking for justification to steal money from the customer）
And on top of that unnecessary work,
they twisted several neighboring spokes.
I said lateral runout "only" earlier,
but actually they didn't even get the lateral runout right—
there was also hub centering error.
The amount of this error exceeds the shipping standards for Shamal Ultra and
Racing Zero, and unlike the rear wheel, it doesn't shift from age and use,
so it can only be the result of an idiot messing with it.
Fixed it.
I've marked five consecutive spokes across both flanges with tape.
The blue tape marks where I replaced a spoke,
and the white tape marks spokes with some twisting
that I judged didn't need replacing.
↑The replaced spokes.
The bent one at the top is the one that had to be replaced,
The two twisted ones are the crappy shop's screw-up.
What's strange is, in this repair I probably turned all 16 nipples,
and not a single nipple was seized or even close to seizing,
and even the twisted spokes
turned smoothly despite being twisted,
so I was able to remove them without breaking them or changing the twist—
which makes me wonder how they managed to twist the spokes so much
with nipples in that condition.
And since it's obvious they're the ones who caused the damage,
they should at least say something like:
"I now realize I'm intellectually incompetent and have no technical skill,
so please take this wheel to someone who can actually fix it.
Bring me the receipt and I'll cover the cost as compensation."
The fact they can't say that probably means
they really do have a problem with their intelligence
and feel no shame.
Wheel truing is the same as wheel building.
Every builder has their compromise point at 100%—
beyond which precision can't be pushed further—
and a pro would charge money and not be embarrassed
only up to that point.
In that sense, "fixing a runout wheel" and "finishing a partially built wheel"
are the same job.
With the former, the material isn't new, so you have to consider
whether the rim is deformed or the spokes are bent.
What I'm trying to say is,
some amateurs, and occasionally even pros, will say:
"I can't build wheels, but I can true them,"
but that's impossible.
Being able to "true a Shamal Ultra or replace spokes"
has to mean
"I can assemble a Shamal Ultra from individual parts
to at least the precision of the factory standard,"
otherwise you shouldn't claim to be able to do it.
Do you ever see a brand-new Shamal Ultra
with twisted spokes
or such obvious radial runout that the rim clearly bounces?
To think you can do it, attempt it, make it worse than before,
and then still ask for labor charges—
that's way too disrespectful.
I learned which crappy shop this came from
under the condition I wouldn't post it here,
but before I could say "Why would you take it somewhere like that?"
the customer beat me to it and said
"Taking it to a place like that was my mistake."