[bdamschen]

So one thing I've always sucked at is building/truing wheels, I know nothing about them. I've seen a couple of posts lately that talk about "taking care of your wheels", what exactly do you do to maintain your wheels? Check the spoke tension? Grease the nipples? How often should i be doing these things and how tight is too tight for spoke tension?

 

[DownCycles_Stef]

I generally give all my spokes a check after each ride. What I mean is grab a set of spokes on each side and squeeze and as I move forward through the spokes if I find one that isn't about the same tension as the other spokes on that side of the wheel I'll either tighten or loosen it as needed. Generally I true my wheels (actually take them off and put them into a stand) after every 5-6 rides for my XC bike and every 2-3 for my DH or after any ride where I've had a major impact or was REALLY rough on them.

Your best bet for actually learning how to true wheels is to search the RM forums or google, because I could walk you through it here, but there are well-done (with pictures) sites out there already.

As for other maintenance I generally will drip a drop of Tri-Flow into each nipple (from the hub side) during my regular course of maintenance that I do every 2-3 rides for DH and 5-6 rides for XC. At the same time I check to make sure my rotor bolts are tight, the hub axle and/or cones isn't loose and I drip a few drops of Tri-Flow in the general area of the hub bearings.

What I do may be a bit overkill (in terms of frequency) but I find that it isn't too big of a hassle and will save you aggravation later on.

 

[Udi]

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html#tensioning

This is the best guide available for the job I reckon. I've now built a number of wheels using it and couldn't recommend it more highly.

Short of the obvious stuff that most people already have down pat, I'd strongly suggest following the backlashing (tightening each nipple ~1/2 a turn more than you need to, and then backing it off that same amount to relieve spoke twist - you'll get a feel for it) and seating + stress relieving procedures, as these will allow the wheel to stay true for noticeably longer.

Good luck, and practice on some less important wheels before doing your best ones if it's an option.