Tech Tips / Service

Service Overview

There may come a time you find your ROL Wheels are in need of service.  We have various levels of service and support that should be able to meet your needs which include:

  •     Crash Replacement at discounted pricing
  •     Warranty Service and Repair

Send us some information about your situation by contacting us. Be sure to designate “Customer Service” in the topic selection.  We look forward to helping you out and getting you back out on your bike as soon as possible.

Below are some tech tips from one of the ROL wheel builders provided in video format for insightful, step by step instruction for wheel adjustment and maintenance.

How to Properly Adjust Your Quick-Release Skewers

Hi, I'm Sam Frost here at ROL Wheels. People have asked me just how tight to clamp their quick-release skewers. Here's a quick demonstration of just how easy it is to make a proper adjustment.

Note the position of the lever once closed. It's a good practice to close your skewers this way every time, but very important when group riding or racing to protect against accidental opening from another rider's front wheel.

Initially, you should open your skewer and loosen the nut, thus allowing the wheel to fully seat in the dropouts of your bicycle frame and fork. Once the chain is properly configured over the smallest cog on the cassette, allow the bicycle frame to rest fully on the axle of the wheel.

Now that the wheel and frame are loosely configured as a single unit, allow the bicycle to balance over the wheel while tightening the skewer nut. Close the quick-release lever to its final position and tighten the nut by hand until it's snug against the frame. The camming action of the quick-release lever allows most people to easily open and close the lever when properly adjusted. Notice the slight color change in your palm indicating pressure.

 


How to Check the Alignment of your Wheels

For safety and performance, it's a good idea to double-check the alignment of your wheels in your bicycle frame.


Open your quick-release lever, leaving it in position, and then apply pressure straight down on the saddle or stem. While still applying pressure, reconfigure your quick-release skewer to its original position.

Now that you're sure your wheel is properly centered and aligned in the frame, you can check the alignment of your brake pads. Simple squeeze the brake level while observing the actuation of the brake caliper. Both pads should contact the braking surface of the rim squarely and in unison.

If one pad touches before the other, it's a good idea to check the torque of the brake caliper fixing nut. If the nut is loose, you will likely see some free movement of the caliper. This nut is typically adjusted with a 5-millimeter hex wrench. However, many of the new calipers use a torx nut. Either should be tightened to 10 newton meters. This is slightly more torque than used to shut off a leaky water faucet.

Once the nut is properly torqued, you can make adjustments by holding either brake arm and manipulating the caliper. Finally, confirm the proper adjustment of the caliper by once again squeezing the lever.

 


How to Maintain the Sidewalls of Your Wheels

Hi, this is Sam Frost with ROL Wheels! After riding a set of wheels for some time, you may experience a decrease in braking performance. Check to see if you have an accumulation of brake pad residue on the sidewalls of your rims. Today, I'm going to show you how to restore the original braking performance of the machined sidewalls of your wheels.

Remove the wheels from your bicycle, and your tires from your wheels. Using some 220-grip emery cloth or sandpaper, you can resurface the sidewalls of your rims.

It's not necessary to go any deeper once you've removed the black residue. Complete this process on both sides of both wheels and notice the nice even tone of aluminum on the brake surface of the rim sidewall.

While you have your wheels out of your bicycle, use the same emery cloth or sandpaper to resurface the brake pads, being careful not to contact the finish of your frame. Having removed any glazing from your brake pads, you may now notice small silver flakes embedded in your pads. These filings can be picked out with a fine-point awl or a sharpened spoke, the method used frequently in bike shops.