What causes this issue?
This issue is normally caused by an impact or accident, however it can also occur as part of normal wear and tear over time, if the spokes become loose in the wheel.
How do I know I have this issue?
You will experience a 'wobbly' wheel when riding. You can recreate this by turning the bike upside down and spinning the wheels.
Note that a very slightly wobbly wheel (e.g. within 1mm) is considered within 'normal' wheel behaviour and does not constitute a safety risk. You can of course still have this looked at by any bike shop if you like.
Is this issue covered by warranty?
Where to have this issue fixed
This issue is not specific to Cowboy bikes, so the quickest and easiest solution is to visit a nearby bike repair shop. You do not need specific Cowboy parts for this, any bike shop will have them in stock.
Note that if there is significant damage (e.g. caused by impact), you can order a new wheel directly from our website. Your local bike shop can tell you whether the wheel can be fixed/straightened or not.
Local Bike shop: We recommend visiting your local favourite bike shop to easily and quickly fix this issue, sharing the instructions below.
NOTE - if the wheel is heavily damaged, you can order a new one via our accessory page or via our Cowboy support team - get in touch via your app.
Cowboy Certified Bike Shop: If you are near a Cowboy Certified Bike Shop, you can also drop in there. Check our map here
What tools are needed?
An adequate spoke wrench that matches the size of the spoke nipple. Nipple size is 3.6 mm on Cowboy Cruiser/ST/Classic, Cowboy 4/ST (this tool will work). To check the position of the rim compared to the frame - We recommend using zip ties.
Repair Instructions
(You can share these with your local bike shop)
Step 1: Use this tutorial to straighten the wheel
Additional notes
Tutorial on how to remove the rear wheel
On Cowboy Cruiser/ST/Classic, Cowboy 4/ST the tension of the spokes is different on each side of the rear wheel (due to the integration of the torque sensor in the motor hub). You'll feel that the spokes feel tighter on one side then on the other, this is perfectly normal. Make sure you don't over-tighten the spokes on one side (this could damage the rim) or don't leave the spokes too loose on the other side.
It can happen that the spokes on the loose side become very loose (to the point where you can turn the nipple by hand). If that's the case, start by tightening all spokes with little to no tension, then true the wheel as explained in the video above.
We use disc brakes rather than rim brakes - This provides us with a slightly larger margin of error when truing the wheel. Any left-right movement of a few millimeters won't affect the bike's functionality in any way.