With consumers turning to self-propelled models of transit, due to gas price spikes, there's a lot to keep bicycle wheels technicians busy. In the past, many rode bikes with metal wheels, making wheel fixes a thing seldom contemplated. But today's wheels from bicycle wheel manufacturers are so delicate, they're always being tinkered with, making bicycle wheels repair training a valuable skill.

For any business that needs to train bicycle repair technicians or get staff competent in dealing with bicycle wheels, there are many options available over the web. Business leaders can find schools, colleges and other venues for this kind of in-depth learning about all of the ways technicians keep bicycles on the road, including bicycle wheels education and training in these areas:

1. Balancing or "truing" bicycle wheels to keep them in good shape for the road ahead.

2. Filling up premium or discount bicycle wheels for sale to customers with the right amount of air and maintaining tubing to be sure a bike isn't riding on its rims, or more on fixing the bicycle rims for sale on the market.

3. Fixing bad alignments with the rims and generally calibrating composite bicycle wheels or other wheel types for optimal performance.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Get help on bicycle wheels fixes from bicycle schools

Dedicated bicycle schools or 'institutes' are providing a lot of specific course work for students about taking care of bicycle wheels and all other parts of the versatile vehicle.

I recommend: Find out about wheel truing and more with bike maintenance courses from the United Bicycle Institute. Get advanced wheel building and spoked wheel lacing options at the Barnett Bicycle Institute.

Look for bicycle wheels training venues from colleges and schools

Other schools, specifically many of the colleges across the country, have joined the crowd, offering bike repair training to students, including detailed courses on how to keep wheels in good shape and working well, to transporting the rider without any hitches, or how to deal with custom bicycle wheels or bicycle training wheels.

I recommend: Look for colleges offering a major in bike repair and bicycle wheels at College Toolkit. Or check out pages for specific bike programs like this Green Bike Program from Pitzer College, where wheel repair is included in an overall maintenance curriculum.

Locate more training info from public web pages

Readers can also get free training resources from bicycle sites that offer explanations of different repairs. Look for pages detailing wheel repair processes and instruction on how to do these jobs.

I recommend: Get a variety of bike wheel fixing articles and guides at the Bike Website. Find out more from Bicycling info pages on the web for dealing with the products of bicycle wheel manufacturer shops.

From composite bicycle wheels to bicycle training wheels, your customer's needs will be vastly different. Stocking a large variety of wheels is the easiest way to keep your familiar customers coming back and to get new customers coming in.

Find bike wheel manufacturers that specialize in a certain type of wheel from BMX to racing for specialty sports, but have at least one good stand-by manufacturer that produces free ride and other wheels and accessories for you to carry.

1. Look to the leaders in the sport for great quality bicycle tires. Find racing, BMX and track wheels from manufacturers that specialize in those areas.

2. Offer a selection of wheel sizes, brands and prices for all potential customers, from the everyday rider to the race enthusiast.

3. Keep wheel parts and accessories stocked so your customers can get the part they need when they need it.

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Stock the best free ride and racing bicycle wheels for sale

Keep the bicycle racers equipped with the lightest and fastest options available by stocking wheels from manufacturers that design wheels for famous races around the world.

I recommend: Find a light weight carbon composite bicycle wheel from Aerospoke, or get great racing wheels designed by Spinergy. Another leader in bicycle racing wheels is Mavic that produces the Crossmax DLR Disc. Maxxis manufactures several types of great bicycle wheels for many different functions.

Get the cross country and BMX bicycle wheel of choice

Look for specialty wheels designed to perform off-road for your BMX and cross country riders. Go to the leading manufacturers in the sport when you need to stock wheels so you know they will stand up to the harsh conditions your customers require.

I recommend: Choose a BMX wheel from a leader in the sport such as the Ciari Steel Flip/Flop BMX Wheel from Bikemania.biz, or browse the selection of cross country and off-road biking wheels from Blue Sky Cycling.

Offer parts and accessories including bicycle rims for sale

Keep your shop well stocked with bicycle wheel parts and accessories from hubs to plugs. If you have the reputation of stocking the parts a bicyclist will need in an emergency, word-of-mouth will spread fast and your bike shop will be known as the place to go for fast purchases and emergency situations.

I recommend: Stock rake pads, rims, plugs, tubes, hub parts and much more from Pro Wheel Builder. Get rims from Velocity USA for any type of bicycle wheel. Offer your own spoke cutting and threading with the use of the Phil Wood Spoke Machine. In-house services like these can really draw in a great clientele of those serious about the sport.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Most riders who need the performance won't sweat the cost of a great riding wheel. Every-day riders who need a replacement wheel will look for quality and price combined when selecting an option to get them through their free ride.
• •  While the tire is important, it's not the only major component of the wheel. Stock the best in rims, tubes, hubs and other parts and accessories.

Cyclists tend to be a fanatical bunch, and having the right gear is critical. If you're planning on marketing to cyclists--or on becoming one yourself--you need to have a basic understanding of the anatomy and function of bicycle wheels.

As with any sport, you'll encounter some high-performance cycling terms and gear options that are common sense to the recreational enthusiast, while others terms, like disc brakes, may surprise you. Before you go out and buy specialized wheels, brush up on the following vocabulary.

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Road, mountain and hybrid

Road, mountain and hybrid bikes are the three primary types of bicycles cyclists will encounter. These bicycle types also make up the bulk of dealer inventory.

I recommend: The Care Exchange gives a description of how road, mountain and hybrid bike types vary, and notes the differences in wheel characteristics between these types of bikes.

Hubs

The hubs on your bicycle wheels are the critical, non-redundant attachment point. In other words, the hubs are the only things holding the wheel together and holding the wheel to the bike.

I recommend: Newcycling.info describes the anatomy of bicycle wheel hubs and how they work.

Tire anatomy

The wheels and tires on a bike relate intimately to each other, so having an understanding of how and why the tires attach to the wheels is critical to understanding how and why the wheels function as they do.

I recommend: Sheldon Brown has compiled an extensive collection of articles and information about bicycles, including an explanation of tire anatomy, how tires fit on to the wheels, and why they work.

Disc brakes

While most recreational cyclists may be accustomed to rim brakes, which squeeze the rim of the bicycle wheel to stop the wheel from spinning, bikes also may come with disc brakes.

I recommend: Momentum explains how disc brakes work with the bicycle wheel and where they’re mounted on the wheels.

Lacing

Lacing refers to the process of installing new spokes on a bicycle wheel. This is critically important to the balance of the wheel, as well as the rest of the bike, and should typically be done by experts.

I recommend: BikeWebSite explains lacing a bike wheel.

Dishing

Dishing refers to the angle at which spokes are mounted in a bicycle tire. The back tire usually has different dishing on each side to allow room for the gear cogs.

I recommend: UtahMountainBiking.com offers an explanation of dishing, along with other wheel-maintenance terms.

When you're looking to buy bicycle wheels for your business, you don't want to be taken for a ride. You want to get a good product at a fair price from a reputable bicycle wheel manufacturer.

Whether you're trying to find custom bicycle wheels, composite bicycle wheels, discount bicycle wheels or even bicycle training wheels, the Internet makes it easy to determine the average bicycle wheels pricing and costs. So before you look for bicycle wheels and rims for sale, take a moment to read through this guide and refer to the recommended websites for:

1. Road and racing bicycle wheels;

2. Mountain bicycle wheels;

3. And BMX bicycle wheels.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Estimate prices for road and racing bicycle wheels

When building racing bicycle wheels, bicycle wheel manufacturers invest a lot of money in research and use high-quality materials, so racing wheels tend to be the most expensive type of bicycle wheel. You can easily pay $700 or $800 for a set of racing wheels. Top of the line racing wheels sell for $1,500 to $2,000. However, if you won't be sprinting toward a finish line in a competitive race, then you don't have to spend that much. You can get a good set of everyday road wheels for around $200 to $300 dollars.

I recommend: Every Bicycle Tire is a good resource for estimating the costs of various models of road and racing bicycle wheels. WesternBikeworks lists the prices of dozens of wheels, from a $2,000 professional set to a $250 budget-conscious model.

Research the cost of mountain bicycle wheels

Most bicycle wheels for mountain bikes tend to run between $100 and $500, although you can spend $800 or more. More expensive mountain bike wheels are stronger and give a better ride. Less expensive wheels will get the job done for an amateur or weekend mountain bike rider.

I recommend: Check out the Bicycle Wheel Warehouse for price information and detailed descriptions about mountain bike wheels. BicycleBuys.com is also a great place to compare prices for different types of wheels for mountain bikes.

Find out how much a set of BMX bicycle wheels costs

If you plan to use your bike for BMX racing, then you will need a set of bicycle wheels that are specially made to meet the sport's unique demands. A decent set of BMX wheels typically retails for between $50 and $300, with custom models selling for more than $300.

I recommend: QBike is a good place to compare prices for new and used BMX bicycle wheels. The website searches 35 online bicycle stores to find prices for dozens of different wheels. Chicagoland Bicycle is another great resource for BMX wheel prices.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  If you plan to order your bicycle wheels online, then don't forget to include the cost of shipping in your estimate.