Wheel wobble

[GetWendoverCycling]

New to bike maintenance. My run about town bike's front wheel can be physically wobbled side to side on its hub about half a cm. Do i need to get the wheels trued? Or is it something to do with the hub itself? Or something called cones which I don't seem to be able to find any info about?

[Bill]

Hi from another thread read this and see if it helps out.
http://forums.bicycletutor.com/thread-40.html

[Joe_W]

Hm. What do you mean by "can be physically wobbled side to side"? Does the wheel wobble as it turns or can you move the wheel side to side without turning it? If it is the latter, either the wheel is not fixed in the fork or the hub is completely misaligned. On hub maintenance read: http://bicycletutor.com/overhaul-wheel-bearings/
If it moves sideways while turning, it should be trued (and maybe retensioned), a wheel that is not trued and tensioned correctly will get out of true very fast. First check if the rim is ok or if it has any bends or kinks or visible damage. If it still looks ok it could be trued and tensioned. Most bike shops true your wheels for some bucks, having it retensioned is more costly but usually worth the effort: A wheel that is only trued and that has too low spoke tension will get out of true very fast!