Robert P

My current need is occasional truing for my Giant Cypress DX hybrid. Looking for something that's going to be solid enough that flimsiness doesn't effect function and will make it as aggravation-free as possible. If for some currently unanticipated reason my needs change I can always get something else.

Is there anything that you feel will fit my current needs without going whole-hog on a Park Tool stand? Or is there just no substitute for a PT unit?

Thanks for all input.

techsensei

A stand is nice to have for building wheels, but for maintenance truing I just do it on the bike. For me, perfectly true wheels is unnecessary. As long as they don't rub and the overall tension is tight and even, that's good enough. The wheels I build never go out of true anyway.

Besides, the cheap stands are junk, and doing it on the bike is easier. So yeah, IMO there is no substitute for the expensive Park, although they now make a painted version for a wee bit less money.

nesteel 

Keep your eyes peeled for a used, good Park unit. You'll thank yourself later. Picked mine up for $70, and it's paid for its self several times over.

dabac

Do you have a vise?
Best bang-for-the-buck IMO is a discarded front fork. One bent from impact damage will do fine.
Clamp upside down in a vise. Drill and tap some holes through the fork legs for long screws to be used as truing guides.
Use a discarded spoke, a chop stick or something attached across both fork legs with rubber bands to use for vertical true.

Get another steel fork and spread it by force to be used with rear wheels. Might need to file the dropouts a little wider too.

If you haven't got a vise, you can get a piece of a short, wide and thick board. Cut the steerer tube a little shorter than the thickness of the board. Drill a hole in it, sized to make the stump of the steerer tube a tight press fit.
With this base, it's probably still not steady enough to simply place on a table, but it'll be easy to secure by clamps.

dr_lha

In before someone suggests the Performance Bike Spin Doctor, which is actually a piece of junk.

debit

Really? I've built about 20 wheels on mine and think it's perfectly adequate. No, it's not as good as a Park stand but it gets the job done.

dr_lha

In my opinion, it's the perfect example of "you get what you pay for". But if it works for you, congrats, you have more patience than I.

ypsetihw

turn your bike upside down, or take an old fork and mount it to a workbench with a vice

Bill Kapaun

That sounds like you need a tension meter more than a truing stand.
Properly tensioned wheels don't need "occasional truing", unless in an accident.

Joe Minton

For truing a built wheel, I use the bike itself, upside down. I fit a couple of tie-wraps to the frame (fork/ chain stay) and use them as indicators.

Joe

mstateglfr 

Take the wheel into a local shop. Ask them to both true AND tension the spokes. Itll be a $10-20 job and take 20min. If they are busy you may have to drop it off.

A properly tensioned wheel which is true should last a long time. If its out of true within a couple weeks, take it back and explain the issue. Maybe its the wheel at that point and all the truing in the world wont get it to be good.

Basically, you shouldnt have to true a wheel more than once a season, if that.

At $15 per wheel visit, you would need to go 6 or so times before a cheap truing stand would pay for itself. A good entry wheelset is only going to be $150ish and if you are going in 6 times for wheel truing, something is up...



As for actual product advice- I have a 30+ year old park tool truing stand I bought used and its a pain to use. It speaks to their quality though that its still around.

melloveloyellow

Are you handy? Do you have access to woodworking tools? Check out Musson's book & homemade truing stand. Mine cost $9 - for Musson's book. I had leftover plywood, etc., to build with, though.

RubeRad

It makes no sense to pay at least 50% of the value of the bike on a truing stand.

Best bang for buck truing stand is called 'brake pads'. 0 buck, nonzero bang --> unbeatable bang/buck. And in fact, brake pads have always worked great for me. (One of my frustrations with disc brakes is my bike is no longer a truing stand)

Tighten the brakes with the barrel adjuster until there is some rub. Tighten the nearest spoke or three that would pull the rim away from the rubbing brake pad. Repeat.

davidad

A Perfect Truing Stand - Wheel Fanatyk Is this the one you use?

techsensei

But the great thing about disc bikes is that your wheels can be very out of true and not rub.

You can still use your bike as a truing stand. All it takes is a zip tie wrapped around a seat stay or fork leg, and the excess end cut to act as the feeler.

dr_lha

$1850? LOL. I have the Performance Bike Spin Doctor and think it's a bit bollocks.

RubeRad

Yes, but riding behind my wife, it irritates me to see her wheel wobbling.

Yes, an even better idea (for me) I saw in another thread recently is to use clothespins. I am too stingy to waste zipties. (Although I suppose I could install them permanently)

Robert P

It makes sense if you want to learn to true wheels yourself for enjoyment as well as not having to depend on someone else to do something that's completely learnable, and don't want to have to make a minimum of two trips to the next town and back every time you want it done - there your bike is ready to go when you're done.

Retro Grouch 

In the end, the only thing that a truing stand does is to provide a stable place for you to measure from.

bdumas35

This is my version of the Musson Stand.

drlogik 

It's not the tool, it's the hand using it.

An old fork with a hole drilled in it and a bolt in the hands of a true craftsman will true a wheel better than probably 95% of riders, mechanics to maybe. Cost? nothing. Well, $2 bucks for two cool chrome wing-nut bolts with a rubber tips from Ace hardware.

BTW, in my many years working as a mechanic in bike shops as a young guy, I saw a lot of mechanics but only one wheel wizard. I was always mediocre at truing but that guy was brilliant. He could true a bad wheel on the bike better than dozens of other mechanics I worked with over those years on a Park or VAR stand. It was amazing watching him work.

Tunnelrat81

That is a beautiful example of the Musson stand.

I've posted pictures of mine on here many times, and I clearly spent significantly less time on mine than you did on yours. It's obvious that your preference lead you to add the additional gauge parts, and it does make it more 'mainstream' in it's usage. Personally, I prefer the free hand / visual only gauging of the Musson stand in it's stock form. I feel like I can get a better sight on the gaps with a larger, black feeler with a white background. Musson actually suggests laminating the top of the platform for this reason. I chose not to, but there is a definite improvement when i slide a piece of white paper under the gauges while working. In the end, the important job of a good truing stand is to be rigid and consistent. Musson's design does an exceptional job of that, and however you decide to gauge the rim is up to you. That's the beauty of DIY. A huge thanks to R.M. And thank you for sharing your version of it. It sort of makes me wish I had a machine shop in the garage.

-Jeremy

RubeRad

All that can be accomplished without a truing stand, and it's easier to use rim brake pads, since you don't have to take off the wheel.

RubeRad

+1 And here's a magnificent example.

fietsbob

Estate Sales.. you have to leave your stuff behind when you die.