Steviek216

Hi all,
My friends and I want to start building wheels. Mostly for ourselves and our projects but also to provide low cost wheels to philadelphian's. I think this should be pretty fun. However, we need to find a Truing stand so that we can learn how to build wheels. I figure you all being mechanics you might be able to answer a couple questions. 1) What is a good way to find a solid old wheel truing stand. 2) how much is a resonable price. I certainly don't want to be one of those people who prays off bike stores going out of business, but I also have no interest in paying full price for some cheeply built new stand that kindof sucks other than the fact that it is new. So if you have any suggestions, let me know. Thanks.

henria86

OFF of craigslist.. should have them ..

urbanknight

I'm very happy with my Park TS-2. It's solid (at least 14 years old), dishes the wheel automatically, and has built up some nice wheels. But I got it for free, so I'm lucky. I think it costs around $200-300 now. The thing I like about it most is that it self alignes both sides so you never have to worry about dishing. So you could look for one that has prongs on both sides if you want a good stand, although you can build just as fine a wheel with a little more time on a cheaper stand.

I tried this kind of service when I was 15. It worked for people who already had the parts and wanted someone who learned how to take care in their work. I made a little bit of side cash from people who knew who I was and wanted handbuilt wheels, but most people want a deal on the parts as well as labor. So you might want to look into getting a retail license and seeing if you can get wholesale prices on the parts. Otherwise, you'll never be able to beat a $200 store wheel set when the rims cost $100, the spokes cost $35, and the hubs cost $150.

blamp28

This is the one I use and love.

https://www.performancebike.com/shop/...-_-null-_-null

MikeIsOrganic

i've got the park tools ts-2 and love it. it'll automatically dish your wheels as well. two days after we got it during some horseplay me and a buddy got into a wreck and bent two spokes on my bike and four on his. they were both able to be trued back to riding condition (in fact, truer than they've been when spokes have been replaced and trued at a shop) within an hour. of course the spokes will be replaces soon enough.

anywho, i got this one based on recommendations and the fact that it'll dish your wheel for you and is good for building wheels off of ebay for $170 new with shipping, i'm sure you can find it used cheaper. i've got the hubs (suzue promax) and am buying the spokes and rims and all come my next paycheck. hopefully all goes well!

Retro Grouch 

In the end, all that a trueing stand does is to provide a fixed place to measure from. The more expensive stands offer some features that make it possible to work a little more quickly, but even the most basic wheel stands are adequate for building perfectly good wheels.

CsHoSi

I true the wheels in the bike frame or fork. Though I don't eyeball it. For just under $100, I bought this R2.O.C.-Tech from Morningstar Tools. It means Rims and Rotors On Center and mounts to the dropout with the skewer or you can have him make one that bolts to the dropout. It's a precision gauge and you can easily see every spoke's influence on the rim. Makes quick work of dead-accurate truing.

He also makes the gauge attachments for the professional Park truing stands.

Al1943

That depends on how accurate you want the dish. The TS-2 may get the dish pretty close but I would not say it dishes automatically. Check your dish by reversing the wheel on the stand.

Al

urbanknight

I have and the only time it wasn't perfectly dished, I had not put one side of the axle all the way in before I clamped it. I'm sure they can come out of alignment if you hit it hard enough, but I believe even that can be fixed.

Al1943

Try that with a front wheel (100 mm).

urbanknight

I do it to ALL my wheels just to be sure. Again, the only time Ive ever had a problem was when I had neglected to put the axle all the way in the forks. Maybe I'm just lucky and got a unit that is dead on. I dunno.

eddy m

I like that one, but I find it easier to take the wheels off the bike so I can work in the house. I use a fork with a dial indicator. The dial makes truing much easier, and the fork is rigid enough that I can push the rim sideways to relieve the spoke tension a little when I tighten the spokes. That helps a lot with any wheel that requires real high tension. I wouldn't bother with any stand that didn't hold the wheel securely enough to push the rim that way.
Reversing the wheel in the stand is not as accurate as using dish gauge. I measure dish by putting the wheel on blocks on a table and measuring the height of the locknut, but if I had to do a lot of wheels I would get the Park dish stick that works with the wheel in the stand.

em

Al1943

Are you talking about a TS-2 or a TS-3? The TS-3 is the one with the uprights that stay perpendicular to the axle when changing spans. The TS-2 retails for about $180 now, I paid $158 for mine a few years ago. In a post above you said the TS-2 was $200 - $300, that sounds more like the TS-3.

Al