Biker Pete 

What do you use? I need one but not willing to pay Park Tool prices. Need something for truing touch ups, not planning on building wheels. Thanks in advance!

cyccommute 

Your frame and fork will work well enough. You can use rim brakes or, if you bike doesn’t have rim brakes, you can use zip ties as feelers. There are also several options for shop stands. This one is a bit like a zip tie but a little more elegant. The Minoura FT-1 is serviceable. I’ve built many wheels with something similar to this Sunlite stand. This one from Amazon is similar to the Sunlite but a little cheaper. You can also watch Ebay, Craigslist, and Facebook Marketplace. Someone in Pueblo, CO is currently offering a TS-2 with base for $100.

I have a TS-2 which I probably bought for $100 and thought it was too much. I think it dates from the late 90s.

maddog34

i use one of these.. i found it for $25 on Craigslist.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/17573744787...Bk9SR4Dz2sO4Yg
and there are any number of lesser options available...

if you're super-low budget.. find a free bike and improvise using zip ties and chop sicks... ?

Schweinhund

Biker Pete
This is a very serviceable truing stand. not heavy duty but excellent function.
I personally use a TS-2.2 but only because a "friend" dropped my TS-2.0 out of the back of a moving truck.
And the reason you buy a Park. Park replaced my destroyed stand under warranty. it was over 10 years old.

FBinNY 

It doesn't take much. Your own bike is all you need. If you want something very special, and have oodles of dough, here's possibly the most expensive truing stand ever made.

_ForceD_

Just Google “DIY wheel truing stand” and you’ll get videos and instruction for dozens of various rigs people have come up with for truing their wheels. From the simple “zip tie around the fork blades” method to more complex contraptions with precisely made components and assembly, and everything in between. I’m sure you can find something that suits your needs.

Dan

mpetry912 

there is also the Minoura which is simple and inexpensive.

as some have said above you can do "touch ups" while the wheel is in the bike ! But it's hard to develop a wheel truing technique that way

/markp

sweeks

I bought one of these about 10 years ago for about $30 (on sale).
It works pretty well for my purposes.
Minoura Wheel Truing Stand

tcs

Wonder how many wheels I've built on this in the last 45 years? Top quality, "Schwinn Approved".

79pmooney

The stand I've been using since the early '80s isn't quite as nice. Virtually every wheel I've ridden the past 150k miles were made on it. Previous to that I used my bike. That included all the wheels of my racing days except those that came on my race bike.

Nice stands make the work to build the wheels nicer and a little faster. Drawbacks? More money, they tend to weigh more, be bigger and sometimes a lot more hassle to move and store. Mine is light and folds up quickly to a package that takes little space and sets up in seconds. I do my wheelbuilding in the diningroom. Comfortable, good light, good music. A stand what is heavy or that I wouldn't want to put on a glass table top would be a big step down for my wheel building.

Oh, I build good wheels that go forever or until the Pacific NW lava dust eats the brake surface away. My commuter wheels (the ones that die from the dust/grit) get the rims swapped twice before I use new spokes.

Biker Pete 

Thanks for your replies.

Biker Pete 

Thoughts on this one? Pro? Cons?

smd4

I own that one. It’s pretty decent for the price. Can be bolted to a workbench, but is still stable if not. The gauge isn’t really necessary. Toss the spoke wrench in the junk drawer.

I wish the feelers would self-center. I’ve seen a similar model that does that.

Definitely better than using the bike itself as a truing stand with zip ties. That suggestion ranks up there with hanging your bike from the saddle as a repair stand.

fishboat

$15 to build this one, off a Rodger Musson design. Works great for maintenance as well as building wheels. Also built his dish gauge.

smd4

I mowed my lawn with scissors!

mpetry912 

and then there is junk like this

/markp

smd4

Don’t tell me, let me guess: Bill Kapaun?

Paul_P

I've built / trued quite a few wheels, originally learned building motorcycle wheels back in the '70s. At the time I had a local metal shop build me a rudimentary but solid truing stand for a lot less than the price of a commercial one.

About eight years ago I bought the Park Tool TM-1 Spoke Tension Meter (which I'd never used before) when spokes started popping on the family's four bikes stored in our garden shed along with a big bucket of chlorine for the pool (anyone with a similar situation, take this as a warning that you may be in rather serious trouble). Rebuilt the eight wheels and put the chlorine outside.

The tension meter is fantastic. Through some relaxing meditation, you can get all spokes on both sides to within a single graduation on the meter (for a symmetrical front wheel). I now wouldn't want to be without it.

Today I put my (rim-brake) 26' front wheel in my truing stand to take care of a slight sideways movement that I'd noticed lately. I discovered a strange situation : all spokes on one side were within 22 and 23 on the meter (86-96 Kgf, 36x2.0mm spokes) but all spokes on the other side were within 23 and 24 (96-107 Kgf). Pretty good for 8 years of recreational non-loaded cycling, but I don't see how this is possible, wouldn't the rim just move towards the tighter side and things would just balance out ?

I just trued the wheel and brought all spokes to 24 (107 Kgf).

Be aware that a rim can be a bit weird around the weld and you just have to live with whatever weirdness yours has.

WizardOfBoz

Agree with many above who point out that
1) You easily do "touch-ups" using your bike frame.
2) You could even build a wheel from scratch and true in your frame but it's a bit unwieldy
3) If you are going to build and true many wheels its good to get a good stand. There are many mentioned above but
4) The Park TS 2.2 is a really serviceable and useful tool if you are doing a lot of wheels.
I have the Park stand myself, and it really is quite nice. I've done a few wheels now and it's probably overkill. If I do more wheels I can amortize the cost over a larger number. But I like it. I also have the tension meter, which I like. Park also is awesome in standing behind their stuff.

Wiz

KCT1986

If there is a consistent imbalance of readings for all the spokes on one side vs. the other, this would generally mean that the dish is off (assuming the spoke size is the same gauge). This is normal for most rear wheels with a freehub (45% - 60% left to right imbalance).

FBinNY 

2 clarifications


1 equal average tension on both sides means the rim is centered between the flanges, as you'd see in a non-disc front wheel. Dished (asymmetrical) wheels will have different tensions on the two sides.

2 the effects of tension are independent of spoke gauge. 100kgf is always 100kgf regardless of the spoke.

KCT1986

[QUOTE=FBinNY;22974748]2 clarifications


1 equal average tension on both sides means the rim is centered between the flanges, as you'd see in a non-disc front wheel. Dished (asymmetrical) wheels will have different tensions on the two sides.

2 the effects of tension are independent of spoke gauge. 100kgf is always 100kgf regardless of the spoke.[/QUOTE

By reading I meant the meter #, and the possibility that the spokes on each side may have been slightly different and the conversion to kgf wasn't accurate for one side. But as stated, it is probably a slight dish issue.

FBinNY 

Gotcha

Paul_P

Thanks for this, I'll check it later this afternoon (and really hope it's reasonably ok). At the time I also bought Park Tool's dish gauge so it was probably set pretty close to start with.
I've been thinking that maybe during the final truing spokes ended up being a bit shorter (effectively) on one side than the other (but that would have affected the dishing).
I may not have checked it at the very end, or if I did figured it was close enough

I also balance my wheels with thick plumbing solder wrapped around the spokes/ nipples, especially with spoke-mounted reflectors.

KCT1986

That sound probable. If the dish was a just little off, it probably would not have been noticeable, unless you swap wheels and needed to adjust the brakes. With quick-release axles and most drop-outs, there is some 'slop' in how the wheels sit anyway.

If you have more consistent tensions now, the dish is probably better.