ink1373

i've done a few wheel builds the old fashioned (crappy) way. they've turned out fine, but i'm thinking of investing in some phil hubs, so naturally i want to do a good job. i'm looking for a truing stand in the neighborhood of 40-80 bucks. i don't need perfect, i just need more precise than eyeballing brake pads.

phantomcow2

Spin doctor

kefin

I, too, have the PerformanceBike Spin Doctor truing stand and find it good enough for everything I ever want to do with my wheels. I can get very precise truing of my wheels. It's not in the same league as a Park professional stand, but unless you're building wheels for a living I think the cheaper Spin Doctor is fine.

-Kevin

phantomcow2

spin doctor is very accurate. The Park pro will be much faster, since its so sturdy and the autocentering mechanism. But the spin doctor works very well

EagleEye

I've used both, Spin Doctor and Park Tool, and would recommend Park Tool if you can afford it.

gmason

My TACX T3175 is great for the amount of use it gets truing wheels. I might spring for more if I were building wheels.

biker7

Though not as precise as above, I use an old Schwinn frame and fork flipped over to true my wheels...using a zip tie or two and a magic marker.
All you do with an old frame is cold set the rear stays to 130mm to accomodate the wider cassettes of later wheels. Front forks are all 100mm so need to change up front.
A truing stand is handy if you true a fair amount of wheels which I don't.
Good Luck...this weekend am truing my Campy Vento rear wheel which is relatively new and wasn't true from the factory.
George

marcusbandito

I have the consumer Park (TS-7) and it works well. It came with a dishing tool also. Not as sturdy as the pro model Park makes, but it gets the job done.

Park now makes a TS-8 model which I have not used yet. Any feedback from this model?

royalflash

I have the consumer Park Tool (TS-7). It is not bad value for money as you get the dishing tool as well and it does work but I would not particularly recommend it. It is immensely heavy yet unstable and has to be bolted down to use it properly. You can only work on one side of the wheel at once. I also have difficulty getting my axle fixed straight in it and use extra washers to make sure the axle goes in straight.

phantomcow2

eeeh i tried the TS-7, its HORRIBLE. It looks nice, its very beefy. But it only trues one side and checking radial error is a pain. I cut my truing time in half when i got the spin doctor

pmseattle

I have the Park TS-2 truing stand and WAG-4 dishing tool. Both are very solid tools, and easy to understand and use. They are, however, more expensive than the "home mechanic" grade tools. Since I don't have a car, I have a few thousand dollars per year to splurge on other things, one of those being tools.

Scooby Snax

I've the TS7, works well enough, I've not had big touble with it, in fact I was using it today. You can of course work on both sides, you just pull the rim towards the indicating arm, just as your push it away, no bid deal.

Sebach

The TS7 has apparently been discontinued by Park Tools (I'm sure you could find it easily out there though) and replaced by the TS8. I'm not sure what the differences are between the two, but it's something else to look at.
https://www.parktool.com/tools/TS_8.shtml

jz19

I have the Spin Doctor and it works fine. It is not a fancy stand but gets the job done.

wasabiboys

You can always use the bike as one. Flip it upside down and put it on a bench or something. Then make is straight. It is not pretty but it works

dbg

Minoura Workman Pro. I love it. Also consider a spoke tensiometer. I thought I was pretty good at getting a firm even tension. After getting the Park tensiometer and checking some wheels, I discovered I was way off in some places. Guess I'll use the tensiometer to tweak my "feel."

JustBikeNow

oh wow I thought the spin doctor brands where no good. So those who have got it.. What are the prices you got it for? I know some people know low prices.

robo

I recently got the Minoura workman pro stand.. Havent' used the others mentioned here, but the Minoura seems fine. It's compact (folds up), has a dish gauge built in, and is really cheap (i paid $32 with a Nashbar coupon). Made in Japan too.

robo

I just googled the spin doctor stand, and it looks to me like the Spin Doctor Pro and the Minoura Workman Pro are almost the same stand.. The Spin Doctor II looks a bit different, but still similar.