444

I'm wondering if any of you own your own truing stands?

As a novice rider I'm finding that it's pretty easy for me to land wonky and end up putting my wheels out of true.

I dropped by this local community bicycle place yesterday and used their truing stand, which worked OK, but it was a bit older (probably donated), and even the head of the shop said it wasn't the best but would do a decent enough job.

So, anyway, I'm thinking about maybe investing in my own stand, and I was curious if it'd be worth it.

Further questions:

How often do you find you need to true your wheels?
Do you do it yourself or rely on a "pro"?
Do you use a stand or simply try to eyeball it with the wheel still on the bike?

Any related advice and info muchly appreciated!

__________________
The following sentence is true. The previous sentence is false.

Trials: the most counterintuitive way of riding a bike.

DrOhcysp

A truing stand is just a fancy guide. You can basically use your brakes as a guide and just go by eye. You dont necessarily need a ''pro'' to do it as long as you know what you're doing.... just takes practice.

eaterofdog

Don't waste money on anything but a high end truing stand. (Frame/fork works fine, just tape a allen wrench or something on for a guide)
Don't practice on your good wheels.
Work with SMALL adjustments so you don't overcorrect. 1/2 turn is a big adjustment.

__________________
I'm a man of simple tastes.

Jitters

^^^
This. And read up on it. Lotsa good how-to material on the interwebz.

1moreaccord

For truing stand : Flip bicycle upside-down. Now you have a truing stand.

__________________

eaterofdog

LOL That's some hard learned lessons there. I'm glad it was my buddy who wasted his money on a shitty stand.

__________________
I'm a man of simple tastes.

cwtrials

Typically only use a truing stand for wheel builds or if things get really bad. For most small stuff keeping it in the bike is alright...

__________________
CWTRIALS-SHOP.COM - By Trials Riders, For Trials Riders
facebook.com/CwtrialsShop

boogenman

Rim brakes are a built in truing stand.

It seems that my Echo wheels need the red park spoke wrench, anyone else know if this is correct?

Kibble Fat

That works for most wheels. Sometimes if I wanted a tighter fit, I'd use the black one

sk8dad

Have you read Sheldon Brown's Wheel Truing page?

__________________
Trials, it's an annoying sport. --fellow trials rider

444

Wow, thanks everyone for the replies.

First, I understand that rim brakes can act as a good guide for truing the wheel--I've got dual disc, heh, so that won't quite work for me.

that said, this:

is pretty freakin' clever--thanks!

I've had a fair bit of practice eyeing the wheel on my Kona Shred: I had bent the rear rim and it needed to be replaced, so the LBS got in a Mavic 321 to put on the bike. Well, let me tell you, this rim, while strong and such, has the shittiest freakin' spokes ever! They're always coming loose--especially on the side with the disc rotor, so I had to get a spoke key, and pretty much work on it after every other freakin' ride.

Anyway, since getting the Echo, I kinda' am in that phase of really wanting to treat the bike in the best possible way. That said, by all youses wise and good advice, I'll probably simply stick to dropping by this community bike place to use their truing stand: it doesn't really cost anything (maybe a small donation now and then), and I left with my wheels in better shape than when I went in, so I guess it does OK.

I'd read it awhile ago. OK, well, skimmed it over is more like it. I'll give it a thorough reading this time 'round: thanks for the link!

__________________
The following sentence is true. The previous sentence is false.

Trials: the most counterintuitive way of riding a bike.

shakes

Lots of good info in the thread, the spokes in your shred are probably coming loose due to the way the wheel was built, not because they are shitty.

1/4 turn forward, 1/8 turn back will stop spoke windup and potentially stop whats happening on your shred.

Loosen one side, tighten the other keeping tension even from one side to the other. Dont just tighten or just loosen.

You will get a feel for it over time, so if you have loose spokes tighten them first....

444

Thanks mate, I'll give it a try!

__________________
The following sentence is true. The previous sentence is false.

Trials: the most counterintuitive way of riding a bike.

riderdad

A zip tie cut to length on your fork works great for a witness to true disc rims. I keep some in my camelbak.
But all in all, get a quality stand, nipple wrenches and a tension meter.(and the Sheldon Brown site) Before long, you will be building your own wheels.

__________________
I'm getting hard on myself, sittin in my easy chair.

eaterofdog

LOL I build wheels with a spoke wrench. Just a spoke wrench.

__________________
I'm a man of simple tastes.