Bicycle Mechanics - Truing stand

Has anyone had any experience with this truing stand? http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Premium-Bicycle-Wheel-Precision-Truing-Stand-Tool_W0QQitemZ160268462922QQihZ006QQcategoryZ27953QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

As the listing states, it appears to be made out of little more than unistrut, nuts, washers, and bolt taken off the shelf. I know I could fashion something very similar from scrap parts from my job now that I've seen it done.:)

It doesn't look very sturdy that's for sure

I've not used a regular truing stand. But I would think that one of the things you're paying money for is to get something accurate enough that you know it's centered, know it's plumb, etc. You can true a wheel when it's in a fork, and I don't see how a stand like that would be much better.

I just clamped the wheel between a pair of 2x2. With patience and beer the wheel turned out quite well, but because it was the first time I did this I had my (very good) LBS do the finishing touches. They said that I had done good work. The only thing I couldn't adjust was the dishing.

Today I got these two in the mail:
M-WAVE Truing Stand (http://www.starbike.com/php/product_info.php?lang=en&pid=10852)
Tacx T4585 Wheel Alignment Gauge (http://www.starbike.com/php/product_info.php?lang=en&pid=6091)

Haven't tried any of them yet, though.

Looks rather homemade or more accurately HomeDepot made. Go get a Spin Doctor stand from Performance Bike for less than 50 bucks. Works fine and is very adjustable. Wouldn't want to build wheels all day with it, but for basic trueing, it is more than adequate.

Yeah, my Spin Doctor is satisfactory. I can tell that the professional ones are more precise, but the !/$ is in favor of the Spin Doctor.

I have the ultimate stand. It works well, but you have to take the wheel out to look at the other side.

I wasn't thinking of buying the stand. I was pointing out that it really looks like a cobbled together stand, as the listing states.

I wasn't thinking of buying the stand. I was pointing out that it really looks like a cobbled together stand, as the listing states.

I can just see the eBay feedback now: "Item is exactly as described" :D

A similar cobble up would be fine as a home made option. But I wouldn't pay $50 for it when I could build it for less than $20 worth of stuff and an evening of effort.

The only key fussy bit would be tweaking the angle plates so the upright arms are exactly 90 degrees. But a bit of time with a machinist's square would take care of that.

The guy design looks pretty nice. How well it works ? no clue. Beter takes notes and use his design for a home made maybe?

Spin doctor and park over here. Work ok.

Thousands and thousands of years ago in the past I bought someones throwout stand because he wanted something better to work with. I jewed him down as whats it worth if its that bad? I've been building wheels with it ever since. There's no reason why someone couldn't take some nails and some 2x4s and true their own wheels.

I never bought a dishing tool. I just flipped the wheel over and trued it in the same settings on the stand. Its automatically the same distance from the spacers on both sides. You have to be careful that you didn't bump the stand. Even then its not a big deal to start over. Its just a bicycle. You don't need a Faro Technologies Photonics Scanning Machine.

OMG, that fleabay stand is such crap, I got cramps from laughing so hard!!! I was truing my own wheels for over a decade on the bike using the brake-pads and masking tape. After I got a Park truing stand, my wheels weren't any straighter as they were already as straight as humanly possible. However, a truing stand does add convenience and you can build more wheels per hour than before.