corrado33

I'm unfortunately going to be moving soon, so I will no longer have access to the shop I work at, meaning I actually have to go through and buy the tools I've been putting off.

I have a very... very cheap and crappy truing stand at home. It's awful. I mean it works, but it's awful. Very flimsy, requires two hands to adjust the "indicating arms", no way to check dish, etc. At the shop we have a bunch of the park tool TS-2.2 and they're really nice, although they can actually get knocked out of "dish" if someone bumps into them hard enough. (So park tool makes a tool to realign their tool... and charges for it... unsurprisingly.)

While the TS-2.2 isn't super expensive, I know park tools are often a bit more expensive than others and I'm wondering if I can find a nice stand for a bit cheaper.

I know many of you have made your own, I remember seeing pictures, and that's always an option as well.

So could those of you in the know suggest stands that have worked well for you in the past?

Thanks!

bikeman715

you can always find older parktool ts-2 on ebay and other places for half what they were new .

non-fixie 

I ordered a Minoura FT-1 a couple of days ago. It's cheap (€65) but gets pretty decent reviews.



What finally convinced me to try it was this item on YouTube, in which Rainer, the Fahrrad Guru says it's "völlig ausreichend" for amateurs like me:


It was delivered a couple of hours ago, so I haven't actually used it yet.

Bill Kapaun

AND, you can find alignment instructions on their website.
No special tools required.

loxx0050

I've got a Spin Doctor truing stand. Doesn't check dish I picked up a Park Tool portable dish tool. It works (nothing fancy but you don't need fancy if it is used occasionally at most).



The dishing tool I have is a WAG-5



Both combine cost me under $100 total (I shop for deals and lucked out with a big coupon sale when I bought my stand).

sweeks

I've had this stand for a few years and have used it to build 4 rear wheels for my folding bikes. Recently I built my first asymmetric (dished) wheel for by road bike. All I had to do to check the dish was flip the wheel on the stand. No gauge necessary.
Steve

EDIT: Having said that, I would *really* like to get one of the Park stands and all the associated tools. Maybe when I retire...

pdlamb

It doesn't really take much of a stand to work well. Mine is a Nashbar or Performance branded Minoura stand -- as noted, flip the wheel to check dish.


It make take you a while to get used to having a lower quality tool that what you're used to, though.

Retro Grouch 

That's what I was going to say. In the end, the only thing that a truing stand does is to give you a stable place to measure wobble from. The fancier stands have gizmos to help with dish but I've learned not to trust them.

CliffordK

I snagged an older VAR truing stand. Pretty sweet

bikeman715

Nice fine .

maddog34

i use a spin doctor mostly... the Park is heavy and steady, but the spin doctor is more capable of fine adustments, IMO... the spin doctor falls short in the "steady" department, tho... Park for new builds, Spin Doctor for simple truing.... and i can just use the Park centering gauge to build wheels on the Spin Doctor, too...

found the spin doctor for $25, and the park for $50, on CL.

andr0id

I have the Minoura also and while the flip the wheel usually gets me really close I always check my work with the Park dishing tool. The plastic fork ends are not quite solid enough to get the wheel lined up consistently.

If I built wheels as a pro, I'd get something I could mount dials on, but that's way overkill. With a bit of patience, you can get a very true and round wheel using this stand.

andr0id

Those "dial indicators" are awesome.

CliffordK

Pretty simple technology. I haven't done a lot of building on it yet, but I find the indicators help simultaneously working on hop and lateral deflection.

It seems accurate enough to also dish a wheel by flipping. And, if one was building a dozen identical wheels, then one should be able to set it once, then every wheel would be perfectly dished.

It does have issues with working on wheels with tires mounted (sewups).

velocentrik

I build wheels.

I have a Park TS-2 but it's only accurate in terms of the adjustable arms either at the OLD of the front hubor the rear, not both. You truly need a dishing tool with the Park stand otherwise many of your wheels will be built improperly dished.

If you can find a TS-3 people love them, no longer made.

WheelFanatyk thought the cheap Minoura was the best "portable" truing stand. He was a principal at Wheelsmith and has built thousands of wheels. Some people like the DT, but it's a niche stand. DT employees in Grand Junction use Park stands, not their own DT.

My recommendation is the one arm Ultimate. No dishing tool required, and if you know anything you end up using the Park TS-2.x one armed anyway.

Metaluna

Yep, sometimes I think about the only thing Park spoke wrenches are good for is to jam them under one of the arms of the TS-2.x to push it out of the way. I thought I was the only one who did that until I saw a picture of someone who had their stand set up the same way, even using the same spoke wrench.

velocentrik

Park spoke wrenches are horrible. That's exactly what I use my Park wrenches for. To prop open one feeler do I do t confuse the crappy TS-2 with being calibrated to whatever hub I put in it. Yes I've checked my TS-2 with the Park calibration tool. It's dead on, which is to say worthless, to use both feelers without introducing more error into the wheel. With the Park stand you use a dishing tool, prop open one feeler, and constantly flip the wheel.

cyccommute 

The only way that a Park stand can get knocked out of alignment if someone bumps into it is if the shaft collars are loose. Lots of people complain about how bad the Park stands are but I've never found that to be the case. I've used my personal stand to make dozens (perhaps hundreds) of wheels and I've never done an alignment on it. The ones at my local co-op are in need of constant adjustment but I think that is more due to someone trying to "adjust" them without knowing what they are doing.

You don't need the alignment tool either. Just use a wheel that you have checked with a dishing tool. Most people don't trust the Park for dish anyway and thus have a dishing tool available.

In all honesty, you can do a whole lot with just the frame, especially for minor adjustments. It's easy with a rim brake and only slightly more difficult with disc brakes. Use the pads to as your guide for rim brakes and you can attach zip ties to the frame with discs.

This turing stand is actually not all that bad. I built many wheels with one before I got my Park (about 25 years ago). Yes, you'll need a dishing tool but most people with Park stands probably have a dishing tool anyway because they don't trust the Park.

Bill Kapaun

See post 4.
Once I followed the instructions, I had NO problem switching front/rear.