kidpurple

I have some old wheels I'd like to put to use, but they are a little out of shape. I could go pay $15 each to have them straightened out or I could spend a little more and get my own Wheel Truing Stand. With a stand it must be a fairly simple job, isn't it?

I don't want to buy a stand and then realize that it is more work than I am able to do.

Any good recommendations on decent stands for someone who would just be learning?

dabac

Having a truing stand tends to make the work position more comfortable and provides the opportunity to get a higher degree of accuracy in your end result, but doesn't actually make the basic process any easier.

Start by truing the wheel on the bike, using brake pads or cut down zip ties as a reference. If you can't get the hang of basic principle there a truing stand won't make much difference.

There's been a few threads about home built truing stands and ways to reuse old forks(and a vise) as truing stands, you might want to look into those.

Whether truing is difficult or not is mostly a question of how true you want it to be and how much time you're willing to spend on it. Getting a wheel truer is within reach of almost all, but getting a wheel really, really, true w/o spending ages on it takes skill.

Mike T.

You don't need to buy a stand. All you need is a spoke wrench and some info. Read up on home wheelbuilding on my webpage.

cyclezealot

Depends upon the degree of truing one attempts to complete.. Tightening spokes is not big deal, when checking for true.. Take it a step further.. Check for roundness and horizontal plane. That is pretty exacting.. You have a really good manual..?. You'll need one.

Retro Grouch 

That would be true assuming you are starting with a good rim. If the rim has been actually bent, an adequate trueing job may not be possible. There is a lot of wisdom in knowing whether to true or to abandon an old wheel.

cincy_14

I built my own stand with a piece of 3" aluminum angle and a dial indicator. There's a bunch of homemade stands on instuctables, most will work well enough for occasional use.

Wordbiker

I'd say your money and/or time would be best spent on instruction before tools.

If you have a buddy or someone you know that's good with wheels, see if you can get some lessons. I can teach most folks how to true, even some of the advanced techniques in an evening. From there you'd have a much better idea whether you wish to invest in equipment, and what type.

AnthonyG

Wheel truing isn't a simple job. I wouldn't say that its a hard job but its a job that requires a certain level of knowledge, skill and patience. Its good to know how to do it yourself but if time is money to you your probably better off paying someone else to do it.

Anthony

DMF 

True dat.

It also depends on the wheel. E.g. Shimano WH-R540, 550 et al. (low spoke count) are a major pain in the butt to true. Regular old wheels aren't.

Panthers007

It's easy to learn and quite intuitive in nature: Wheel is off ->? Tighten an opposite spoke <- from where it's off 1/4 turn. Loosen the spoke on the side where it's -> 1/4 turn. Often truing just involves the 2 spokes at the center of where the wheel is out of true. If tighten/loosen of 2 spokes doesn't quite do it - do the same to 2 more spokes right next to the 2 spokes you just tightened/loosened.

Always work with 2 spokes at a time. Remember: Righty-tighty & lefty-loosey.


<EDIT> Get spoke-wrenches that fit your spokes as tightly as possible. I suggest, and use, the Park Tool color-coded hoop ones on this page. A good set would be black, green, and red:

https://www.parktool.com/products/category.asp?cat=16

geo8rge

Try eye balling it and using your brakes as a caliper. If it looks true, it is true I sez. As long as the brakes are not catching unevenly it is good enough.

another issue is spoke tension.

bubbagrannygear

I trust you've read the theory from Sheldon or someone else and are wondering how hard it is to actually do. From my experience it isn't very difficult to get pretty true laterally. Feel for any obviously loose spokes and tighten them first (there may not be any), then as you start to tighten and loosen adjacent spokes keep your adjustments small (maybe a quarter of a turn to start) and repeat as many times as necessary. To start just buy a spoke wrench and true in the fork. If you think you want to get more into it, I like this stand https://www.lickbike.com/productpage....B='2532-00' but I wouldn't buy one before trying to true in the fork.

If you get more into it and want to try building a wheel I highly recommend a tensionmeter (I have a Park) I find it very useful for truing as well since if you measure the respective tensions it becomes very apparent which spokes you want to work on.

Also remember that when truing a rear wheel with a lot of dish, tightening (or loosening)the non drive side a set amount will have a much greater affect on the lateral movement of a rim then performing the same action on the drive side.

mike

It is not difficult.

Don't buy a stand. Flip your bicycle upside down and use the brake pads as distance markers to see if the wheel runs true.

$4.00 for a cheap spoke wrench. $10.00 for a good one.

Panthers007

A GOOD spoke-wrench is mandatory. Get one's that tightly fit the spokes. A poorly made one will end up destroying the wheels. About $7.00 for my previous suggestion - each. A spoke-tension meter is a highly advised acquisition - unless you can see the actual tension in your spokes, no amount of guessing and/or making music with the wheel can truly give an accurate reading. Unless you used a tension-meter to start with.

Do this, and your ready to true, and actually - when the spirit moves you - build wheels.

zacster

I've been truing my own wheels for 30 years now and never owned a stand. Take everyone's advice and use the fork as a stand and just buy the spoke wrenches. Read up on doing it as well. I took a low spoke count (18) wheel that I'd crashed hard, broke multiple spokes, dented the rim, and gave up for dead, and figured I had nothing to lose. I'm riding it again now and it is as smooth as ever. I used the same spoke wrench I've had for those 30 years and stuck it into the fork and started spinning.

mrrabbit 

Wheel truing is easy...

...the downside?

Requires time...do you have a lot?

Quality wheel truing usually consumes 30-40 minutes. A quality wheel build usually runs 1-2 hours - typically 1:30 to 1:45 for me.

BB's can go in in 5, HS's in 10, Derailleurs in 15-20, Brifters and brakes in 30, but quality truing and building quality wheels is a real bandwidth eater.

=8-)

kidpurple

Thanks for all the replies. I will see what I can do with the bike turned upside down. I don't know why i think about just doing that and using the brake pads.

Mike T.

I built & maintained my wheels for over four decades using this method. I'd use anything to detect the wobbles - the pads, my thumb, or, my favorite - a screwdriver. S'all good.

Better still though, just get an old fork for free. See it on my site.