I was wondering if it would be a good idea to have my own truing stand, and it so what would be a good one for around the house? I took 2 wheels in about 6 months ago and they charged me $11 a wheel. I had a little curve on the rear wheel on my new bike and took it in and they didn't do a very good job. It wasn't as bad as when I took it in, but I think with a little more time, I may be able to do a better job, with practice. Thanks for any replys.

Yes.

I've heard the inexpensive Minoura/Spin Doctor ones from Nashbar and Performance are OK for occasional home use. Or you could build your own as shown in this downloadable book on wheelbuilding. I'm planning on the latter one of these days.

+1 for the Minoura also sold by Performance and Nashbar under the name Spin Doctor. There's although a slight design difference between both; the gauge to check wheel roundness is metallic and adjustable by micro-screw on the Minoura while it is a plastic (if I remember correctly) and pivotal on the Spin Doctor. After owning both (I started with the Spin Doctor but returned it because something was bent improperly, then bought a Minoura) I think the Spin Doctor design works better for quick wheel adjustment without removing the tire. On the Minoura the gauge for roundness has to be completely unscrewed before use in order for the trueness gauge to be properly placed around the rim.
Otherwise both units work the same way and are very cost effective.

For minor truing jobs, I leave the wheels on my bike and true them using the brake pads as a guide. I have an old performance bike stand that has a attachment wheel truing jig which works quite well. I don't know if this one is still available. In the long run, unless you are building wheels you can do a very fine job right on the bike. Be sure to let the air out of your tires before you true them as the air pressure in a tire may cause the spoke nipple to wind up the rim strip and tune and cause a flat.

Although I own a 40-year-old VAR truing stand, for minor wheel truing and spoke re-tensioning, I prefer to put the bike on my Park PCS-9 stand, using the bike itself as my truing stand and the brake pads as my alignment indicators.

I just got done reading a lot of reviews and they say that the Spin Doctor and the Minoura have alot of plastic parts so I'm leaning toward the cheap Park stand at this point. Thanks for the replys guys.

True, the Minoura/Spin Doctor has plastic parts specifically the dropouts where the wheel gets attached but that hasn't been an issue for me. I think it's a very solid product. The difference the Park brings would be a more precise work especially for centering the rim on the hub. If I was making a living building wheels I would definitely go with the Park, for a once in a while project the Minoura fits the bill. In addition to truing my experience with the unit includes one complete wheel building and it worked well.

I've got both the Park TS8 (their cheap model) and the Minoura Pro. If I was going to pick one it would definitely be the Minoura. Being able to check lateral true on either side of the rim without removing the wheel from the stand and flipping it is a good thing. I keep the Park because it's good for quick don't-have-to-pull-the-tire adjustments.

The less expensive Park stand is a single sided stand. You need to take the wheel off and remount it the other way around to check for dishing.

The cheaper Spin Doctor stand checks for dishing (rim centering) at all times. (it is worth the extra $10 to buy the calibration tool that is used to check the center of the guage.)

The plastic parts are the forks that hold the wheel. Do not crank down on the skewer any more than just snug and it will last indefinately. Unless you are going to do a lot of wheels, save the money for wheel parts and get started.

Been looking at the Park one myself- but they also do a tension device for the spokes aswell. Up till now-I have used the same method as Howsteepisit and I reckon a years worth of my trueing and then I let the expert have a go- But then I have a very good Wheel builder that I trust.

I just went and got the Spin Doctor Pro and it doesn't look to bad. Now before I true mine, I think I'll go out and try it on my wifes first. Thanks for the replys again and have a good one.

I purchased the shop quality Park Wheel Truing Stand back in '77 and it's worked quite well all these years.

It's been back to Park twice for updates (the last probably 15 years ago), and has worked exceptionally well for both wheel building (a hundred or more) and wheel true / round touch ups (countless . . . couldn't begin to guess).

My advice: Go Park, Go Shop Quality. Yes, more money (more than in '77!), but worth it if you build you own wheels.

Rick / OCRR

A spoke wrench in the hands of many of us (ie.-me) is like a razor blade in the hands of a monkey. It probably shouldn't happen.