there's not a decent shop in Dubuque that can build wheels well? Dang... (speaking as a person who grew up just a slight bit south of Dubuque).

It's really just a matter of how you like to spend your time. Not a lot of folks like to work on bikes, and it's a good value for them to be able to have a shop do the work.

I'm one of the folks who enjoy having an excuse to build and true a wheel. I grew up in the days when wheels required somewhat routine re-truing, so developing some skill with a spoke wrench was as common as being able to overhaul bearings. With the more reliable modern rims and spokes, I have to look for opportunities to get the truing stand out and refresh my truing skills. Heck, I recently volunteered to build a set of wheels for a buddy, and I was grateful!

So.. wheel building & truing is a nice skill to have, especially if there's not a shop nearby that can do the work for you. It's certainly not critical, though, especially if you've already got other stuff to do with your time.


Steve in Peoria
p.s. to stay on the thread's topic, let me say that I've got one of those inexpensive Minoura stands, and it's good enough. I do have a dishing gauge too.