There's a good reason why practically every bike mechanic in the country has a TS2, they're a brilliant design and super well made.
My wife got me a used TS3, the fancier one, for Chistmas back around the turn of the century, I forget the amount but it was under $100. (Dollar was worth less back then tho.)
She saw it at Recycled Cycles, knew I'd love it and she was so right.
It's not "better" than a TS2 but it sure is fancier. This is a stock photo from the Park site but mine is the same, including the dial indicators.
You can't quite see the mechanism in back, but it's a 3-bar linkage that adjusts the arms in and out for different hub widths. Again, not better than the way the TS2 does it, but it looks like optical equipment. It's 'trick'.
The dial indicators are actually useful, for my old eyes that can't see the tiny gap as well as I used to. I start with the regular pointers and only switch to the dials after I'm as close as I can get the old-fashioned way. I also like how the right and left pointers are independently adjustable, the one way I'd say this stand is actually better than a TS2, if only a little. You never really
need it, but sometimes it's helpful. Oh and I also like how I can tilt the whole thing toward me when the bench is high or the stool I'm sitting on is low, or tilt it away from me for working standing up. Helps with lining up the white background part, to better see the tiny gap.
Of course I could live with a TS2 (it's most bike mechanics' dream truing stand), but the TS3 sparks joy.
EDIT: Yikes, I just googled for prices. One sold on The CABE 12 years ago for $900, and the one on ebay at the moment is asking $2400. Good luck! The ebay description says "
a must-have for any serious cyclist". Jeez who writes this cr@p? AI maybe.
Ooh,
here's one, auction format, $500 opening bid, a mere $1000 buy it now. It has another dial higher up, for disk rotors. That's cool, maybe I'll add one t my stand... if I ever need to true a disk rotor, which has never happened to me yet. I bet most people just toss a warped rotor and buy a new one anyway, amiright?
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