Narhay

I have a minoura FT-1 truing stand that is wearing out and one of the little arms has broken so it cannot hold itself off. It had all the features I wanted but the plastic construction has lead to some accuracy issues.

What are you using for a truing stand? i would be looking for something that can be adjusted to dish fairly well, does roundness as well as side to side and where I dont have to flip the wheel. I have a dish stick and tension meter but if the stand can get me 90% of the way there it is good enough for most of what I do.

And please, I know some of you thrifty people are going to say "zip tie in a broken frame" or "use the brake pad" but I use it once or twice a week so it is worthwhile to me to get something that will last for a variety of wheel sizes.

rosefarts

I've got a Bike Hand. It's budget compared to Park or DT Swiss but isn't super cheap. https://www.ebay.com/itm/292866988463

It seems comparable to the Park stand worth $100 more. It's heavy and doesn't have any flimsy parts. Mine is bolted to a work bench.

It doesn't have the capacity for thru axles or to true 29er wheels with the tires still on, but I don't have any thru axles and a little outside the box thinking can make it work for 29x3 wheels, mounted.

As for dish, I use it exactly the same way I use a Park. Cram something against one arm to incapacitate it and true one side at a time, double checking with a homemade dish tool. Only a maniac would think even the park was accurate right to left. True one side, flip, repeat as needed.

The minoura I used to have actually solved this, since each rim feeler was just a bolt. I could count the turns on each side, using a mark on each handle. It sure was flimsy though. I left it at someone's house years ago and never worried about it.

Last ride 76 

I bit the bullet and went ebay: Park series 2 with a base, used. $208 shipped. Easy to use design, and accurate enough. Mounted it to a piece of 3/4" plywood about 15 x 20 that I had, am very satisfied with the result. I have no dedicated work space (that is to say I consider everything to be workspace), and being able to shift it out of the way, or get back to work on a wheel in moments, not quite priceless, but it is convenient. Solid resale value...

Bad Lag

Use what you have but mount it to a steel plate.

Go to Harbor Freight and buy two dial indicators, each with a magnetic base.

Combined, you will have a tool that is generic, easy to adjust and accurate. It will not only tell you the wheel is out of round, it will tell you where and how much.

I did a version of this last time I built a wheel and I was amazed how easy it was to do.

gugie 

Not me, no sir. Would never do that.

I always use an unbroken frame.


10 cent truing stand

All kidding aside, when I got back into bikes and building wheels on a semi-regular basis I bought a Park truing stand, mainly because that's what I learned to use in an LBS. It does round and true quite well, but keeping the dish constant and not drift requires some regular maintenance. I'm a "wheel flipper" kinda guy, also use a dishing gauge as a final check.

SurferRosa

So you do or don't want me to tell you I'm currently using an upside-down Trek 560EX frameset with a Cinelli cockpit, Record seatpost, Gyes saddle, and Chorus brakeset that works great for truing wheels?

Salamandrine 

If you are truing often, nothing wrong with the old standby Park stands. They've been the bike shop standard for decades for a reason. I'd probably spring for a used chrome one, cuz the blue paint just looks kind of wrong. The dishing feature never really worked, at least IME. It's more of a kinda sorta thing.

The current VAR stand looks pretty good too. Maybe the dishing feature actually works. That's the only other stand I've seen that I can think of for 'pro' type use.

67tony 

With time on my hands, I e-mailed every bike shop in both Richmond, VA, and the Hampton Roads area, asking if anyone had a used truing stand. Probably about 30 bike shops altogether. I only got one positive response, but that was all I needed!

Turns out a small one-man shop, near VCU in Richmond, had an extra...a Bike Hand YC-512N. He sold to me for very reasonable money, and it has worked flawlessly.

A sad conclusion is that about two weeks after picking the truing stand up is when George Floyd was murdered, and this guy's small bike shop was totally looted. After mostly servicing bikes in his neighborhood, he currently remains out of business.

smontanaro 

I've got an old Park TS-2 I bought used a few years ago. Like others, I have limited permanent space for it. I just clamp it to my workbench with a couple quick clamps. Otherwise, I stow it in a shelf out of the way.

Narhay

Ok, I'm going to get the Park TS2.2. I may opt for the blue TS2.2P because it is $25 cheaper.

I understand the only difference is the colour.

steve sumner

I use a HKC HOZAN iron stand. they have been out of production for decades but can still be found
on ebay at one point I was a professional wheelbuilder building 100 wheels a week. the Hozan is
very stout and won't let you down in any way. it also accepts motorcycle wheels

noobinsf 

If you haven't used a TS 2.2 before, you'll be very happy with it. I used one a few times at the co-op when I started building/truing wheels, and it feels very solid. I actually just found one in the local classifieds for a steal.