Indeed!
I started truing my own, (and later building them), after having my time & money wasted by an LBS "mechanic" who didn't even know how to true a wheel.

i do not. i know a guy that does. later.

I build my own wheels, I true my own wheels, I do ALL of my own wrenching. I have trouble trusting anybody else to work on my bike, since I've been at it since before most local shop mechanics were born. That, and I just don't have the time to wait - 2 or 3 days to get a wheel trued? I think not, when I can do it in 2 or 3 MINUTES!

SP
Bend, OR

Been doing it since 1971. Almost always just me. I have let the LBS touch a wheel once tho. Not rocket science, but I can't get it built as good as the best out there either.

Whoops!! Wasn't meant to be snarky. I was just curious how many ppl did their own truing. I don't know how to but want to learn. If it takes me 2 seconds to fix a wobble, I would rather do that, then take the wheel off and drive 30m roundtrip to the LBS. Was in a peak caffeine state at the time, and just tried to make it light-hearted. No sleight intended.

Well since I have no mechanical aptitude whatsoever my LBS. I think I would make the problem worse. Plus they are close so its not a problem getting there.

I build and true my own wheels.

I bought a cheap pair of wheels to learn on and that was great experience, but there is a bit of an investment in time (and getting pissed off while you're learning) in learning the basics. The more hours you put into it the better your results will be.
Haven't built my own wheels yet but will soon.

My solution: I do my wheel work in the family room while watching sports. Knowing that I'm going to be there to watch the game anyway helps calm me down and take things more slowly. Having a beer doesn't hurt, either.

Any truing stand suggestions? I use a cheap Minoura Workman Pro, but the centering isn't quite right. I have to flip the wheel a few times to dial in the wheel dish and the stand at the same time.

HOW do you know when a wheel's outa tune? Do you give it the pluck test?

I've been using a Minoura for 15 years and it works fine. I use a Park WAG-3 dish stick with it for less fiddling.

I have one LBS probably three miles, another - maybe 6 or 7 miles.

If I had to do a 30 mile roundtrip with medium to heavy traffic, I would learn how to do more wrenching.

I have never had a wheel go out of true. I am not ashamed to admit that I do not know how to true a wheel.

I true all my own wheels. And hundreds of other peoples'. And have trued and retensioned most of the wheels I've ever built that have come out of a Giant box. They're not bad wheels, machines just don't know how to do stuff.

No worries here. There are many things I wish I knew how to do on my bike and that is one of them. I have very little mechanical aptitude (I draw and paint, so I guess that is what my hands were made for) and would likely botch the job beyond all hope/

Never sit down to to learn wheel truing on a wheel that you need for riding to work tomorrow. :twitchy: Advice above is correct. You need LOTS of time to figure it out, and patience with yourself. Even now that I've built a couple of wheelsets and a few single wheels, there's anxiety mixed in with the excitement when planning for my next wheel build. All the anxiety disappears as you pull your personally built wheel off of the truing stand, knowing that you won't have to touch it for quite some time...if ever. Challenging, but hugely satisfying. Why do you think there are so many people on here who can't stop searching for reasons to build another set. It's absolutely a worthwhile skill to learn.

-Jeremy

You've heard, "If you're gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough".

For bikes, "If you're gonna be fat, learn to build wheels".

I guess if I knew someone competent and convenient I would take them to him, but even at LBS's I've found that wheel-truing ability can be hit-and-miss. The last time a mechanic overtightened one of my spokes so much it ripped the eyelet out on the next ride, I vowed to learn to build and true my own wheels.

That was a couple of years ago, and now there is no mechanic more convenient than my own basement. Now, I could see taking a problem wheel to someone I considered particularly good, but honestly I believe that once you know all of the variables, there is nothing mysterious about it. The challenge is being able to recognize the variables, and that is the part that comes with experience. For the novice wheel-builder and -truer, de-mystification of the process is probably the most important hurdle. Once you have that, you can take care of 95% of the maintenance your wheels need.

I always trued the stock wheels myself but haven't used them for a few years. My current wheelset doesnt go out of true, s I never true them. The only time they get trued is if I have a crash, in which case some other stuff usually gets broken too, so I just em[loy the LBS to fix the whole shebang.