Truing Stand recommondations....

[SoCalSteve]

Hi all,

First off, thanks so much for all your help in wheel truing 101!

What I learned was that I need a better truing stand as the one I have does not work very accuratley or smoothly.

My inclination is to go with the mid level Park version. About $75-90.00 depending and seems like its just simple enough for a simpleton like me. :crap:

Any other recommendations? Oh, btw, the 50lbs Park shop version seesm like it would be overkill for me.

As always, thanks in advance,

Steve

[ergott]

I love my Park TS-3!!!

If you don't do this sort of stuff for a living it is way overkill. I find that the cheap truing stands are no better than the brakes on your bike. Save the money and get a dishing tool to be sure the wheel is exactly centered. Or just flip the wheel in the dropouts and compare. Your brake blocks do the same job the stand does. Just use the barrell adjuster to bring the brake in little by little.

Eric

[saab2000]

Get the Park Shop Stand. I don't know which model number it is, but it is the one you see in about 110% of all bike shops.

I paid about $130 for mine about 12 years ago. I got the plastic base too, but you don't really need it if you can clamp it in a vice or bolt it to a table.

[William]

I picked up a Park TS-7 last winter from a fine fellow forum member. Works great. :cool:

William

[gdw]

It's a simple stand which works well and comes with a dishing tool. The Park shop stand is really nice but overkill for someone who just needs to true a few wheels or possibly build a set or two in the future.

[RichMc]

I vote for the Park TS-2. It might be overkill but I doubt you will regret it. I only use mine about once a year for slight truings but still I like having the good stuff.

[Jeremy]

Hi Steve,

Here is a quick way to use your frame or fork as the "trueing stand" that works better than using the brake blocks as guide. Use two zip ties and connect them around the frame or fork. Cut the extension off so that it is a little longer than the distance to the rim. You can rotate each zip tie toward the rim gradually as you get the wheel straighter. It is helpful to open the Q/R on the brake so that the blocks are further away from the rim. You can see the runout with more precision using a zip tie instead of the brake block. You can even use this method to true for roundness. With the tire off, you can put a zip tie with a longer extension above the rim and bring it closer as you get the wheel rounder. I had a sidewall of a rim crack during a bike tour with my wife. I bought a rim at at the closest shop and used this method to build a new wheel in a hotel room. I used that wheel for another 4 years. It took me a little longer, but I got it as straight and round as any wheel that I have built in my shop using a professional stand, dishing tool and tensionmeter. Unless you plan to do alot of wheelwork, I would say that a trueing stand is a waste of money.

Jeremy

[William]

Unless you plan to do alot of wheelwork, I would say that a trueing stand is a waste of money.

Jeremy

I disagree. Edited for: A momentary lapse of reason....






William :rolleyes:

[Jeremy]

Hi William,

Maybe the thumb in your butt was responsible for the momentary lapse in reason.

Jeremy

[Smiley]

William , Jeremy is a master wheel builder , his method sounds like something McGuiver would have thought up , except he made no mention of a Swiss Army knife :) Except he may have needed something to cut the zip ties off with .

[SoCalSteve]

So, I got opinions from spending close to $200.00 on a 50 LBS truing stand to spending $0.00 and using a bike frame and a zip tie.

I think I will take the middle road on this one and purchase Park's new "middle of the road" truing stand, the TS-8. Seems simple, yet accurate. And thats all I really need.

Again, thank you for all your help.

Steve

[William]

Hi William,

Maybe the thumb in your butt was responsible for the momentary lapse in reason.

Jeremy

Hi Jeremy,

That's possible. Butt.....I still disagree.

I don't think you need top-o-the line, but after years of using the brake pad method, I find it easier to use the stand. I still think you need to know how to do it the other way for adjustments out on the road from pot holes or broken spokes.

Just my smelly opinion. :D

William

[William]

William , Jeremy is a master wheel builder , his method sounds like something McGuiver would have thought up , except he made no mention of a Swiss Army knife :) Except he may have needed something to cut the zip ties off with .

No, to qualify as McGuiver-esqe, he would have needed to use a foil gum wrapper as well. It's clever, no doubt about that, but I'm thinking "A" Team-ish? Shows bright ingenuity without the McGuiver-ish polish.

William ;) :)

[Jeremy]

Hi William,

Sorry about the butt crack. I agree, trueng stands are definitely easier. A good stand is just something that holds the hub stationary and uses gauges to identify runout. There are many ways to achieve this. A word of caution, most integrated dishing gauges are innaccurate. I have a professional Park trueing stand in my shop and I never use it to finalize dish. I use my Var professional dishing tool for that.

Jeremy

[William]

Hi William,

Sorry about the butt crack. I agree, trueng stands are definitely easier. A good stand is just something that holds the hub stationary and uses gauges to identify runout. There are many ways to achieve this. A word of caution, most integrated dishing gauges are innaccurate. I have a professional Park trueing stand in my shop and I never use it to finalize dish. I use my Var professional dishing tool for that.

Jeremy

No problem Jeremy. I'd be the first to admit that my sense of humor is a little....different. Occasionally I blurt something out that I might find funny but others do not. :)

I agree with you.

William

[wheels513]

I think this is going to draw alot of flack.
As far as truing stands are concerned there are on two actual professional stands Villum ( best ) and Var Perciray (second ),as for Park they are excellant for the everyday bike shop ( no accuracy ).
Frank on Long Island

[11.4]

I have a Villum and second the recommendation. Bought it used at a bankruptcy auction, and still paid $500 for it. New they must be $3-4,000. And you have to get parts from the Netherlands.

Seriously, the Park TS-2 is the shop standard and what nearly every shop and pro builder uses. It is rigid, which is most of what matters. It never seems to give precise alignment with regard to dishing, but as others have said, you want a Park or Var dishing tool anyway (or a Hoadley True if you are again inclined to be excessive). The plastic stand for the TS-2 is nice mostly for holding your spare nipples and your spoke wrench. I have a TS-3 as well, which is built a lot more heavily but doesn't actually give you much more accuracy in dishing calibration, and the lever that opens and closes the spacing for the wheel axle tends either to be too stiff or too loose. I like the feel of the stand, but it needs regular use and regular lubrication to work like it should. It's the closest thing to the DT stand, which costs a fortune and is gorgeous -- and still offers superb rigidity but not perfect dishing control.

If you really want to be set up for comfortable wheelbuilding, I'd get the Park TS-2, the better of the Park wheel dishing tools, and a DT spoke wrench. Since the spoke wrench is really your active tool, you'll wince at the price but appreciate it every time you use it. It doesn't round spoke nipples and it drops over the nipple so it doesn't fall off if you step away for a minute. Just don't even think of walking away from it at a race or a shop -- it'll disappear in an instant. I use a cheapie Park wrench in my race kit, but a DT when building and adjusting wheels at home.