# Opinion on this cheap truing stand?



## Twinge (Apr 28, 2014)

Ebay item: 271466802109

It appears to be able to hold the wheel and indicate trueness. I think I can add a bit to indicate roundness quite easily. 

For 50 rapidly depreciating 'Murican dollars, it seems like an ok gamble. 

Thoughts? 

There's a Park for sale in my area for $180. Should I buy once and cry once?


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## Zen Cyclery (Mar 10, 2009)

If you really want to save money just flip your bike upside down and put a zip tie on the chain stay. That's the cheapest truing stand you'll find. If you wanted to make your shop garage a bit more complete though I think it's worth splurging for the Park stand instead.


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## Twinge (Apr 28, 2014)

Thank you for the reply, Zen. I used my bicycle on my recent wheel build and I got tired of sitting on the floor. Now that I have learned wheel building is for me, I'm going to get some dedicated gear.


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## cdhbrad (Feb 18, 2003)

Buy the Park......save the bike to ride with the new wheels you will build.


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## mikerp (Jul 24, 2011)

I would not waste my money on the ebay stand.
As to the $180 Park stand, it depends on the model of stand, what shape it's in, and what you think you should get for $180.
Some posters are under the impression truing stands are perfectly self centering and they won't need a dishing tool. This isn't the case even for a TS2.2.


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## Mike T. (Feb 3, 2004)

Twinge said:


> I used my bicycle on my recent wheel build and I got tired of sitting on the floor.


Good grief. Then make some skyhooks -

http://forums.roadbikereview.com/components-wrenching/skyhooks-you-make-322409.html

- and hang the bike at eye-level whether you be standing or sitting on a nice tall stool. Creativity & imagination counts. I used some variation of this for my wheelbuilding for 50 years.


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## Twinge (Apr 28, 2014)

mikerp said:


> I would not waste my money on the ebay stand.
> As to the $180 Park stand, it depends on the model of stand, what shape it's in, and what you think you should get for $180.
> Some posters are under the impression truing stands are perfectly self centering and they won't need a dishing tool. This isn't the case even for a TS2.2.


It's a TS-2

There's no way I'm ever paying for a dishing tool. I can always put the wheel in my bike and get a measurement. That only needs to be done once. 

Whereas taking it off multiple times for stress relieving, I'd rather have a bench mounted stand.


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## bobonker (Feb 12, 2011)

My Minoura FT-1 has been a solid stand and is a good compromise between using your bike ($0) and the Park ($200).

Bob


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## .je (Aug 25, 2012)

My co-worker generously lent me his truing stand and DIY dishing tool. I don't think he even measured anything, except for the X across the back to find the centre:
















If I had to improve this, I'd glue or epoxy a nut on the aluminum plate instead of threading it, since the bolt wobbled a little (and since I don't have a tap), but it won't improve how well it operates.


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## PlatyPius (Feb 1, 2009)

Twinge said:


> It's a TS-2
> 
> *There's no way I'm ever paying for a dishing tool.* I can always put the wheel in my bike and get a measurement. That only needs to be done once.
> 
> Whereas taking it off multiple times for stress relieving, I'd rather have a bench mounted stand.


Then you aren't worth me giving a serious reply.


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## PlatyPius (Feb 1, 2009)

Mike T. said:


> I used some variation of this for my wheelbuilding for *50 years*.


Damn. Yer old.


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## Mike T. (Feb 3, 2004)

PlatyPius said:


> Damn. Yer old.


Come for a ride then and you can kick my arse


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## PlatyPius (Feb 1, 2009)

Mike T. said:


> Come for a ride then and you can kick my arse


Not a chance. I'm fat and slow.


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## Mike T. (Feb 3, 2004)

PlatyPius said:


> Not a chance. I'm fat and slow.


Hey me too - fatter & slower than I was anyway. (the older I get; the faster I was)


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## mikerp (Jul 24, 2011)

PlatyPius said:


> Then you aren't worth me giving a serious reply.


Concur.
I won't bother looking for the last thread on stands at this point, and centering, at this point.
I guess a P&K Lie stand is out of the question.


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## Twinge (Apr 28, 2014)

PlatyPius said:


> Then you aren't worth me giving a serious reply.


You're too hard on me. At least I have a tension meter. Some people don't even think those are necessary! 

What, everyone hates me now because I don't see the value in paying for a dishing tool? Tough crowd. I might make the DIY one that .je posted. That looks quite clever.


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## Twinge (Apr 28, 2014)

mikerp said:


> Concur.
> I won't bother looking for the last thread on stands at this point, and centering, at this point.
> I guess a P&K Lie stand is out of the question.


Huh. That's really cool that it does both x and y measurements, non-linearly. For $1850, that's a bargain. I might get that one instead.


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

The ebay one looks pretty flimsy. I have the cheap MInoura, and it has worked fine for me. The Performance Spin Doctor stand is the same one rebranded. It's on sale for 60 bucks right now.

I made a dishing tool very similar to the one je pictured, except the end pieces are wood. And I used a T-nut so the bolt doesn't wobble


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## krisdrum (Oct 29, 2007)

Just build your own. Roger Musson's wheelbuilding book has easy to follow plans. Using a piece of 3/4" plywood I had laying around, maybe another $20 in materials, and a few hours of work and I have my own.


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## cdhbrad (Feb 18, 2003)

Suit yourself, but the Park dishing tool is less than $30 plus shipping. I have one, it is well made and should last a lifetime. I wouldn't build a set of wheels without it. I build my wheels inside my house, not in the garage where I store my bikes. I find that I check the dish on each wheel several times before I'm satisfied with the result. No way I'm goint to keep running to the garage, removing a wheel from the bike, to check the dish on a wheel when I can stay inside and do it in a less than a minute. 

If you already have a tensionmeter, investing in a dishing gauge completes the set of tools you need after you decide on which truing stand.


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## Roland44 (Mar 21, 2013)

Mike T. said:


> Hey me too - fatter & slower than I was anyway. (the older I get; the faster I was)


That applies to me as well unfortunately. "The older I get, the faster I was" just became my new motto!


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## twinkles (Apr 23, 2007)

I've been using a Park ts-7 for years, and actually prefer it over a ts-2. You can pick up a ts-7 on amazon for $82 & free shipping, and you can always sell it for damn near what you paid for it, if need be. I've got mine screwed to an old wood cutting board, so I can use it wherever I want with a super stable base. I would spend less on a truing stand and get a tensiometer. It does you no good to have a top of the line truing stand, if you have means of knowing what the tension is on the spokes. 

There is a Wheelsmith tensiometer on ebay for $50 right now.


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## Mike T. (Feb 3, 2004)

This one looks kinda cool -

X-Tools Home Mechanic Wheel Truing Stand | Chain Reaction Cycles


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## dcgriz (Feb 13, 2011)

cdhbrad said:


> Suit yourself, but the Park dishing tool is less than $30 plus shipping. I have one, it is well made and should last a lifetime. I wouldn't build a set of wheels without it. I build my wheels inside my house, not in the garage where I store my bikes. I find that I check the dish on each wheel several times before I'm satisfied with the result. No way I'm goint to keep running to the garage, removing a wheel from the bike, to check the dish on a wheel when I can stay inside and do it in a less than a minute.
> 
> If you already have a tensionmeter, investing in a dishing gauge completes the set of tools you need after you decide on which truing stand.


This makes sense!


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## Z'mer (Oct 28, 2013)

You can use an indoor trainer to hold the wheel securely. This is 3/4 the job of a DIY stand. Then fashion something to indicate trueness. Harbor freight sells a dial indicator for 15.

For a dish gage, I've used 2 5 gallon plastic buckets to support the edges of the rim. 
Then a locking tape measure on its side, pointing up, to measure dish. Lock the tape where it touches one side of the axle nut, then flip the wheel. 
You can also cut two notches in the sides of the plastic buckets to support a wheel axle. 
And use the locking tape to indicate trueness. The buckets are like 3-4. at Lowes, etc.
Great for an emergency spoke repair job. Not great for serious wheel building. 

There is a decent looking Park type all metal stand for 149. at amazon. Look for "bike hand truing stand".


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## pmf (Feb 23, 2004)

Don't buy cheap tools. Years ago, I bought the Park consumer stand. It's OK, but I wish I would have spent the extra money and bought the more expensive self centering one. The thing is, once you buy something like that, its hard to justify buying a better one. There's not much of a secondary market and you don't need two truing stands. So you live with the half assed one you cheaped out on for the next 20 years. Not that I use it all that much, but I still wish I'd spent the extra $75 or $100 at the time.


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