Wheel truing stand or zip tie, the zip tie won me over

I spent 6 years eyeballing wheel truing against the brake pads, thought a stand was overkill for a home mechanic. Then last Tuesday I built up a wheelset for a buddy's commuter and the wobble was so bad the tire rubbed the frame at speed. I grabbed a zip tie, clamped it to the fork, and used it as a fixed pointer to true the rim right there in my driveway in Portland. It took me 20 minutes and I got it within half a millimeter, no fancy tools needed. Now I keep a pack of zip ties in my shop bag for every wheel job, who needs a $150 stand when a 10 cent tie does the work? Anyone else skipping the pro gear and making do with basic stuff?

1 comments

1 Comment

the_rowan13d ago

Ever actually tried to build a wheel from scratch with a zip tie? Truing a wobble is one thing, but getting the tension right across all the spokes is a whole different animal. A stand lets you feel the flex and see the dish, not just chase a straight edge. For a quick fix on a buddy's commuter, sure, it works, but calling it a full wheel job is a stretch. I've seen too many wheels that look straight on the rim but collapse under load because the spokes are a mess. That half a millimeter you measured might be a different story after a hundred miles. If you're only ever truing, fine, but don't tell people it replaces the real tool for building.