maxo wrote:
On Sat, 06 Aug 2005 14:45:38 -0400, Peter Cole wrote:


And a truing stand...



You definitely don't need a truing stand.


OK, you can true the wheel placed in a spare fork that's mounted upside
down in a hole on your work bench with a c-clamp and a playing card to
judge alignment. :P

Or flip the bike upside down, which is what I do for quick adjustments.

But if you're thinking of paying $300 for a new set of wheels...what's a
fifty dollar consumer grade truing stand in the grand scheme?


I just hang the bike from the saddle nose with a rope from the garage
ceiling, or, in nice weather, use the rack on the back of my van. I use
the brake pads to gauge trueness and eyeball the dish (I usually mount a
tire). I've done perhaps a dozen pairs of wheels this way over the past
few years. FWIW, I've never paid anything like $300 for a set of wheels.
My most expensive set was $215 shipped, which included Mavic Open Pro
rims, DT spokes, Ultegra hubs, 9-sp cassette, tubes and tires (Supergo).
Most of the other sets were $100 or less. I'm a frugal Yankee.

I'm sure a truing stand is nice, as is a tensiometer, work stand and
lots of other doo-dads -- they're just not necessary. Frugality in my
world is more about simplification than money.