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DIY Truing Stand

By Brad Quartuccio

Truing stands are key for properly building and maintaining wheels. They also happen to be prohibitively expensive for folks using them just a few times per year. While it is perfectly reasonable to true wheels while still on the bike using the brake pads or a carefully placed thumb, one of the benefits of a truing stand is a clear sight line to the rim and the ability to make subtle adjustments to the gauge. Brake pads can make it hard to determine exactly where a deformation in the rim is located, especially when it comes to subtle adjustments of true.

The combination of a spring clamp and pencil is a simple solution. Clamp it to the fork or rear stay like so and it provides a clear view of the rim passing by the pencil along with an audible sound and mark on the rim at high points. Start at the highest point and work towards a true wheel in slow adjustments, moving the pencil closer to the rim as the wheel is brought into true. This method can also yield a visual gauge for the roundness of the wheel about the axle by removing the tire and placing the pencil above the rim, between the stays.

For more tech info visit www.urbanvelo.org/tech