Truing Stand ?

Anyone have any luck with these ? Going to attempt to true an 18" wheel and spoke assembly to my KZ hub. Or is there another stand you guys like ?

Watching with interest as I've got a couple bikes with spokes. How much runout are you trying to correct?

I'm just about to start a re-assembly ( starting from scratch ) . So I have a rim, a set of spokes, and a hub.

I made one out of 2x3's. I do the assembly and basic truing on that then do my final truing on the bike using a pencil or other pointer taped to the fork/swingarm. Zipties work too.

Couple of tips:
When you disassemble a wheel you should take a measurement from the surface of the hub to the rim. Lay a straight edge across the wheel and measure down with a tape measure. Take a photo so you remember exactly how you measured it. Not all hubs are centered in the rim so you need to put the offset back in while building.

When removing spokes, use the last spoke as a "key spoke". I use a small centerpunch to mark the hub and rim. This makes rebuilding a TON easier.

When the wheel is assembled, do the radial truing first making sure the hub is in the center of the rim. Then do a preliminary axial truing. Then mount it on the bike and do your final truing.

Also, I mark the inside of the rim so I know where I'm at when skipping around doing the radial truing.

Pic

Good idea to check the offset. Even when the rim is centered, which is should be for the front anyway, it's easy to get the rim offset to one side when snugging up the spokes. I've built a fair number of bicycle wheels and best process I've found is to bring all the spokes up to tension evenly. The rear my have two different tensions so watch that. Anyway, count how many turns on each spoke and make them all the same as a starting point. Then check offset and start truing.

I've got the Harbor Freight version, which looks very similar. Tt works fine for me. The sliding cone inserts on the "axle" make it easy to use with a variety of sizes. I also have a dial indicator with magnetic base. The DI is probably overkill. I don't get hung-up on the exact measurements. It's really a fancy pointer that shows in/out quickly. . You'll never get a rim absolutely perfect. The magnetic base does make it easy to re-position to measure axial and radial run out. Notice the little white and yellow dots on the left upright. Those are magnets for a dry erase board. They work great as a temporary marker on the rim. I think a 6 pack of multiple colors was under a buck at Staples.
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If you really want to make an investment in wheel building tools, I would recommend a spoke torque wrench. .It's a little pricey if you'll never build another set of wheels. It's one of those tools that you'll get a lifetime of use from.. I bought mine probably 15 years ago and have definitely got my money's worth. Over tightened spokes can be worse than loose ones.
rkexcelamerica.com/accessories.html

Sir Issac Newton must have trued wheels at some point. I'm pretty sure it was the basis for his Third law of motion
To every action (force applied) there is an equal but opposite reaction (equal force applied in the opposite direction). In other words, if you need to true a rim to the right, loosen the left pulling spokes first, then tighten the right pulling spokes. Otherwise you're just increasing tension on both equally.

MDZ1rider wrote: If you really want to make an investment in wheel building tools, I would recommend a spoke torque wrench. .It's a little pricey if you'll never build another set of wheels. It's one of those tools that you'll get a lifetime of use from.. I bought mine probably 15 years ago and have definitely got my money's worth. Over tightened spokes can be worse than loose ones.

+1 on the spoke torque wrench.
Buchanan Spoke & Wheel had a spoke info presentation at Barber last year that was well over an hour long. In addition to mentioning hub offset, they also addressed how critical correct spoke torque is. Apparently, some hubs (Sportsters and old Triumphs were mentioned) are delicate enough that pieces of spoke mounting flanges can be cracked or pulled off of the body of the hub entirely by over-torquing spokes.
We bought the adjustable one from Fasst Co. Pricey, but as mentioned will last a lifetime.
The first wheel we built from scratch was from a basket case; loose hub, spokes, nipples and rim. It was also the first wheel we had ever built. Took 40 hrs. Really. The second one took 8.

Our truing stand is very similar to the one pictured in OP. Works fine. It came with our No-Mar tire changer.

Good Ridin'
slmjim & Z1BEBE

I have read that the HF truing stand's bearings that the axle rides on drag ( poor quality ) and that the axle that comes with the kit are often not straight ?

KidKawie's wooden stand certainly would be the cheapest to build and use the factory axle to spin the wheel on the stand. Probably would work as well as anything.


A lot to think about and be aware of when re-lacing a wheel. Never done it before but like a challenge.

Spoke torque wrench great idea. Didn't realize they were so expensive .

Personally I don't see a need for the torque wrench. A quick tap on the spoke with the spoke wrench will tell you if it's loose or tight. You look for a slight ring sound and try to tune the spokes to the same sound. You just develop a "feel" for the right tension after messing with so many spokes I guess.

Kidkawie, On your 2 x 4 wooden stand, did you just take the stock front wheel axle and just lay on top of the upright 2 x 4's ?

Also, I'm taking another KZ1000 hub I purchase off of Brian on the Forum and am going to lace spokes to an 18" rim ( 1.85 x 18 40-spoke Takasago ) I just recently purchased off of eBay.






Anyone know where I can Purchase a good set of spokes ( 40 ) besides Buchannon ? They're kind of pricey.