Alterenative to Park Tool TS-2.2 Wheel Truing Stand

I've been using ebikes for about 10 years now but have never needed to lace a motor myself until now. I have the wheel built but don't have a good way to true it.

My experience with tools is that it usually pays to just buy the "right/best" thing and I know many consider this the "standard".

Can anyone recommend a stand that doesn't cost quite as much but won't be a waste of money? I'm mostly concerned about getting something that is solid enough for a hub motor, which is why I am asking here. I don't mind making a base out of wood for it.

Thanks,

Matt

Take a bicycle and turn it upside down cable ties or cocktail sticks taped to the frame will serve as run-out indicators.

Or build a stand, even if it's from wood.

I grabbed a fork and handlebars from a parts bike that I am going to try that with. I have access to tools and could build one but just wondered if there was another decent option I was missing.

Are any of the $50 to $100 ones solid enough?

mamcinty said:

I grabbed a fork and handlebars from a parts bike that I am going to try that with. I have access to tools and could build one but just wondered if there was another decent option I was missing.

Are any of the $50 to $100 ones solid enough?

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I can't think of any options cheaper than the TS-2.2 good enough to bother buying. Just make your own basic one on your own till you're ready to buy the TS-2.2 (or something even nicer ).

DIY stands: http://www.bikehacks.com/bikehacks/2012/06/7-diy-bike-wheel-truing-stands.html

After building your own or just putting the wheel in an old frame or fork, a tension meter is really the most useful tool especially if you're building electric wheels with thicker spokes who's tensions are harder to gauge by hand:
http://www.jensonusa.com/Park-Tool-TM-1-Spoke-Tension-Meter
http://www.wiggle.com.au/park-tools-spoke-tension-meter/
(again, Park makes the only affordable option, other tension meters are $300+)

I have a Park Tools TS-8 trying stand that I picked up on eBay for around $75 shipped. I mounted it on a wooden base. Works very well.

http://ebikerider.blogspot.com/2014/08/park-tools-ts-8-mounted-on-wood-base.html?m=1

I use the zip tie trick. A pair of zip ties on the frame or fork, cut to just the right length gets you close enough to true. they also make an audible scrape sound when they contact the rim.

I'm a zip-tie guy too - thanks Amberwolf!

One good thing about truing using frame/forks of the bike you're building the wheel for is that you can dial-in the exact amount of dish for that bike.

Nice to see folks joining the "Wheelman club" - building and truing their own spoked wheels.

mamcinty said:

My experience with tools is that it usually pays to just buy the "right/best" thing and I know many consider this the "standard".

Can anyone recommend a stand that doesn't cost quite as much but won't be a waste of money? I'm mostly concerned about getting something that is solid enough for a hub motor, which is why I am asking here. I don't mind making a base out of wood for it.

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I'm generally of the belief that the novice needs the best quality tool - the Ole Pro can make anything work because experience lets him recognize the difficulties with the tool and compensate with an extra dash of skill.

I was in a similar situation earlier this year and found a stand by Bikehand to be almost identical to the Park unit except for finish - at a much lower cost (see Amazon, etc). Of course, it's also pretty obvious that these stands are designed for 'business throughput' - to minimize setup time, etc. For the occasional home wheel builder, other designs might be less complicated without sacrificing accuracy or utility, but good quality alternative designs did not seem to be available.


Fortunately, before I bought the Bikehand unit, I ran across an on-line wheel building book "The Professional Guide to Wheelbuilding" that I found quite good - very detailed and thorough. Interestingly, it had detailed plans for what appeared to be a pretty nice stand. The 'book' stand is made of MDF and a few bits of wood. Using materials and tools that I had on hand, I fabbed up my own version, using the critical design elements of the book version - almost free except for some hardware bits (the varnish for the MDF base was actually the most expensive part). I sacrificed the speed of dropout width adjustment for a a slower technique that simplified construction - a couple of minutes of extra setup time is not an issue for me. Lots of ways to do this - this is just an example...


I found the unusual truing guides to be intuitive and easy to use. The clever design sidestepped the more complicated mechanism of the Park unit and is at least as accurate (no long cantilevered arm). I fabbed my versions PDQ from plastic scraps and a $5 cutting board. Dishing is measured from upright-to-rim with a $10 Harbor Freight digital caliper (a pocket rule would work) - again, stuff on hand...

With this stand and a Park TM-1 tension meter, truing has gone without a hitch. The tension meter is pretty important to get the tension right (or at least not terribly wrong). With experience and a good ear, you can pluck your way to good builds, but harkening back to the 'novice' theory - this is money well spent IMHO - particularly if you can offset the cost by cooking up a stand yourself.

• (I actually had photos in hand, etc for posting about this in my build thread, but this thread came along and looks like a good home for a few of them... )
  
  EDIT - Well - I broke down and posted up the Truing Stand details in my build thread as an example of a WheelPro-like DIY stand - here!

teklektik - Very nice work on that stand! I build all sorts of things but this is one of those items that I just wanted to "get done" so I can move on to the next part. It's getting colder and colder by the day here and, while I used to ride in snow and even ice, I'm not sure the cold weather is going to be compatible with the pulmonary fibrosis that I have developed this year. Don't get me wrong, I will [be stupid enough] to try but cold air is generally much harder to breath and will likely aggravate the PF cough. We'll see

I wish I had seen the Bikehand before finally deciding to suck it up and buy the TS-2.2. It's on it's way from Amazon. My financial situation isn't the greatest since I don't work full time (or much at all right now) due to my disease so the expenditure hurts more than it usually would.

I also think the TS-8 might have been worth a try but the only way I would have gotten it at a price I would have been happy with would have been Craigslist which would have been a little bit of a hassle since I am unable to drive due to legal blindness.

Thanks everyone for so much help! I hope others find this thread useful as well.

Matt

mamcinty said:

I wish I had seen the Bikehand before finally deciding to suck it up and buy the TS-2.2. It's on it's way from Amazon. My financial situation isn't the greatest...

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Yep - I fully understand the need to get it done. The changing seasons plague my projects every year....

Remembering that I haven't tried either the Park or Bikehand units - (I encourage you to read the Amazon reviews):

• 
  I would say that if you want to save the $233 - $149 bucks, then simply to order up the Bikehand unit from Amazon and return the Park when it arrives. Amazon is spectacular about returns. Tell them you needed one with mounting feet, screwed up, and ordered the Bikehand as a replacement. They give you a return shipping label, etc.
  
  That said - you clearly got the gold standard and can't go wrong with the present situation.

Just a thought...

There is still a place for the zip tie trick.

For example, my dirt bike pounds the hell out of rear hubmotor wheels. Each time I put a different motor on the bike, there is a period of adjustment. Even for a well built wheel, I'll need to do some tweaking and tuning as the spokes stretch in. Then I can ride a few years with few problems.

During this break in time, the zip tie remains on the bike. It's not truing the wheel per se, but it helps me know that tightening this and that spoke is not warping the rim. This takes me about 5 min each time. Flip the bike, rotate the zip tie into position, find 3-4 loose spokes, and tighten them, then spin the wheel to confirm I didn't make it wobble.

Gonna take a rear hubmotor off, do a few adjustments, and re install it in 5 min? No.

Would I rather have a good tool for the job when the wheel is already off the bike, YES.

mamcinty said:

I wish I had seen the Bikehand before finally deciding to suck it up and buy the TS-2.2. It's on it's way from Amazon. My financial situation isn't the greatest since I don't work full time (or much at all right now) due to my disease so the expenditure hurts more than it usually would.

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I'm confident the Park one is a much nicer unit. It's extremely sturdy and fully serviceable/rebuild-able. But, more important to your situation the TS-2.2 holds it's resale value really well so if you decide to sell it down the track, people will jump at the chance to own one for just a bit less than retail.