Thursday Tech Tip: How to make a truing stand

Yes I know its not even close to Thursday. Given that it is Turkey Day this Thursday, I doubted that most of you will be visiting the site since you’ll be enjoying the effects of tryptophan.

So here’s my latest How To. I’ll be showing you how to build your own truing stand with an old Thule wheel mount.

The first thing to do was to measure points on the mount where the exact rim positioning would be for 26″, 700c and 29er wheels. Once I had it marked, I drilled a few holes on both sides.

I then inserted some 2″ long screws into the hole. This was for the 26″ wheel. I placed nuts on both sides of the screw to make sure I can get it tight and adjusted.

You’ll notice that I have one screw of the mount in place. I put that there to prevent it from moving. I used a C-clamp to hold the stand. I would have used both screws, but I wanted the option to remove the stand if I wasn’t using it.

You can see that it will fit front and rear wheels in either 26″ or 700c.

700c wheel. A 29er wheel would have fit, but I didn’t have one handy in my garage. Notice the second set of screws on the stand. That’s for the larger wheels.

This stand has to be the cheapest option I have in getting a truing stand. Minoura makes a home mechanic stand for about $45-50…not a bad deal. But I had this wheel rack sitting in the garage unused, so I basically didn’t spend anything and it only took me about 10 minutes to build.

Now if I can just get my truing skills honed…