I finally fixed a wheel true by feel after 12 years of using a dial gauge

Ngl I always mocked the old guys who say you can true a wheel by plucking the spokes. Last Tuesday I was in a hurry, customer's rear wheel was wobbling bad, and my gauge battery died. So I just used the brake pad as a reference and tightened by feel. Took me 15 minutes and it rolled out straight. The gauge is staying in the drawer for now. Anyone else ditch the fancy tools once you got the hang of it?

1 comments

1 Comment

simonp4028d ago

Did you read that interview with the old wheel builder from Alaska? He said the same thing about plucking spokes. Said a dial gauge tells you where the rim is, but your hands tell you where it's going. I thought it was old man talk too. Then I spent a season racing on a wheel I trued blind in a muddy parking lot. Held up fine. The brake pad trick is solid. It's like learning to shift without looking at the gears. Once your fingers get the tension, the gauge just slows you down.