Pocket wheel truer??

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Sweep
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Pocket wheel truer??

Post by Sweep »

Mae West maybe wasn't lucky enough to see one, but am intrigued by this.

https://www.tredz.co.uk/.Unior-Pocket-W ... gKFpfD_BwE

Any use?

Oh - and do folk have views on Unior wheel tools and tools in general?

I must admit I don't know anything about them.
Sweep
Mike Sales
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Re: Pocket wheel truer??

Post by Mike Sales »

Sweep wrote:Mae West maybe wasn't lucky enough to see one, but am intrigued by this.

https://www.tredz.co.uk/.Unior-Pocket-W ... gKFpfD_BwE

Any use?



I remember seeing something like this years ago.
I lashed up a device similar to this myself, with a cut down pair of rear stays.
It's the same the whole world over
It's the poor what gets the blame
It's the rich what gets the pleasure
Isn't it a blooming shame?
pwa
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Re: Pocket wheel truer??

Post by pwa »

I have been temporarily attaching pointers to bike frames / forks to do wheel truing for many years, so I think the idea is a good one. I can't say whether this thing is well made, but the concept is tried and tested.
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Mick F
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Re: Pocket wheel truer??

Post by Mick F »

Only any good if you have hub or disc brakes.
Normal rim brakes work well for wheel truing and cost nothing.
Mick F. Cornwall
fastpedaller
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Re: Pocket wheel truer??

Post by fastpedaller »

A thumb (or finger) can be used, but if they are all in use fixing the bike :D a cable tie, or brake block (already there of course) will do the job. It's only a pointer, the crucial bit is using the spoke key to correct the issue!
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Sweep
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Re: Pocket wheel truer??

Post by Sweep »

fastpedaller wrote:A thumb (or finger) can be used, but if they are all in use fixing the bike :D a cable tie, or brake block (already there of course) will do the job. It's only a pointer, the crucial bit is using the spoke key to correct the issue!


<<A thumb (or finger) can be used, but if they are all in use fixing the bike :D

or scratching my head/chewing my fingernails.

I need all the pointers I can get.

I know brake blocks are a good way to check for damage/issues on the road but not sure how much I'd like to use them for more accurate work. My pads sometimes wear in somewhat odd/mangy ways.

You can tell I'm tempted folks can't you :)
Sweep
alexnharvey
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Re: Pocket wheel truer??

Post by alexnharvey »

A friend suggested a clothes peg on the stay, built my first wheel using them.
rjb
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Re: Pocket wheel truer??

Post by rjb »

Try a cut down clothes peg. :wink:
Oops just beaten to it.
:lol:
At the last count:- Peugeot 531 pro, Dawes Discovery Tandem, Dawes Kingpin X3, Raleigh 20 stowaway, 1965 Moulton deluxe, Falcon K2 MTB dropped bar tourer, Rudge Bi frame folder, Longstaff trike conversion on a Giant XTC 840 :D
pwa
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Re: Pocket wheel truer??

Post by pwa »

I have often taped bits of wire to frames to use as pointers, using masking tape or something like that. And it works fine. But I can see why having this gizmo in the tool box might save me rummaging for tape and wire, and of course save wasting tape. So, while it isn't necessary it might be nice to have.
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cycleruk
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Re: Pocket wheel truer??

Post by cycleruk »

If out on the bike then are you going to be carrying any device for wheel truing?
Me - I would just use thumb or finger. ( but I do carry a spoke tool.)
You'll never know if you don't try it.
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Sweep
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Re: Pocket wheel truer??

Post by Sweep »

cycleruk wrote:If out on the bike then are you going to be carrying any device for wheel truing?
)[/i]

On tour you might?
Have ordered one as tredz offered a £5 voucher just for trying to leave their site.
May well be a while before I use it in anger, but having had a recent rim issue I would like to start sorting my own wheels/re-rimming them.
Must say I do like the look of Unior's wheel trueing stand.
Recommended by someone on here I think.
Anyone any views on Unior/can tell me anything about them?
Tredz seems to do a lot of their tools and to non-techie me they look like professional irems.
Sweep
9494arnold
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Re: Pocket wheel truer??

Post by 9494arnold »

Have to say agree with the brake pad method, and tape over the stays for up and down on the road if you must.
Reality is you can ride with quite a big bend/ dent in a rim , obviously if you are on rim brakes then braking will be compromised.
And if it won't go round in the frame, there's always the option of using drain grating to get it something like straight.
Been there done that !
hemo
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Re: Pocket wheel truer??

Post by hemo »

A cable tie works to get you out of trouble, they are light and can stay on the bike permanently.
slowster
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Re: Pocket wheel truer??

Post by slowster »

Sweep wrote:I would like to start sorting my own wheels/re-rimming them

I think I recognise an element of myself in your post - buying a special tool to compensate for my lack of experience/skill.

I recently built my first wheel following the instructions in Roger Musson's book. I already happened to have a portable wheel jig which I had picked up on sale for £10 many years ago, but I did not have a dishing tool. As much as I would have liked to have had a proper dishing tool, I did not want to spend the money on something which I thought I might never use again (especially if my first wheelbuild attempt turned out to be unsuccessful). So instead I used a piece of cardboard and a spoke to check the wheel dish. It performed the task more than adequately for my needs, and with that experience under my belt and knowing what I now know, I would not bother to buy a wheel dishing tool for future wheel building unless it was being sold for the sort of price I paid for my jig (and even then I'm not sure I would buy it).

If you need to true a wheel on tour, knowledge and experience will be far more useful than that tool. With knowledge and experience you could true the wheel without such a tool, because you would be able to use the brake pads or improvise a guide if the bike had disc brakes. The converse is not true: the tool will not enable you to true the wheel without the necessary knowledge and experience. The big advantage of knowledge and experience is that they don't weigh anything and they don't take up any space in your toolkit.

I suspect that once you've re-rimmed your first wheel, you'll feel confident enough not to feel the need to take that tool on tour.
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Sweep
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Re: Pocket wheel truer??

Post by Sweep »

Thanks for the nice tboughts slowster.

I may initially use it for a little at-home checking.

I think it most likely that I will stick to re-rimming rather than building - seems to me that you only need to buy a few decent wheels with decent hubs and decent rims which promise to be readily available in future - then just replace - the whole spoke calculation thing fills me with a certain dread I have left comfortably in the past since I departed O level maths at 16. May then get the X tools dishing tool as it seems good value and I generally rate their stuff.

In time I think I've pretty much decided to get the Unior wheel jig - seems nice and solid.

Will add up to a bit but just means I can then keep all my wheels running for about £20 a pop.

Oh I have the Roger Musson book - had it a while - just dipped into it.
Sweep
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