Found a trick for truing wheels after a job at the Denver shop

I was wrestling with a badly bent rim during a rush repair on Colfax Avenue last Saturday. Instead of my usual method, I used a zip tie as a makeshift gauge to check side-to-side wobble, and it cut my time in half. has anyone else used a dumb hack like this that actually worked better than the real tool?

3 comments

3 Comments

west.anna1mo ago

It's funny how the best tools are always the ones you just grab without thinking... I've noticed that pattern everywhere, like using a butter knife to adjust a derailleur or a piece of scrap cardboard to set brake pad spacing. The zip tie trick is solid because it's not trying to be perfect, it's just giving you a clear reference point that you can adjust on the fly. Sometimes the simple stuff works better because you're not worried about messing up a nice tool.

masonbell1mo ago

That zip tie trick is actually an old school mechanic move I read about in some bike forum years ago. People were saying it works because the zip tie flexes just a tiny bit, so you can feel the high spots instead of just seeing them with a metal gauge. I tried it on a rim that was out of round AND wobbly, and it was way easier to tell where the real issue was without my brain mixing up the two problems.

lisa528d ago

It's like the universe's way of reminding us that the hacky solution is usually the one that sticks. I see it all the time where the purpose-built gadget sits in a drawer while a paperclip or a shoelace saves the day.