Shoutout to the old mechanic who taught me how to true a wheel in 20 minutes flat

I started working at a shop back in 2012 and the senior guy showed me his method using just a spoke wrench and a zip tie taped to the frame. Fast forward to yesterday, I had a customer with a bent rim and knocked it out in 19 minutes without a truing stand. Anyone else pick up a shortcut from an old-timer that still works better than the fancy tools?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_lucas1mo ago

Did he actually bend the rim back in place or just re-tension it? I'm curious how far you can push a bent rim before you gotta replace it.

sagep191mo ago

My buddy Mark had a wheel on his old Subaru that got bent hitting a curb in a snowstorm. He took it to a shop that basically hammered it back into shape with a block of wood and a mallet. It held air for about six months before it started wobbling again at highway speeds. He finally gave up and just bought a new one.