One of the pecadilloes of owning a 29 inch wheeled bike is how to true your wheels with the tires mounted. I remember the dismay I felt the first time I threw a wheel of mine on my old, trusty Park TS-2 stand. It wouldn’t fit! I had to dismount the tire to true the wheel. Not the best thing, especially when you are in a hurry. What to do? Well, I found out that there are some alternatives.

If you are like me, and you already own a nice, old Park stand, you may want to look into the Park Truing Stand Upright Extensions. They clip onto your existing Park TS-2 truing stand “legs” and allow you to true a 29″ wheel with the tire mounted. No other modifications to your stand or routine are necessary. You can pick up a set of these for around $30.00.

If you do not currently own a truing stand, or if you want to upgrade to a stand that is compatible with the big wheels, there are complete stands available that can do the job. One of these is the Pedros Shop Wheel Truing Stand. This rather industrial looking affair has all the shop quality features you would expect. A heavy, stable base, dual indicators, and long enough legs to accomodate even the biggest 29″ tire and wheel combination. All of this in black and at a price of around $180.00. I think this stand would be an excellent addition to any shop. Worthy of building wheels on, and would last a lifetime, if cared for properly. It compares quite favorably to the TS-2 stand, in my opinion.

A truing stand with one leg? Yep! The Ultimate Truing Stand is a fine piece of equipment, albeit a rather odd looking piece. It’s not for those of you out there with “balance” issues! It uses a single leg to hold the axle of your wheel. The indicator works from only one side, as well. While this may not sound ideal, it actually works quite well, once you get used to using one indicator. To check your wheels “centering” or “dish”, you simply flip the wheel around. The really nice feature of this stand is that you can slide the indicator up the leg and use it to true or check your disc rotor. It’s the only truing stand that I know of that has this feature. It also is mountable to Ultimate’s Pro Repair Stand, to make the truing stand even more versatile. Talk about multi-tasking! The Ultimate Truing Stand also has a nice, heavy base for shop use, and also has little holes molded in it to hold your spoke wrenches and such. Look for the Ultimate Truing Stand for it’s versatility, red annodized finish, and at a price around $100.00.

Another Park Stand that is 29 inch friendly is the Park TS-8 which is a “consumer” level piece that Park Tools produces at a nicer price of around $80.00. It has one sided indicator truing, and a 10.4 pound base, making it fairly stable for all but the heaviest wheels. Annodized in Park’s ever present blue color, this stand is probably best suited for the individual that is only really interested in truing his wheels and maybe doing an occaisional wheel build.

The Minoura Workman Pro comes in at a “workman’s” price of about $40.00 and is passably compatible with most 29 inch rubber. Some users report modifying their stands slightly to accomodate the biggest tires. While this may not be ideal, it is a less expensive alternative to the pricier stands. Of course, the old adage applies, “you get what you pay for”, and this is no exception. The stand has a minimal base, and is only really meant as a way for you to quickly touch up your wheels. Look for this same stand re-badged as a “Spin Doctor” model.

Since this blog is part of the Crooked Cog Network, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention a “blue collar” method to true your 29 inch wheels. You won’t even have to remove the wheel from your bike. In fact, it wouldn’t work if you did! It’s the “Clothes Pin Method”. That’s right! Just grab a lowly clothes pin and clamp that piece of wooden wonderment to your seat stay, adjacent to your rim. Use the ends of the clothes pin as an indicator! You can even check out your disc brake rotors with this method. Just don’t get caught stealing a clothes pin off of the neighbors clothes line!