Remember when we used to true wheels by feel? That old bike co-op in Portland changed my whole approach.

I was at this tiny co-op in Portland back in 2018, helping out with a Saturday repair day. An older mechanic came in with a wheel that looked like a potato chip, no spoke tension meter in sight. He just spun it, listened to the rub, and started tweaking. I was still new and relied on my Park Tool tension meter for everything, but he fixed that wheel in under 10 minutes by feel alone. That day I learned to trust my hands more than gadgets, and now I only pull out the meter for high end builds. Has anyone else had a moment where a old school method just clicked for you?

2 comments

2 Comments

veraj531mo ago

Did I just marry my truing stand for nothing?

mila4051mo ago

Ask @veraj53 if the stand's getting more attention than the spouse now, or is that just me wondering?