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Watching a shop mechanic true a wheel with just zip ties blew my mind
I was at a local bike shop in Portland last Thursday waiting for a tube and saw their old mechanic straighten a buckled wheel using only zip ties as tension gauges. He marked the spots, tightened the spokes by feel, and had it spinning true in under 10 minutes. Has anyone else tried this trick or is it just something you pick up after 20 years in the trade?
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emmag2216d ago
Yeah, I've done it with a spoke wrench and patience, works fine.
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davis.ruby16d ago
My buddy tried that on his old Schwinn back in 2013 and ended up with a wheel that looked more like a potato chip than a circle. He spent three hours cussing at it in his garage while his wife kept yelling through the door asking if dinner was okay. I went over to help and we got it good enough to ride, but it still had this wobble that made the bike feel drunk. Ever get one of those jobs where you just have to accept "good enough" and move on?
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