Wheel straightening for rim brakes.

[Andy in Germany]

I took over a V-Brake fitting today and realised fairly quickly the wheel was buckled, so there was little chance of getting the brakes to work well. In a previous bike shop I had a dial that fitted to the frame of the bike so I could straighten the wheel fairly quickly. I recall it was called a "centri-boy" or similar. Does anyone recognise this tool or the name?

Failing that, is there a sneaky way to true a wheel without removing it from the bike, or is it a case of dismantling it and putting it on a stand?

 

[Sittingduck]

Use the brake pad as a reference guide
rubber band a ballpoint pen or similar to the brake caliper and ‘waggle’ this close to the rim then use this if option a isn’t working…

 

[Svendo]

I’ve seen a zip tie round the seat stay or fork leg with the ‘tail’ trimmed and positioned as required for a makeshift truing reference.

 

[Andy in Germany]

I've found what I used to have: it's called a "ZentriBOY"; basically it's a dial indicator with a flexible clamp attached so it can be clamped to a bicycle wheel. Unfortunately it looks like they aren't made any more.

 

[spiderman2]

bought cheap magnetic base dial gauge on *bay for £20 .00

 

[chriswoody]

The cable tie on the fork is a good makeshift solution, but why don't you make your own truing stand? It would make a good project for you, with your woodworking skills it shouldn't be too hard. I made mine using Roger Musson's plans:

 

[Amanda P]

Clip a clothes peg (the wooden kind with a spring works best) to each chainstay near the rim. Rotate them on the chainstay so that their ends come close to the rim. You can then use the as gauges for true-ness, rotating the wheel between them. Slide them up and down the chainstay to act as guides for roundness.

It's a bit harder on the forks, because they're too thick for clothes pegs, but you can use those big spring clips market traders and film gaffers use to hold things.

 

[Andy in Germany]

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll try the ideas out.

@chriswoody We have a wheel truing stand, and I can use that when there's a serious problem, or for building new wheels, but what I want to do is quickly take twists out of a wheel so I can get the brakes to work better; we're renovating old bikes so they often come with a ding on the wheel, and it takes too much time to take every one out and set it up in the wheel stand for a small wobble.

This is what I used to use:

I've realised it's basically a dial indicator on a flexible clamp, so I'm looking to see what I can do using bits for camera accessories et c..

 

[Andy in Germany]

bought cheap magnetic base dial gauge on *bay for £20 .00

I've seen those. What does the "On/Off" switch do? (I appreciate there's an obvious answer to this, so perhaps "What effect does it have on the use of the gauge?" is a better question)

 

[biggs682]

I use the pads as a guide , but a dial gauge would be better i suppose

 

[Chislenko]

I use the pads as a guide , but a dial gauge would be better i suppose

I am a "pad man" myself but I do like @chriswoody home made stand.

I can feel another project out in the garage coming on!

 

[DCBassman]

I've seen those. What does the "On/Off" switch do? (I appreciate there's an obvious answer to this, so perhaps "What effect does it have on the use of the gauge?" is a better question)

Breaks the magnetic hold.

 

[alicat]

I take out a brake pad and wedge an awl close to the wheel with zip ties. The awl makes a satisfying screeching noise. I mark the spot with a whiteboard pen and work on the adjoining spokes until the noise disappears.

 

[Andy in Germany]

Breaks the magnetic hold.

Makes sense. unfortunately that means I can't use it with an Aluminium bike.