How properly true rear wheel without truing stand?

I don't have a truing stand but I would like to true my wheels. I have tried in the past but the wheel ended up being "true" but all pulled slightly to one side. What's the proper way to do this without a truing stand? For both wheels, but also for the rear wheel where it's uneven given the cogs.

In a pinch, you can typically use the brake pads as a guide.

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"There is alot of blather here that does not float the hooey barge." boudreaux 11/22/2005

your rear wheel trouble is because the rear is 'out of dish' to one side, you need to re-dish it and if your rear wheel fits into your bike very securely and always in the same position exactly you can make a pretty decent job of it by removing the tire and re-dishing it on the bike... it is most likely pulled to the non-drive side (the side without the gears) and you will need to: loosen all the non-drive side spokes evenly or tighten all the drive side spokes evenly or a combination of both... if it is an old wheel this can be difficult, a drop of oil in the end of each spoke at the nipple can make things easier... when dishing a wheel an 1/8 of a turn on each spoke is a reasonable starting point, if you have trouble guaging an 1/8 of a turn you can try a 1/4 turn to start... its easy to get lost when adding tension to only one side of the wheel so its best to start at the valve hole and tighten or loosen every other spoke until you get back to the vavle hole again...

with the tire off it is easier to see if the wheel is properly dished (back to center) you will start by putting the wheel in the bike normally and then removing it and putting it in the opposite way, this will often make it easy to spot an even slightly out of dish wheel, as long as the wheel is in the same location both ways... look at the rim in the frame between the brake pads AND between the chainstays behind the bottom bracket, one other problem to look out for is a bent axle when trying to re-dish a wheel, it will move the rim around depending on which direction the bend in the axle is facing...

this is a somewhat advanced operation, but if you have trued your wheel and have ridden it a while and it is still staying true you are probably ready to give it a try...


all's'miles

curby

Turn the bike upside down, and use zip ties on the chain/seat stays.

Fiddly, but it works.

n

Slacken the non-drive side spokes and tighten the drive side spokes until it is properly dished (meaning it is properly seated in the middle by using your seatstays as a guide) then true. When wheel is true, tighten all spokes/nipples one by one each time by the same degree of turn until you've gone thru them - repaeat until spokes are taut (by feel).

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