Had to pick between used Park Tool truing stand or new cheap one off Amazon

Went with the used Park Tool after reading 50 reviews about the Amazon ones breaking after a few wheels. Found it on marketplace for $120. Thing is built like a tank even if it's scratched up. But now I'm wondering if I'm just bad at truing wheels or if this stand needs some adjustment. Has anyone else bought used tools and regretted it or found a trick to calibrate older stands?

2 comments

2 Comments

ellis.felix9d ago

Whoa hold up, I actually went through the same thing last year and I bet your Park stand is fine. Those old ones are built so much tougher than anything you could get new for $120. I think the real problem is that truing wheels is just harder than people make it look on YouTube. I've got a Park Tool stand from like 2010 and it took me a solid month of messing up before I figured out I was putting too much tension on the spokes while trying to fix a wobble. You might want to check if the stand's arms are level with each other, I did that with a cheap carpenter's level and found one was slightly bent from being dropped. The scratches probably mean it's been through some stuff but the actual measuring parts are usually rock solid.

matthewross9d ago

Ellis is right that the stand is probably fine, but check the indicator tips first since those wear down over time and can throw off your readings. My Park Tool from 2012 needed new tips before it started reading true again.