Old bike mechanic called me lazy for not truing wheels myself

Guy at the co-op in Portland straight up told me I was wasting money paying shops. He grabbed my wheel, spun it. Said 'you can fix this with a $20 spoke wrench, stop being afraid.' Stuck with me because he was right. I just didn't want to mess up a $300 wheel. Anyone else have a shop guy shame you into learning something?

2 comments

2 Comments

kelly3386d ago

Haha, that "stop being afraid" line hits different. I tried truing a $40 wheel once and ended up with a pretzel that looked like it got in a fight with a parked car. 😂 My first attempt I tightened the wrong spokes and the whole thing went egg-shaped, had to walk it home. So yeah, I get the fear, but honestly that co-op guy was right about the $20 wrench - now I only break my wheels when I'm trying to be helpful.

christopher_hunt6d ago

Buddy of mine tried to true his first wheel without a stand, used the fork on his frame instead. Bent the crown so bad the whole bike was unrideable, cost him more to fix than just paying a shop. He still swears by the zip tie method now though.