Re-learning how to lace a wheel the hard way after 15 years

I used to lace wheels by eye, just guessing spoke tension and hoping for the best (which honestly worked fine on cheap builds). Back in 2018 I got a Park Tool TS-2 truing stand for $120 off Craigslist and it totally changed my process. Now I follow the 4-cross pattern step by step, check tension with a meter, and actually measure dish before I even mount a tire. Has anyone else switched from old-school methods to more precise tools and regretted the time you wasted?

2 comments

2 Comments

tessa_kelly20d ago

I did the same thing with my truing stand and never looked back. Once I started actually measuring spoke tension with a meter I realized I had been way off on my old builds. Definitely felt dumb for all those years of just winging it.

kevin_carr20d agoTop Commenter

Honestly I had a similar moment but with wheel lacing patterns. I spent years just doing the standard three cross on everything because that's what everyone said to do. Then I tried a two cross on a rear wheel for a touring bike and realized I had been overcomplicating builds for no reason. Now I mix it up depending on what the wheel is actually for and it feels like I unlocked a cheat code. Tbh the tension meter is probably next on my list based on what you're saying here though.