Design Fingers Bike Trued Tool

Out of all the repairs that one could do on their bike, it's wheel truing that some riders find the most intimidating. And for good reason; while wheel building and truing certainly call for some know-how, it's often labeled as being a black art that requires a long white beard and two decades of shop rat experience to understand. That's bullocks, of course, but you do need the correct tools, and having an expensive (and bulky) truing stand isn't something most riders considering splashing out for, especially those that don't have room for a shop setup. But there is a smaller, less expensive route...

Quick True Tool Details

• Intended use: minor wheel truing
• Can also be used to straighten rotors
• Quick-release rubber straps
• Spring loaded, non-marring Delrin tip
• Includes two spoke wrenches
• Weight: 158 grams
• MSRP: $30 - 40 USD
• www.fouriers-bike.com

Fouriers, an Asian brand mostly known for their chain guides and other components, offers their Quick True Tool as a portable truing gadget that can be strapped to a fork leg, chain stay, or seat stay. No, the $30 - 40 USD (pricing isn't locked in quite yet) Quick True isn't meant to be a shop tool, but rather something that you can throw in your vehicle if you're heading out on a road trip, or maybe if you need to only occasionally touch up your wheels but don't need a full-sized stand.

So, is this thing any better than a strapping a zip-tie to your frame to do the same task? Let's find out.

The Quick True Tool takes up far less space than a real truing stand, and it's designed to be used for minor wheel straightening.

Design

When you have a wheel that needs some love, you'd usually pull it off your bike and stick it into a traditional truing stand, then use the stand's feeler gauges on each side of the rim to let you easily sight (and hear) exactly where you need to make an adjustment. To use the Quick True Tool, you leave the wheel on your bike and wrap the tool's rubber straps around the fork or frame to hold it in place, thereby turning your bike into the world's most expensive truing stand.

Soft rubber straps (left) hold the tool's base onto your frame or fork, and the rubber boot (right) that the tool sits in keeps it from sliding around and scratching your bike's paint.

The threaded feeler gauge, which has a spring-loaded Delrin tip that won't mar your rim when it makes contact with it, is adjusted vertically on an unthreaded rod that can be angled as needed. The angle of that rod can be tweaked by loosening an anodized green dial, as can the position of the feeler gauge. The whole thing is very adjustable, and it'll work on everything from a kid's bike to a road bike to a fat bike, front or rear, regardless of wheel size or ever-changing standards. Construction is aluminum, and it seems to be nicely made, and the base itself sits inside of a rubber sock to keep it from marking up your bike.

The feeler gauge (left) is adjusted by threading it in or out, and by sliding it up or down the unthreaded rod. Fouriers uses a spring-loaded Delrin tip (right) that won't mark up your expensive carbon rim, too.

Performance

Installing the Quick True Tool onto your bike is only a matter of stretching the two mounting bands around your seat stay and hooking them over the anchors on the opposite side of the tool. The straps and rubber boot that the tool fits into keeps it from slipping or marking up your frame, so there's no need to pull the straps too tight. Once it's on, it won't move around, and you slide the threaded gauge down over the post and use the green dials to lock things in place when it's all lined up.

Once the mount is strapped to your bike and lined up, all you need to do is thread the feeler gauge in or out until it's around 0.5 to 1.0mm away from the rim and so that the Delrin tip only makes light contact where it's out of true.

If you've ever used a truing stand, you'll already know how to straighten the wheel with the Quick True Tool by bringing the Delrin tip closer and closer to the rim's wobble until it's straightened as much you can without being overly picky. Because there's a single feeler gauge that works from just one side (a traditional truing stand works from both sides), you will need to mount the tool on the side that requires attention, and possibly switch it from one side to the other if the rim has a good wiggle in it. That said, it's not like we're using rim brakes anymore, and our wheels don't need to be arrow straight these days.

It probably doesn't need to be said, but I'll say it anyway: with the wheel on your bike, and the tire still on the wheel, you can't effectively use the Quick True Tool to take out on vertical hops in the rim. Sure, you could just sight the hop relative to the feeler gauge, but this tool is more of a quick fix helper (hence the name) than a shop-grade item. If you need to do any serious wheel work, use a proper truing stand.

One other thing worth mentioning is the killer instructions that come with the tool; not only are there both photos and written instructions, but there's even a short truing tutorial on how to use the included spoke wrench. And speaking of the spoke wrench, it's a double-ender with an aluminum handle and steel nipple flats that fit nice and tight. Again, nothing but quality.

A zip-tie works, sure, but this machined aluminum tool with three-way adjustments and a spring-loaded Delrin tip is going to appeal to the nerds out there, including me.

I can't say that this gizmo isn't well made, but I bet that I know what you're thinking: couldn't a zip-tie do the same thing? Yeah, and you can buy a bag of 1,000 zip-ties for $20 USD, meaning that the Quick True Tool is up against a $0.02 strip of plastic. Of course, you could just use a big rock for a hammer, too, couldn't you?

This one is definitely not a "must have" tool for the home mechanic, but it's also about the same price as a meal for two at Applebee's (without booze) and, unlike those chicken wings, it should last a lifetime. The Quick True Tool works as advertised, and I used it to straighten a few aluminum rims and one carbon hoop without having to take any of the wheels off the bike, but it's certainly more of a nice convenience than extremely helpful - a proper truing stand can't be beat when it comes to big jobs. And yes, a zip-tie can be used to do the same thing but, as a guy who likes to have nice tools on hand, I'll reach for this little gizmo instead of a zip-tie every single time.

A zip-tie versus the Quick True Tool... what's your pick?

Pinkbike's Take:

If your tool inventory consists of a rusty multi-tool and an equally rusty hammer, both of which you store on the floor in your garage, you'll probably never consider this gadget. Yes, the Quick True Tool does the same job as a zip-tie, but those who enjoy using nice tools might not look at it that way. I do have a full-sized truing stand in my shop, but when it comes to minor rim straightening, I found the strap-on Fouriers tool to be helpful. — Mike Levy