A homeless guy taught me how to true a wheel with a zip tie

I was fixing a flat outside a gas station in Austin about two years ago, and this older guy named Carl walked up and watched me for a minute. He said "you're fighting that spoke because your rim isn't straight" and he pulled a zip tie out of his pocket to use as a makeshift truing stand. I thought he was crazy but he showed me how to clamp it to the fork and spin the wheel slow. He pointed out a wobble I had been ignoring for months. I ended up buying him lunch and now I always keep a few zip ties in my kit. Have any of you ever used weird tools on the fly like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

jade_butler1mo ago

Totally love that story. Carl sounds like a real one, and that zip tie trick is genius. I once used a folded up dollar bill to shim a rattling brake caliper on a trail ride because it was all I had in my pocket. Worked just long enough to get me home too. Those little hacks always stick with you and honestly they make the best stories.

ben4021mo ago

Funny how those improvised fixes seem to work best when you least expect them. My own best was using part of a shoelace to tie a broken clutch cable back together on an old Honda. Lasted about twenty miles before it snapped again, but by then I was back on pavement. Guess I was lucky it didn't leave me walking through the woods at dusk. Those trail side repairs always teach you more than any manual ever could.