Wheel & Wheel Building Tools

Building and maintaining high-performance wheels requires absolute precision. Our wheel tools collection offers everything the home builder or pro needs, from our Pro Truing Stand and spoke tension meters to specialized nipple drivers and bladed spoke holders. Whether you're lacing a new set of rims or performing a quick trailside true with our pocket tools, these bicycle tools ensure perfect alignment and tension. From the Hub Genie to the Master Wheel Building Kit, we have your wheels covered.

Frequently asked questions

What size spoke wrench do I need?

Match the wrench to your nipple size, not your spoke. The two common square nipples are 3.45 mm (the 14g / 2.0 mm standard on most road and trail wheels) and 3.3 mm (the 15g / 1.8 mm size on light builds), so a 3.45 mm and a 3.3 mm wrench cover most wheels. DT Swiss Squorx nipples take a T20 Squorx wrench, and Mavic uses a 6.4 mm wrench. If unsure, measure across the nipple flats first, since an oversized wrench rounds the nipple.

Do I need a spoke tension meter to true a wheel?

No, not for fixing a small wobble. A spoke wrench and a truing reference (a frame, a brake pad, or a stand) are enough to bring a wheel back into line. A tension meter earns its place when you build a wheel from scratch or chase a recurring problem, because it lets you balance tension across each side. Our practice is to target roughly 10 to 15 percent variance within a side on a road wheel and a bit wider on MTB under load, then check the absolute kilogram-force figure against the rim maker's published window rather than a fixed number.

What does a wheel dishing tool do?

A dishing tool checks that the rim sits centered between the hub locknuts, so the wheel tracks straight in the frame. It matters most on rear and disc-brake wheels, where the two sides carry very different spoke tension and the rim can end up offset even when the wheel runs true. In our experience a wheel can spin perfectly round and still be mis-dished, which shows up as the bike pulling or the tire sitting off-center. Set the tool against one side, flip it, and the rim should touch the same way on both.

Which wheel tools should I buy first?

Start with the right spoke wrench for your nipples and a way to hold the wheel steady, then add a dishing tool and a tension meter as you take on full builds. If you expect to build or rebuild wheels regularly, the Master Wheel Building Kit gathers the core tools in one tray. For aero or bladed spokes that try to twist while you turn the nipple, an aero spoke holder keeps the blade from rotating during truing.

Are these wheel tools made by Unior?

Yes. Unior has been forging hand tools in Zreče since 1919, and sponsors professional road and mountain-bike race teams. The spoke wrenches, nipple drivers, dishing tool, and truing stands in this collection are part of that workshop-grade line, sized to the spoke and nipple standards from Sapim, DT Swiss, Pillar, and Mavic that you are most likely to meet on the bench. For everyday round nipples our standard four-flat wrenches fit without special tooling; the brand-specific wrenches cover Squorx and Mavic where the geometry differs.