Pocket Wheel Truing Tool

The truing stand stays on the bench. The 1753/6 goes in the saddlebag or the seatpack, and it's the answer to a wheel that goes out of true forty miles from anywhere.

The 1753/6 straps to a seatstay or a chainstay and provides a fixed reference against which the rim's wobble can be seen. Adjust the indicator inward until it's just touching the rim sidewall through a full rotation; the high spots will tap the indicator, the low spots will gap it, and the lateral deviation becomes visible to the eye in the same way a brake pad would have indicated it on a rim-brake bike. The difference is that a disc-brake bike doesn't have a brake pad near the rim to reference against, so the 1753/6 supplies the reference the modern brake configuration removed.

We say “possibly one of our favorite tools” about the 1753/6 not because it's the most clever piece in the wheelbuilding catalog; it's not, the Spoke Tension Meter 2.0 and the Pro 1689 wheel truing stand take that crown; but because the 1753/6 has saved more rides than any other tool we make. Adventure rides, gravel rides, bike tours, enduros, multi-day stage races: the wheel that knocks out of true on day one of a five-day trip is the wheel that ends the trip unless you can put it back true on the side of the trail.

Compatibility

• Wheels: any standard rim profile.
• Frames: any frame with seatstays or chainstays (which is all of them); the velcro strap mounts to a front fork leg just as well.
• Brake types: works alongside rim brakes (redundant) and disc brakes (essential). Unior's datasheet notes the same indicator can also be used for truing disc rotors.
• Required: a single spoke wrench sized to the wheel's nipples. The Spoke Wrench 3.3mm and 3.45mm bare-handle wrenches are the natural trailside companions; pair with the 1753/6 in the saddlebag.

Specs

• Strap-on mount to seatstay or chainstay.
• Manually-adjustable indicator (no calibration required).
• Compact, kit-pocketable form factor: 101 g, 185 mm at its longest on the factory datasheet.

Built in Zreče, Slovenia

Unior has been forging hand tools in Zreče since 1919, and sponsors professional road and mountain-bike race teams. The 1753/6 isn't a workshop tool; it's a trail-side tool that exists because the modern disc-brake bike took away the brake-pad-as-truing-reference that an older generation of mechanics took for granted. A small piece of equipment, solving a specific problem that didn't exist twenty years ago.

Pro tip from our mechanics

Practice trailside truing before the trip, not on the side of the trail. Mount the 1753/6 on a wheel that's true, then on a wheel that's slightly out of true, and notice the difference in how the indicator behaves through the rotation. The skill is reading the tool, not just having it; a 1753/6 in the saddlebag of a rider who's never used one is a dead weight when the spoke breaks. The full truing workflow (the parts you can transfer from bench to trailside) is in How to true a bike wheel →

FAQ

How do you true a wheel with the 1753/6 on the trail? Strap it to a fork leg or seat stay with the velcro band, then thread the indicator in until it just clears the rim. Spin the wheel: spots that tap the pointer are high, spots that gap it are low. Work those zones with a spoke wrench exactly as you would on a truing stand.

Why does a disc-brake bike need one? A rim-brake bike carries its own reference — the pads sit a couple of millimeters from the rim, so wobble shows immediately. Disc brakes remove that, which makes a bent wheel hard to judge by eye. The 1753/6 restores a fixed reference at the rim, which is exactly why it belongs in a disc bike's trail kit.

Can it also straighten a disc rotor? Yes — Unior's factory datasheet notes the tool can also be used for truing rotors. The adjustable indicator gives the same fixed reference against a rotor face that it gives against a rim sidewall, so you can find the bent section before easing it straight.

How much room does it take in a saddlebag? Almost none: 101 g, with the 185 mm strap arm as its longest dimension per the factory datasheet, and Unior sizes it to slip into any backpack. Pack a spoke wrench sized to your nipples alongside it — the 1753/6 shows you the wobble, the wrench corrects it.