Cure that scraping disc brake

VITALS Morningstar Tooling Products R2.O.C.-TECH Cost: $98 Phone: 760-379-2133

Like the wheel, disc-brake rotors can be out of true, which affects performance. More often than not, this causes the rider to go mad from the horrific squeals let loose from a bent disc rubbing on the brake pads. You can use the eyeball method of spinning the wheel and trying to note the problem as the disc spins through the caliper -- or you can step up to the R².O.C-TECH (Rims and Rotors On Center-TECH).

This tool brings the ability to pinpoint high and low spots on the rotor and correct them to .001-inch accuracy. The whole show looks a bit odd at first, but after a read or two of the instructions the art is clear. With a bit of preload on the dial indicator, the tool ferrets out and shows you where to knock down the peaks and fill in the valley, so to speak, to yield a very true rotor. Armed with dueling crescent wrenches, it was surprising how quickly the process became second nature. After a fair bit of experience, you will be truing rotors as fast as you can true wheels in a truing stand.

Speaking of truing wheels, that is why the R is now squared -- what makes this tool stand out is that beautiful phrase, "multi-function." The R².O.C.-TECH is just as effective and accurate at truing a rim as it is a rotor. To add sugar to an already sweet tool, I would recommend spending the extra $24 to add the extension arm that allows you to deal with hops in the rim, and the $23 for the bits that transform it into a dishing tool. For a grand total of $145, you get a tool that not only trues your rotors, but also does everything for your wheel with the accuracy of an Olympic marksman -- and will easily fit in a portable toolbox. The only bad thing about the tool was that it shows you that the things you thought were straight could be straighter. Although you can take comfort in the fact that even the manufacturer does not always insist on .001-inch of accuracy on everything, it's nice to know that, with this tool, you can.