>>1866052I think you're actually right. Carrying around a spoke key is ridiculous. It's much better to do a comprehensive job under better conditions at home.
The other anon said he'd do an on the road fix to get his brake 'satisfyingly tight' what fucking nonsense is that just ride home dude have 1 brake if need be.
Hurried trues under poor conditions (no tire off, not spotting vertical true, no stand) would be a major reason why a wheel might repeatedly need truing, thus you enter a cycle.
Carrying a spoke key is a larp from people who want to have a cool kit that shows how resourceful they are.
For truing generally if you have one or two nice bikes and are focused on riding not bicycles then it's a relatively pointless skill. Your wheels won't go out of true often or ever and a shop can do a much better job than you if they do.
If however you have a lot of older bikes pass through your hands, the ~$20 shop charge to true a wheel makes doing them up prohibitively expensive and annoying and you have to learn.
It's also an extremely satisfying mechanical task when you get the hang of it. Because you're not getting it right or wrong, there are all these factors in balance and it's a skill that can be developed to a high degree. It's possibly the most satisfying piece of work to do on a bicycle and I wish I was better at it and I wish i had a nice stand.
You also might carry a key on tour, even if not for yourself, to help others. Wheel badly out of true is probably the major serious mechanical that faces cyclists on ill-equipped bikes (most). You can be an absolute lifesaver for them as on a popular route you will meet them in the middle of nowhere.
