Checking dish without tools is a simple, straightforward procedure.

As defined previously, dish refers to the centering of the rim over the axle. In order to check dish, remove the wheel from the frame and the quick release skewer or axle nuts from the axle. You’ll have to remove the tire and tube as well.

Find a wall with a hard floor – no carpet – and lean the wheel up against the wall. Axle and one side of the rim touching the ground, with the opposite side of the rim on the wall as shown. Mark where the top of the rim touches the wall with a pencil like mom used to do on the doorframe. Flip the wheel over – a properly dished wheel will have the rim touch the wall at the same place on either side. If it is above or below the marked line, the wheel is out of dish and the spoke tension should be adjusted to center the rim appropriately.