Spoke Question

I ride a 40x14 fixed gear cycle with 700c wheels that I built up myself. I didn't use any spoke prep
when I built them. I have a front brake on the bike, but I frequently use leg-pressure to control my
speed. I haven't skid-stopped on this bike.

Now, I had to re-true this wheel today because several spokes were loose -> I assume I should put
some spoke prep on them.

Allthe loose spokes were on the non-drive side of the hub. Does that make sense?

-James

 

James McGregor writes:

> I ride a 40x14 fixed gear cycle with 700c wheels that I built up myself. I didn't use any spoke
> prep when I built them. I have a front brake on the bike, but I frequently use leg-pressure to
> control my speed. I haven't skid-stopped on this bike.

> Now, I had to re-true this wheel today because several spokes were loose -> I assume I should put
> some spoke prep on them.

You should tighten all the spokes so that the wheel will stay together by itself. Unless you have an
unusually offset hub, your description is typical of a loosely spoked wheel. Spoke prep is a mask
for poorly tensioned wheels.

> All the loose spokes were on the non-drive side of the hub. Does that make sense?

It must if you aren't making this up.

Jobst Brandt [email protected] Palo Alto CA

 

"James McGregor" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I ride a 40x14 fixed gear cycle with 700c wheels that I built up myself. I didn't use any spoke
> prep when I built them. I have a front brake on the bike, but I frequently use leg-pressure to
> control my speed. I haven't skid-stopped on this bike.
>
> Now, I had to re-true this wheel today because several spokes were loose -> I assume I should put
> some spoke prep on them.
>
> Allthe loose spokes were on the non-drive side of the hub. Does that make sense?
>
> -James

Your non-drive side came loose because they are typically the loosest spokes in your wheels because
of dishing. Your spokes are too loose. Don't use spoke prep. You need to increase the tension in
your rear wheel and use lube on your nipple/rim interface to make sure they don't bind and give the
false impression of being too tight. If they're too loose, the cyclic tension change will eventually
loosen them off until they are visibly flopping in the breeze.

Cheers,

Scott..

 

S. Anderson wrote:
>"James McGregor" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>> I ride a 40x14 fixed gear cycle with 700c wheels that I built up myself. I didn't use any spoke
>> prep when I built them. I have a front brake on the bike, but I frequently use leg-pressure to
>> control my speed. I haven't skid-stopped on this bike.
>>
>> Now, I had to re-true this wheel today because several spokes were loose -> I assume I should put
>> some spoke prep on them.
>>
>> Allthe loose spokes were on the non-drive side of the hub. Does that make sense?
>>
>> -James
>
>Your non-drive side came loose because they are typically the loosest spokes in your wheels because
>of dishing. Your spokes are too loose. Don't use spoke prep. You need to increase the tension in
>your rear wheel and use lube on your nipple/rim interface to make sure they don't bind and give the
>false impression of being too tight. If they're too loose, the cyclic tension change will
>eventually loosen them off until they are visibly flopping in the breeze.

When my wheels have been through a lot of jarring bumps and require wierd spoke tensioning to be
true, I use medium strength threadlocker on the spokes that work loose by themselves.

Spacey

ps. Can anyone recommend a good spoke tension meter?

 

[email protected] wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> You should tighten all the spokes so that the wheel will stay together by itself. Unless you have
> an unusually offset hub, your description is typical of a loosely spoked wheel. Spoke prep is a
> mask for poorly tensioned wheels.

Well, they're only the second set of wheels I've built, so they most likely are poorly tensioned!
>
> > All the loose spokes were on the non-drive side of the hub. Does that make sense?

> It must if you aren't making this up.

Uh - right. Thanks a ton.

 

"S. Anderson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> Your non-drive side came loose because they are typically the loosest spokes in your wheels
> because of dishing.

There's no dish in this wheel.

> Your spokes are too loose. Don't use spoke prep. You need to increase the tension in your rear
> wheel and use lube on your nipple/rim interface to make sure they don't bind and give the false
> impression of being too tight.

Thanks. I'll try this out. Any idea what specifically I should use?

> If they're too loose, the cyclic tension change will eventually loosen them off until they are
> visibly flopping in the breeze.

That's pretty much what happened.

- James

 

james-<< I ride a 40x14 fixed gear cycle with 700c wheels that I built up myself.

<< Now, I had to re-true this wheel today because several spokes were loose -> I assume I should put
some spoke prep on them.

Nope, just ensure the tension is proper, spoke prep or threadlock is a crutch for poor tension...

Peter Chisholm Vecchio's Bicicletteria 1833 Pearl St. Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535 http://www.vecchios.com "Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

 

"Qui si parla Campagnolo" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> james-<< I ride a 40x14 fixed gear cycle with 700c wheels that I built up myself.
>
>
> << Now, I had to re-true this wheel today because several spokes were loose -> I assume I should
> put some spoke prep on them.
>
> Nope, just ensure the tension is proper, spoke prep or threadlock is a
crutch
> for poor tension...
>
Having built wheels with both, spoke prep is easier to work with later than thread lock. Locktite
blue feels gummy after a while. I've been lubing with ti prep/anti-seize lately. Seems to work.

I do agree that poor tension is the bugaboo for wheel durability, but I've seen what happens to
wheels with insufficient lube on the nipples too. IME, after a few years there's lots of galvanic
corrosion, making doing anything to the spokes almost impossible. I've had to chop spokes out of
wheels 'cause they couldn't be trued.

Mike

 

"Mike S." <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
>
> "Qui si parla Campagnolo" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > james-<< I ride a 40x14 fixed gear cycle with 700c wheels that I
built up
> > myself.
> >
> >
> > << Now, I had to re-true this wheel today because several spokes
were
> > loose -> I assume I should put some spoke prep on them.
> >
> > Nope, just ensure the tension is proper, spoke prep or threadlock is
a
> crutch
> > for poor tension...
> >
> Having built wheels with both, spoke prep is easier to work with later
than
> thread lock. Locktite blue feels gummy after a while. I've been
lubing
> with ti prep/anti-seize lately. Seems to work.
>
> I do agree that poor tension is the bugaboo for wheel durability, but
I've
> seen what happens to wheels with insufficient lube on the nipples too.
IME,
> after a few years there's lots of galvanic corrosion, making doing
anything
> to the spokes almost impossible. I've had to chop spokes out of
wheels
> 'cause they couldn't be trued.

Gee, this has never been a problem for me. I use 30 weight, brass nipples and ride in the rain all
the time. I will get binding, but nothing that I cannot fix by removing the nipple and re-oiling the
spoke/hole. This is after 20 years in some cases. I also do not think there is much of an
anodic/cathodic difference between SS and brass such that it would cause galvanic corrosion in the
absence of lots of salt water. Aluminum may be a different story. -- Jay Beattie.