Tightening Spokes

[johngroves]

Hi,

Just looking for a few pointers really. I've noticed that a couple of my spokes are loose and need tightening. I visited the local shop and he charges GBP£20.00 per wheel for having your spokes tightened.

If I were to tighten my own spokes, what do I need to look out for and how do I know how much tension each spoke should have?

BTW - Just bought a Triple Spoke Wrench.

Cheers,

John

 

[capwater]

It's not nearly as simple as just tightening your spokes. Many different factors involved; lateral true, radial true, spoke tension, etc. You need to understand how a wheel is built. Here's a good link on wheel truing.

http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=81

It's not rocket science (what would a rocket scientist use for a phrase?), but it does take a bit of practice and patience.

 

[kdelong]

It's not nearly as simple as just tightening your spokes. Many different factors involved; lateral true, radial true, spoke tension, etc. You need to understand how a wheel is built. Here's a good link on wheel truing.

http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=81

It's not rocket science (what would a rocket scientist use for a phrase?), but it does take a bit of practice and patience.

The information in the link is accurate but the Typical Tools Required is not. You can use any trueing stand, or even your bike frame to true your wheels. Park Tools Trueing Stands are excellent quality tools for a bike shop but a little pricey for home use. There are less expensive home trueing stands on the market.

A little off the subject, but while in the Navy, we had a reserve unit from New Smyrna Beach, FL come on board my ship for training. I was tasked with training a fellow on how to warm up and operate the main steam turbine engines. He was having a difficult time understanding the sequence of events and why they had to be done in a certain order. I became a little exasperated and told him that it was not exactly rocket science. We took a little break and I asked him what his civilian job was. His answer," I'm an engineer with NASA."

 

[dw_moto]

I like Park Tools. They are worth the extra cash. I have a pro truing stand from Park that is 30 years old and still in perfect condition.

The link capwater gave you is good but I want to add two things.

1) When you are adjusting your spokes always adjust them in sets of two. If you need to adjust for a bulge to the right of the rim, you will tighten two left spokes (and vice versa). If you need to adjust for a bulge away from the hub, you will tighten a left and a right spoke.

2) Don't forget to lubricate your spokes. It's the one thing I always forget and it easy to snap a spoke if you don't.

 

[daveornee]

Hi,

Just looking for a few pointers really. I've noticed that a couple of my spokes are loose and need tightening. I visited the local shop and he charges GBP£20.00 per wheel for having your spokes tightened.

If I were to tighten my own spokes, what do I need to look out for and how do I know how much tension each spoke should have?

BTW - Just bought a Triple Spoke Wrench.

Cheers,

John

Understand why you lost tension is an important step.
If you damaged the rim then retensioning the spokes will result in a wheel that is even less true. The Park Tool link provided will help you with the tools. Manufactrer specification will tell you what tension is correct for your rim.

 

[dhk2]

Understand why you lost tension is an important step.
If you damaged the rim then retensioning the spokes will result in a wheel that is even less true. The Park Tool link provided will help you with the tools. Manufactrer specification will tell you what tension is correct for your rim.

+1. Spokes shouldn't just "loosen" as a random event. A competent wheel builder should advise if it's worth retensioning the spokes or better to rebuild with new components.