Hi guys,

I recently tightened my spokes with a spoke wrench and then after i passed 60kmh my bike felt like it had a slight wabble. I loosened them off and now the wabble is gone, but they just feel a bit loose too me, but i don't wanna get that wabble again. I don't have a torque spoke wrench, do u guys have any tips on how to get the right tension on your spokes?

Thanks guys.

 

I don't have a spoke torque wrench either.
I pick one spoke and tighten it just a pinch tighter then firm.
I can't describe it better than that, nice and snug.
Then tap it with your spanner and it will give a nice sweet tone.
Not too high pitched, just right.
You sort get the feel of it.
Then tweak them until the tone is more or less the same.
The front should be a slightly lower tone than the rear.

 

Awesome thanks for the advice mate.

 

No wuckers.

 

Yep you tune them just like a piano.......OK not quite but the sound will be a dead give away on the adjustment.

 

I learned today that not all the spokes will sound the same. Something like you "tune" every 4th spoke to match. You need to find out how many spokes down you need to go, because the spokes don't just run straight through the hub, they form an angle and back down into the rim.

Basically you tune, count 4 (or whatever the # is), tune that one to the first one, go all the way around to the 1st one you did. Count one over, tune it, count, tune...etc. etc.

Hope that makes sense.

Getting a SM wheel trued today...I like small shops, ask the right questions and you can learn a lot.

 

be careful, definitely learn the proper way to do it. you'll end up with an out of true rim or worse, one that buckles mid ride....

 

Just spin the wheel and tap the spokes with a spanner (yes, english) as they go by. Any loose ones will give a different tone. Should have a uniform sound as the wheel is spun.

 

Tightening spokes is somewhat of an music form. I just lightly tap each spoke to hear if it rings. If I find one with a dead sound (no ring), first I look for anything that is touching the spoke. If nothing, I'll give the spoke an 1/8 of turn and re-tap it. It should produce an ring, if it still doesn't, I may give it one more 1/8 turn and just move on to the next.

 

So when I coast with no hands and the bike pulls to the left, would this be a result of improperly torqued spokes? I've never touched my spokes but I have noticed the bike now pulls to the left when I ride with no hands.