spoke tension

[ayceejay]

I am having a problem with a wheel but I know nothing about wheel building. Just out of curiosity I plucked some spokes and some went ding and some went dun. Should they all sound the same? Which sound is correct? Are the dings too tight or the duns too loose?

 

[drummerbod]

I'm not an expert, I have only trued one wheel but I found the sound irrellevant.

 

[Spoked Wheels]

They should sound about the sane tone, don't expect identical though... rims aren't perfect

If any sound lower than the average then they might need a bit more tension.

Drive side and non drive side use different tension so keep that in mind.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

On the back wheel, the left side spokes go ding. The right side spokes go dung.
On a disc brake front wheel, the left side goes ding, the right also go dung.
On a rim brake front wheel, both sides go dung.
On the so-called bomb-proof wheels everyone goes on about, I presume all the spokes go bang.
If all of that's too confusing, make like an American and go dang.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

I'm not an expert, I have only trued one wheel but I found the sound irrellevant.

Only the first part of your statement is true.

 

[rualexander]

On the back wheel, the left side spokes go ding. The right side spokes go dung.
On a disc brake front wheel, the left side goes ding, the right also go dung.
On a rim brake front wheel, both sides go dung.
On the so-called bomb-proof wheels everyone goes on about, I presume all the spokes go bang.
If all of that's too confusing, make like an American and go dang.

Other way round isn't it? Rear wheel drive side (right side) would be ding as spoke tension is higher?

 

[drummerbod]

On a disc brake front wheel, the left side goes ding, the right also go dung.
On a rim brake front wheel, both sides go dung.

So when I went from from rim brakes to disc brakes on my front wheel I should have tightened the left side (disc side)?

 

[Mobytek]

Ding Dung Dong boooiiiinnnngggggg

Go round and pinch two adjacent on the same side, give them a squeeze and see which are loose and which are overly tight.

Point of spokes is to pull the wheel straight so that the torque can be transmitted from the hum to the rim. If you put a rim into a vice and tried to pedal you;d see how much spokes flex and move.

When you install a spoke it can stretch upto 2mm, thats how much force is applied via the nipples so having a straight wheel by way of stupidly uneven spoke tension is worse than having having spoke tensions equal all round but a wonky wheel. There;s a fine line between the two.

so ding, dong dung thud - has a place but nothing is gospel - (except the gospel!)

 

[ayceejay]

I am sure you have something valid to say about this Moby but I don't get it. Can I use my plucking method to attain an even tension and a true wheel?

 

[Yellow Saddle]

I am sure you have something valid to say about this Moby but I don't get it. Can I use my plucking method to attain an even tension and a true wheel?

No you cant get a perfectly true wheel by spoke tension tone alone. The reason for that is that a perfectly true wheel does not have even spoke tension and a wheel with even spoke tension cannot be perfectly true. Reason for that again is that the rim is not of equal strength all the way around. The weakest point is the valve hole and strongest point, the welded joint. Also, an aluminium rim is an extrusion, which means that it is not perfectly uniform.
Carbon wheels are worse. Their manufacturing procedure leaves them with huge discrepancies between strong and weak sections.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

Other way round isn't it? Rear wheel drive side (right side) would be ding as spoke tension is higher?

Yup, I was standing on my head when typing this, it seems. But you get the picture.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

So when I went from from rim brakes to disc brakes on my front wheel I should have tightened the left side (disc side)?

That question cannot be answered due to lack of data. Elaborate.

 

[ayceejay]

Thanks YT - so the sound variation is a sign of nothing or something way more complicated than my harp playing would indicate to an untrained ear (me)?

 

[Yellow Saddle]

Thanks YT - so the sound variation is a sign of nothing or something way more complicated than my harp playing would indicate to an untrained ear (me)?

I think even an untrained ear would be able to identify a completely slack spoke. However, other indicators would also have ID'd it - such as severe brake rub at the spot. I suggest the layman shouldn't bother with plucking spokes and just keep an eye on the gap between rim and brake. That leaves us more time for riding and drinking a beer at the end of it.

 

[drummerbod]

That question cannot be answered due to lack of data. Elaborate.

I had rim brakes on the front. I removed them. I put a disc brake on the front. The rotor is fitted to the left side of the wheel. According to your thought process changing from rim brakes to disc brakes means one should tighthen the spokes on the rotor side.