Wheel truing how difficult

[Red Light]

samid thanks for the info,I think I will come into this at a slow pace maybe picking up the spoke keys and the spoke tentioner,and doing the day course at edinburgh co-op before I spend big bucks on the truing stand,this way I can take the tools with me and use under supervision.I usually find most of these things is the thought of messing up.that puts the fear of not touching into the equation,but taking a cavalier approach if i mess up the shop can always fix it,allows you to go thru the learning curve.

jackthelad

Its pretty easy to do. You just need to remember to always work the spokes in pairs and the following three tensioning rules.

• Loosening one and tightening its pair on the other side pulls the rim towards the tightened spoke,
• Tightening both pulls the rim in radially
• Tightening one and loosening the other of a pair on the same side evens the tension without moving the rim

 

[samid]

If you are not tone deaf, plucking the spokes is much quicker and much more accurate than a tension meter.

As I wrote in my post - I am tone deaf Also, I can see how plucking may be quicker - but why would it be "much more" accurate?

I would disagree about absolute tension and its more important than absolute evenness IMO. You need to get a good high tension set either by one of the nipples becoming too hard to turn or on thinner rims by the wheel going pretzel shaped on stress relieving then backing off a turn on all spokes and re-truing (the Jobst Brandt test).

Absolute tension is important, no doubt about it. And a tension meter provides a good way to set it to a reasonable value. As for taco-ing the wheel and backing off - this probably works for some rims (Jobst, IIRC, used MA-2 exclusively, at least that followed from hist posts on usenet) but not for all. So IMHO - a tension meter is a much better way to do it.

You should on each turn of the spoke key overturn and then back off to stop the spoke being twisted down its length. You can do it by feel with experience but initially the little flag pointers help get it right.

Absolutely. A very good point. And actually you pretty fast get a feel for how much to overturn and back off.

 

[Red Light]

As I wrote in my post - I am tone deaf Also, I can see how plucking may be quicker - but why would it be "much more" accurate?

The ear, providing you are not tone deaf, can discern much smaller percentage differences than you can read on tension meter

Absolute tension is important, no doubt about it. And a tension meter provides a good way to set it to a reasonable value. As for taco-ing the wheel and backing off - this probably works for some rims (Jobst, IIRC, used MA-2 exclusively, at least that followed from hist posts on usenet) but not for all. So IMHO - a tension meter is a much better way to do it.

And a relatively expensive way that needs quite a few wheels to justify plus you have the problem of deciding what your target tension should be. The pretzel test works on lighter rims and if they are stronger than that then the nipple too tight to tighten test works. The result is a wheel with the maximum tension for those components every time.

 

[screenman]

I am confused, how does turning the wheel around check the correct dish? For sure I can understand on a front wheel but are backs not offset somewhat.

 

[Poacher]

Accepted wisdom is that the rim should be central between the locknuts, so turning the wheel round and checking that the rim is in the same position should do the same job as a dishing tool. That said, I tend to flout convention and build rear wheels with rather less dish than normal, accepting the resulting problems of brake adjustment - not really too much of a problem with cantilevers or even v-brakes, and none (I imagine) with disc brakes.The result is a wheel with less likelihood of breaking drive-side spokes, and with more even spoke tension.

There's maybe a good argument for having drive-side chainstays and seatstays offset, and I'm aware that some rims are made with offset holes.

(Mind you, I also flout convention by not wearing a helmet - whoops!)

 

[HLaB]

I don't know much about spoke tension but I've found for tweaking a rim back in true its not that hard.

The wheel is fine now

 

[GrumpyGregry]

That's because you're using the wrong book. Get The Bicycle Wheel by Jobst Brandt and follow his instructions, especially for setting the tension and stress relieving. I never bother to check my wheels because they stay true all the time and have done for 10 years in some cases and they are wheels that get hard use including off-road tandems.

I said I check them, I didn't say I ever found anything wrong!

 

[Red Light]

I said I check them, I didn't say I ever found anything wrong!

Ah but the only reason for checking them is because you're worried they might be wrong

 

[samid]

The pretzel test works on lighter rims and if they are stronger than that then the nipple too tight to tighten test works. The result is a wheel with the maximum tension for those components every time.

What is the "nipple too tight to tighten test"? How exactly does it work?

 

[Andy_R]

What is the "nipple too tight to tighten test"? How exactly does it work?

Not sure what the test entails exactly, but I do know it has to be done on a very cold morning

 

[PpPete]

Decent set of spoke wrenches....for not much dosh http://www.wiggle.co.uk/lifeline-tr...wig&utm_adgroup=lifeline_Triple Spoke Key Set

 

[Red Light]

What is the "nipple too tight to tighten test"? How exactly does it work?

Increase the tension all round to the point where one or more nipples become too tight to turn.

 

[c4rver]

And someone said it was easy.................