How much spoke tension?

[ryandood]

How do I know how tight to make my spokes? I can tell they need some tension but how much, I do not know. I think Dave from Adrenaline told me it was kinda just feeling it and knowing so this sort of leads me to believe I should have a pro do it.

I'm have access to a sh*tty truing stand that doesn't have have the self-centering 'hands' or whatever they are called and have a very basic idea of what to do but it doesn't seem that difficult.

Is it possible to permanently ruin my wheels by screwing up or can my shiesty truing job be remedied by a pro?

Thanks for any input.

[guero]

whatever you do, don't let jasonmason do it for you, i've witnessed him snap two spokes on two different rides. actually, one was before the ride even started!

[genusmtbkr5]

Take it to a shop and let them do it or you will end up with wobble both up and down and side to side and they'll have to fix it anyway. Unless you have done it before or have a spare wheel to practice on, just let the pros do it.

[DirtymikeTDB]

Use a tension meter, it will depend on what type of spoke, round, aero, steel aluminum. double butted ETC.

[26'er Zen Master]

Ryan go into a shop. As you tension one spoke you pull another it is a tricky process and too much tension can severly ruin a wheel.

[DBD]

If yer musically inclined you can tune by ear using the pitch of the spoke

Read here
Tunning by Pitch

It is a bit more difficult but doable

[el_d00der1n0]

For me, it was helpful to have a known good wheel around. I compared the pitch to the one I was building. Don't twist too much -- maybe a quarter turn at a time, and apply the same turn all the way around ( use the stem hole as a marker).

According to Zinn, you're supposed to back out a little to let the spoke sort of normalize.

You'll have to get good at using the up and down feelers on your stand. To me, that's the hardest part to straighten. When you're working on the left and right, you loosen one side and tighten the other. Up and down, you loosen or tighten both sides to bring it down and up respectively.

[autoduel]

Originally Posted by el_d00der1n0

For me, it was helpful to have a known good wheel around. I compared the pitch to the one I was building. Don't twist too much -- maybe a quarter turn at a time, and apply the same turn all the way around ( use the stem hole as a marker).

Keep in mind that thinner spokes require higher tensions. So apples to apples. Use the pitch to compare tension from spoke to spoke. Just like using a Y-wrench, you get a feel of how tight a nipple gets when twisting.

[2wheel_lee]

There was a time whan I was quite proficient at tensioning wheels by tune. But that was when I was doing a lot of wheels regularly. I don't do as many wheels these days, and so lately I've been using a Park TM-1 spoke tension meter. Oh man, did I wish I had one of these back in the day!
http://parktool.com/products/detail....t=16&item=TM-1#

[ryandood]

It looks like I am going to have to bring my wheels into a shop, I'd rather not ruin my gear.

Originally Posted by 26'er Zen Master

Ryan go into a shop. As you tension one spoke you pull another it is a tricky process and too much tension can severly ruin a wheel.

I've been meaning to bring my wheels in but everytime I call the shop you're not in. I'll just try again when I'm free.

Thanks for all the responses guys.