You are hereForums / By Discipline / Mountain (off road) / MTB Gear / Spoke tightening
Spoke tightening
NB: Originally posted elsewhere on the Global Riders Network and appears via syndication.
I've noticed I've got a couple of spokes that aren't as tight as the rest.
What's the procedure for tightening them? Is it as simple as taking the tyre and tube off, gripping the nipple and tightening the screw? Only reason I ask is that I don't want to pull the wheel out of true.
- Login to post comments
- Bookmark & share
Tags
No need to remove anything, it can be done on the bike and is easier as you can use the frame of the bike as reference for seeing if the rim is straight or not.
you will need a tool that grips the 4 sided nipples. can buy or make one (if handy with metal)
you simply tighten the nipple (like a nut on a bolt) by winding it down towards the axle, putting the spoke in more tension.
tightening a spoke that say goes to the right side of the hub will pull the rim towards the right and vice versa. That is how you straighten a rim.
Truing a rim in respect to up and down is much harder to do!
Tune them by sound. They should all make a "Plink" sound. If one makes a "Plunk" sound then it needs tightening up. Only tighten each one a little bit as its tension affects spokes on the other side of the wheel. If you do one up too tight in one go it can put a wobble in the wheel. Also keep in mind the dish of the wheel, the roundness and eccentricity. If you hold onto the forks or frame so that your thumbnail is just touching the rim, then give the wheel a gentle spin you'll soon spot any problems.
or instead of using a thumbnail try using a cable tie
Thanks for your help guys.
I gave them a bit of a tighten before I went out this morning but when I was cleaning the bike on the stand afterwards, I noticed that the same ones and a couple of others are loose again. Also, when I spin the wheel, it has a slight buckle of about 10mm on the opposite side to the loose spokes.
To play it safe I'm going to take it to the LBS and get it sorted then keep a closer eye on the tightness.
Anyone have a rough idea of what a shop would charge for this?
about 20 bucks depending on how much work is involved, but if the wheel is relatively straight then as a rule of thumb you tighten the ones opposite the buckle (provided you haven't buckled the rim hitting an object in which case you should loosen the tight side first otherwise you can't tighten the loose side enough too pull the buckle in and that is not what tightening spokes is for generally, i have hit this snag once before)
I generally tighten them between a quarter of a turn to half a turn depending where the spoke is in relation to the buckle, if its less buckled then quarter turn, if its more buckled then half turn, i keep following this process with a quick spin in between each pass and i usually can get it to about 98% straight (im no pro)
10mm is a significant change in left/right truing of a rim, given this, a best bet if you are unfamiliar with wheel truing is to take it to a shop (which you are doing anyway)