Question about spoke tension vs. true wheel

I spent an hour last week trying to true a wheel by just adjusting tension on each side, but it kept going out of round. Finally I realized I needed to release tension on the tight spokes first before tightening the loose ones. Has anyone else found that releasing is more important than tightening?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_jennifer1mo ago

Learned that the hard way too. Start with a tension meter and find the highest spots. Back those off a quarter turn each. Then work the low spots up. Makes the wheel way more stable long term.

avery_flores171mo ago

honestly yeah that was my exact issue when i first started. you think tightening is the answer but really you gotta back off the high spots first. i learned to use a pencil rubbing on the rim to find the high points quick, mark em, then back each one off a quarter turn. after that i work the low spots up with small quarter turns. way easier than chasing your tail for an hour.

william_garcia1mo ago

Pencil rubbing trick works great. Also learned to check spoke tension at the valve stem area first - those rims are usually thinnest there and throw everything off. Backing off the high spots first is key though. Most people just start cranking on loose spokes and make it worse. Quarter turns only, no big adjustments at once.