Spoke tension niggle

attica

Hi, I'll be riding a big sportive in a couple of weeks, last year I did it and I broke a spoke right at the top of one of the bigger climbs, back wheel wouldn't go around, kind of ruined my day as I was stationery for 50 minutes before the mechanics set me on my way, I think I was borderline hypothermic by then, so I sat up and did the short course.

Gave my bike a check over the other day and something is niggling...

Firstly it's a different set of wheels to last year, trashed the old ones in a grating in Mallorca.
Less than 6 month old Mavic Aksium (all I could afford at short notice)
The back wheel appears true as you like, but one of the spokes when pinged gives a really flat note compared to all the others, meaning it's probably not as taut as the others. (can't remember which side though D'Oh)
Secondly, when I'm climbing, I can hear spoke twang like I've never heard before, is this normal?

I don't maintain my own wheels, get my LBS to do it as it's beyond me, but I hope I understand the basics.

Should I get this wheel looked at before such a big ride?

I really don't want to end up stranded at the top of Dunkery Beacon in the cold again.

dennisn

If you think something is wrong I would get it looked at. Otherwise you'll drive yourself
crazy worrying about it on the ride. Determining spoke tension can be tricky unless
you have a tension meter and / or really know what you are doing. Even when using a tension meter you will find that not all spokes on a "perfect wheel" are of the same
tension. Whatever you do don't just tighten a spoke because you think there is a problem.
Wheel building and truing is not all that difficult once you get the hang of it. Key words being "get the hang of it". Take your wheel to the shop and watch what they do. They
shouldn't have a problem with you watching as you say you have all your work done at shops. Ask questions and observe and maybe you'll bet the bug to work on your own
bike and wheels.

Dennis Noward

attica

Thanks Dennis

I've been pondering this subject since I posted it and thinking "yup, I should just get it into a shop post haste"

Next stop, a decent set of wheels.

Dear Santa....

synchronicity

I'd still get it checked out, especially if it's on the left side... and I'm willing to bet that it is. Sometimes it can be worth tightening the offending loose spoke, and also tightening an adjacent spoke on the drive side by about the same amount (assuming it's perfectly true, choose whichever of the 2 drive-side spokes is a bit looser).

Why?
It makes the wheel a little less round, but laterally it remains true (which is more important for braking). In my humble opinion, it's more important to have an evenly tensioned wheel than a perfectly true one.

When truing a wheel, you can only pick two of the following:
1) Laterally true
2) Radially true
3) Even spoke tension

I once read an article that says you should true spokes in groups of fours, but often it doesn't work that way... just be sure you don't exceed the max. tension of the rim. You'll know if you do that, as the rim will suddenly become a potato crisp shape with additional tightening.

attica

Thanks for the insight Synchro.
I get the feeling that I'm just at the start of a very long learning curve when it comes to wheels!