Spoke tension
A friend has a Park Tool spoke tension meter, which he has not used yet. I borrowed it to check my three sets of wheels. My winter wheels are a set of new Fulcrum Racing 5 LG, I have around 100km on them. Front wheel has 16 to 17 on the scale which is OK. The back wheel has 17 to 18 on the drive side and 13 or 14 on most and down to around 6 in about three. Tried to bring the NDS up to around 14 and the DS stayed at 17/18. I noticed a wobble in the wheel and the rim now was pulling to the NDS side. Returned the wheel to it orignal settings and the rim is true and centred......Next tried out my early 2017 Fulcrum quatro LG wheel set which have done around 2000km, and front OK at 16/17 and the rear was ok as well, DS at 17/18 and the NDS at 15...Next checked my Mavic Ksy Elite 15c 2014 wheelset. Front ok at 14. Back was like the Fulcrum ,5 NDS around 13 with about three at about 6.....Wheels seem ok, just wondering in case I will crake or twist the rim out on the road.
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don't assume that the meter is accurate
with care it may give reasonably consistent comparative readings, but as far as absolute value goes i'd be extremely wary
But, there's a lot to be said for "if it ain't broke don't fix it" as you could make matters worse. Also, with a used wheel spoke tension could be fighting a rim that doesn't want to run true. As the others have said if they are running straight and true without giving problems best bet is to leave well alone. If the uneven tension causes problems in future that is the time to fix it.
Marin Nail Trail
Cotic Solaris
I have always been reluctant to tinker too much on those low spoke count factory wheels, unless there was an obvious problem.
More on wheels here
https://whosatthewheel.com/2017/11/12/t ... -dynamics/
Thanks for that. My main question is will the loose spokes cause a problem in the near term. Yes the rim is true and I aways check the brakes after a wheel movement to make sure it is centered. In 12 years of tough cycling across Fulcrum 7, 5, quatro and Mavic wheels, I never broke a spoke of bent a rim,
Why not? If you are short of something to worry about ,OK worry about your spokes. Otherwise I suggest you chill out and ride your bike.
essentially this is the thing with factory wheels they appear round and true but this sometimes (not always) comes at the expense of spoke tension uneveness. This is also one of the reasons why spokes break. Also you dont just raise the NDS spoke tension. You have to raise the DS as well to keep the rim centred. The problem is what is 18 on the Tm-1 how close are you to the tension limit of the rim. campag wheels are tensioned to 1300-1500N DS so I would not be raising the spoke tension any further. Also any twist in the spoke will affect your tension measurements so you may have a false idea of the ammount of variation. In short leave well alone. when a spoke breaks replace the wheel.
If the wheel is out of true correct it.
It is not about price so much £300 to £400 can get you a light enough, stiff reliable wheelset from many builders or manufacturers. I build wheels cheaper than that they are still reliable but are heavier.
You throw your current wheels away when a spoke breaks or you replace all the spokes.
Any good wheel is stiff. Many wheels described as stiff when riding are actually not. Stiffness (lataral and radial) is important for spoke life but little else. The stiffer wheel wheel the lower the spoke count can be.