How To Tension And True A Freshly Built Bicycle Wheel
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- čas přidán 11. 09. 2024
- Awesome, you just successfully laced up a bicycle wheel!!! Now what? In this video, I run step by step through the process of getting the wheel into a rideable state that will last for many years and miles. In order to tension and true the wheel, a few basic tools are required. In this video, I use a Park Tools truing stand, a DT Swiss spoke wrench, a Milwaukee M12 cordless screwdriver with a homemade driver bit, and a Park Tool spoke tension meter.
You certainly don't need all these tools, but they do make the overall job easier. The wheel can be effectively tensioned and trued using a basic fixture such as the actual bicycle frame and/or fork using zip-tied as a gauge, although a wheel dishing tool would be helpful.
Although not as accurate, a good wheel can be built without a spoke tension meter by plucking the spokes and listen to the tone or just plain feel.
The one tool I would not skimp on is the spoke wrench. A good spoke wrench really makes a big difference by being more ergonomic to the fingers and fit the spoke nipple better making them less likely to slip and cause damage to the spoke nipple.
My favorite spoke wrench: amzn.to/33SwEMd
Park Tool spoke tension meter: amzn.to/3nGYbIk
Park Tool nipple driver: amzn.to/33NHIKy
Park Tool wheel dishing gauge: amzn.to/3lEb18y
Park Tool TS 2.2 truing stand: amzn.to/36ZcK4g
Milwaukee M12 cordless screwdriver kit: amzn.to/3nHED6x
Joey...great tutorial..I have built thousands of wheels and this is exactly how I build them..consistency is the key..truing, tension and dishing need to happen simultaneously..I usually rub beeswax on the spoke threads to lubricate and it acts like a mild thread lock..and a drop of oil between the rim spoke hole and nipple..I built my first wheel in 1975..I also make my own nipple driver and use a Stanley Yankee push drill..works great..
You're very welcome! Thank you for taking the time to share and leave feedback! I really appreciate it!!!
Impressive you can count the drill revolutions to keep them all even, gold star!
Thats amazing human calibration thanks
You're welcome!
Thank you. Great video. Just bought a 4.2 for my cave, for my wheels and to start offering a service. Good luck!
Great job Joey! Your videos really help me to understand more and more on how to build a wheel. Soon I'll start to build my rear wheel for the first time.
Awesome! Take your time and have fun! Good luck!
Good explanation, thanks.
You're welcome! Thanks for taking the time to comment!
AWESOME VIDEO THANK YOU SO MUCH 'TRUELY' EXCELLENT!!!!
You are very welcome
Very good the suggestion to use the white paper under the wheel!! Also I have used the tips of Park Tool first in the sides then after under the rim, never like this doing both at the same time! good !!
keep doing wheel videos!! I heard about this one at the facebook group.
Thanks! I've got more I'm currently working on. Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback, I appreciate it!
This is one if not THE best simple video out there! So many good advice and cool approaches in a single video. Would you advise to take the tyre down to fix the rim alignment. Over last 2 months tyre got some beating and it's about time to take care of it. On how many hours of riding would you do check?
Thanks for the question! You'll get the best results by removing the tire. It's much easier to get the radial runout dialed in. It really depends on how much riding you're doing and the abuse you're putting the wheels through. If you're concerned, just do a quick spin test to determine how round the wheels are, and a quick tension check by feeling for low tension spokes every few rides or so. I do a lot of commuting miles over varied terrain an I probably inspect my wheels every 6 months or so. Thanks for taking the time for your feedback and question! I appreciate it!
Nice video and thanks for the tips!
Dave
You're welcome! Thanks for taking the time t leave feedback, I really appreciate it!
🤔I wish i could do this, the spoke tension dropped on my rear wheel, when i installed the tyre😒hopefully the LBS will be able to retention it, the rim is still true, may be the spoke nipples haven't seated properly👍 great video👌
Thanks! I appreciate the feedback!
Great video! You kept mentioning a tension of....22, 23 on the drive side (based on the Park Tool tension chart). How do you calculate the tension for the other side?
Great Joey. A well built wheel dead-straight & round? With even tension on both sides, or even by dish & un-dished side? Will last forever with occassional tweaks.
Generally, the tension on the side with the hub flange closer to the center of the hub will also have higher tension than the opposing side. About the only thing with even tension on both sides would be a front, rim brake wheel.
Yes, you are more clear. I should have said even by side, steeper side tighter. 💛
Good work...
Thank you so much 😀
When you have completed lacing the wheel and you need to set the initial tension of all the spokes. How are you doing this? I was told to go around the wheel starting from the valve hole and turn each nipple two full turns. Keep doing this until the spokes have tension? It seems you just took some sort of electric drill and just went around the wheel and tighten them, wouldn't some spokes be tighter than others in that case?
how to truing if wobble up and down?
I've got several videos in a playlist of wheel building, truing and repairing:
czcams.com/video/UPTbrQR8H1k/video.html
I've got a video in particular that may be helpful for up and down or radial runout truing as well: czcams.com/video/UPTbrQR8H1k/video.html
thanks for sharing. so all the spokes need to have the same tension? or one side will have more? after truing mine, i was trying to use the app (measuring frequency) but as i started to increase the tension the wheel rapidily went out of true... thanks
Generally speaking, for a rear wheel the drive side will have higher tension, while for a front wheel with disc, the disc side will have a higher tension. For a V brake front wheel, it should be relatively equal.
Funny, I've watched dozens of wheelbuilding videos lately and not a single one of them mentions RIM TAPE. Has it gone out of style or something?
Rim tape is more of a specific tire/tube or tubeless thing, but not so much for wheel building. Whiskey tubeless tape for tubeless and Velox for tube style tires are my personal favorites though...
I find many bike mechanics don't know how to build wheels. Most can replace a spoke or two but building wheels is a bit of a lost art especially with all the machine built wheels today.
I agree! It seems like a lot of shops these days would rather sell a prebuilt wheel or replace a good wheel that's broken some spokes instead of rebuilding it. I've been trying to put out videos aimed at the production mechanic and share some of the things I know about building wheels in an efficient manner. Wheel building in general is still a pretty big segment, but it's kind of a hobbyist thing. Lot's of folks are into it and like to geek out over high tech gauges and stuff, but their build processes don't really translate well to working in a bike shop. Thanks for your feedback!
That was an excellent, detailed video. When you are initially tensioning the spokes with the electric driver, how do you make sure you are tightening them all to roughly the same distance? I have heard you take them all to the end of the threads? When I mess mine up badly enough I am going to bring them in and let you fix them. I am in Parker.
Good question! The driver bit I use has a protrusion that's about 3mm long. Once the nipple threads onto the spoke to the point of contacting the extrusion, it ejects the bit consistently off each nipple giving you a good starting point with all the nipples threaded onto the spokes evenly in a quick manner.
@@JoeyMesa Good to know. I am going to try to make a couple of those bits today. Thanks.
What does DT Swiss mean when they say “system weight”? They rate the tk540 at 130kg system weight. For a touring bike I guess they mean weight of rider, bike, and all cargo. Is that correct?
And where are the tension specs found for rims and hubs?
Not sure on exactly what "system weight" means, but rider weight + cargo sounds logical. DT has a chart on their website with the recommended maximum kgf on all models of DT rims.
125-130kg of tension? Im pleasantly surprised you go higher than 100kg since so many wheelbuilders dont aim for higher than 100kg and in my opinion and experience it makes the wheels less strong
Yes, the spoke tension on this particular wheel set is on the high side. DT recommends a max tension of about 122 Kgf, but that's across all their rims. This wheel set uses a pretty heavy duty DT free ride type rim, plus the rider I built these for is a pretty big guy who is an aggressive rider and prefers his wheels to be on the stiff side. Most wheels I build are generally in the 115-120 Kgf range, but it depends a lot on the wheel type, the size of the rider, and how they're going to be riding their bike.
@@JoeyMesa there is this myth around that spoke tension doesnt affect stiffness which Im glad you dont believe in