A mechanic friend told me my spoke tension was way too high on a wheel build - changed everything

I was building a rear wheel for a touring bike and had the tension cranked up to make it 'bombproof', but a buddy who's been building wheels for 20 years said I was risking rim cracks and broken spokes. He showed me using a tensiometer that my readings were over the max spec by 15%, and I had to back it all off and retension the whole thing. Has anyone else had a seasoned mechanic call them out on a bad habit that totally shifted how you do the work?

2 comments

2 Comments

harper_singh1813d ago

Yeah, over-tensioning is a rookie mistake that never ends well.

harris.emma12d ago

Oh man, this hits too close to home. My uncle, who's been fixing bikes since before I was born, caught me doing the exact same thing on a cheap hybrid wheel. He just laughed and said "You're gonna crack that rim before you even hit a pothole." Had me redo the whole thing with his old school spoke ruler and everything. Made me realize most of us just crank away without thinking, trying to make things "strong." It wasn't until I snapped a spoke on a ride later that I fully got why tension matters so much.