That shop owner in Minneapolis told me my spoke tensions were all wrong

I was building wheels pretty happy with myself until this old timer watched me for 5 minutes and just shook his head. He said I was chasing the gauge instead of listening to the wheel. I changed my whole method right there, started using a tension meter as a check instead of a guide. Now I spend way more time on truing and stress relieving before I even touch the meter. It felt like starting over but my wheels don't come back with broken spokes anymore. Has anyone else had a shop vet totally change their approach to something basic?

3 comments

3 Comments

jana50911d ago

That spoke tension meter turned into a paperweight after the old timer taught me to listen.

the_laura10d ago

@jana509 that "old timer taught me to listen" bit reminds me of the time my grandpa fixed my bike chain with a stick and a rock.

the_faith10d ago

Agreed with the "listening to the wheel" approach, that really changed how I work too. @the_laura mentioned the stick and rock repair and it's crazy how much you can learn from people who've been doing this forever. Getting humbled by a shop vet is honestly the best thing that can happen to your builds.