Author Topic: Recommendation for spoke tension meter  (Read 1141 times)

SirBikealot

Recommendation for spoke tension meter
« on: August 08, 2024, 10:30:07 AM »
Hi guys,
maybe i'm blind (okay i have some thick glasses ;D) but i can't find any thread about spoke tension meters.
But i need one because my new wheel set finally settled and now some spokes need retentioning.
Are there any recommendations or is the park tool the only one that really works?



Wet Noodle

Re: Recommendation for spoke tension meter
« Reply #1 on: August 10, 2024, 05:03:03 AM »
...or is the park tool the only one that really works?

Ehh? Just wondering about the phrasing. Park tool may have earned a good reputation with some of their tools, but in spoke tension meters, theirs is not really the gold-standard be-all end-all kind of thing (if anything, it's more on the lower end of the spectrum, kinda pricey for what it is, tbh, but park tool).

If you're talking about round spokes in large wheels, almost any type could give you somewhat repeatable readings. With thin bladed spokes or small wheels (little space between crossings or spoke ends), things get a little more complicated. Also, tension meters may need a little practice and a steady hand.

Personally, I only use thin bladed spokes and prefer the Brandt design (I have an older Wheel Fanatyk, but there are also those from that Polish guy) over the pliers style ones.

courdacier

Re: Recommendation for spoke tension meter
« Reply #2 on: October 22, 2024, 03:52:55 PM »
they all work, but I don't think calibration is always right. if you measure a good wheel, whatever it reads is what you try to match w/new wheels.
having built a bunch of wheels now over the course of a year, you can just skip the tension meter altogether.
pick a good wheel you want to replicate and pluck a few spokes to check what they sound like.
get the wheel that needs truing and pluck each spoke on one side like you would with a guitar string - pick the highest pitch and tension up the other spokes that sound like they are more loose/lower pitch to match it.
Alternatively, don't worry about tension altogether and fix the spots that are out of true.
building wheels is "secretly easy (TM)"