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Counter-position: I've built lots of wheels, and raced on them (off road -- Canada Cup, NORBA, World Cup) and I have built wheels loading them up w/ stress (st

by bch 11y ago

Counter-position: I've built lots of wheels, and raced on them (off road -- Canada Cup, NORBA, World Cup) and I have built wheels loading them up w/ stress (standing on them) based on conversations w/ other people, trading stories, etc., but after reading Jobst Brandts "The Bicycle Wheel" I chalk up those practices more to "voodoo" than science. Mind that the spoke will twist when you're tightening the nipple. Tighten evenly. Tighten in small increments. Tighten tight. Then relieve the twist in the spokes. The "pings" and noises you hear from a wheel are the twisted spokes snapping back into a position they really want to be in. They're twisted because the builder didn't relieve that twist as a finishing touch on the build. I have a 26" Mavic 517 laced to a Paul Components WORD hub with Wheelsmith Competition 14/15g spokes that I raced from ~1995 - 2005, and I still have it. True as the day I built it, and not adjusted after the build. Edit: add spoke specs.

stinos 11y ago
Hmm, fair point actually. To be honest in all wheels I built after reading Sheldon's article I applied everything ('loading' the wheel, proper tension, relieving twist - I now notice I did't even properly describe that in my original comment) at once. And then assumed rather blindly all of the techniques mattered. After all, I did finally have nice wheels. But now I realize, due to lack of evidence it might just as well be those wheels are all ok due to just one or two of those factors while others are in fact voodoo or don't do much at all. Thanks for bringing attention to that. And I'll definitely get a copy of that book.
- bch 11y ago
  to be clear -- leaning on the wheel and forcing the "pings" to happen by stressing has the effect of putting the spokes where they want to be, but I think mostly people don't know why, so it's basically cargo-cult building. The alternative is realize what's going on (ahh! Torsional stress!), fix it (take your spoke wrench, back off spokes a fraction of a turn) and get them setup, knowing exactly what's going on, and not resorting to cargo-cult methods.

by bch 11y ago

stinos 11y ago

Hmm, fair point actually. To be honest in all wheels I built after reading Sheldon's article I applied everything ('loading' the wheel, proper tension, relieving twist - I now notice I did't even properly describe that in my original comment) at once. And then assumed rather blindly all of the techniques mattered. After all, I did finally have nice wheels. But now I realize, due to lack of evidence it might just as well be those wheels are all ok due to just one or two of those factors while others are in fact voodoo or don't do much at all. Thanks for bringing attention to that. And I'll definitely get a copy of that book.

bch 11y ago
to be clear -- leaning on the wheel and forcing the "pings" to happen by stressing has the effect of putting the spokes where they want to be, but I think mostly people don't know why, so it's basically cargo-cult building. The alternative is realize what's going on (ahh! Torsional stress!), fix it (take your spoke wrench, back off spokes a fraction of a turn) and get them setup, knowing exactly what's going on, and not resorting to cargo-cult methods.