Keeping your Spokes In Tune
If you’ve ever heard the term “ Tuning Spokes”, it’s no myth. It’s as simple as tapping a wrench on each individual spoke and listening to the tone it emits. They all should be fairly close, so it you should happen across one that sounds dead, it’s too loose. It one sounds too much higher than the others, it’s too tight. It left unattended, this could cause your rim to warp.
I usually check mine after I’ve been on a long haul down some less than desirable roadways that lurk in most every state. I actually like these type of highways because they usually offer the best scenery. If I’ve just been doing everyday riding, I usually check them monthly or right before a weekend run. Word of warning, If you live in the city and like to do heavy acceleration after the light turns green, then you need to pay closer attention to your rear wheel. Heavy acceleration on a regular basis puts a pretty good strain on your spokes and could loosen because of stretching. People who run mags don’t have this problem.
This is what the spoke wrench looks like and is available at places like J&P Cycles on the net.
If you’ve ever heard the term “ Tuning Spokes”, it’s no myth. It’s as simple as tapping a wrench on each individual spoke and listening to the tone it emits. They all should be fairly close, so it you should happen across one that sounds dead, it’s too loose. It one sounds too much higher than the others, it’s too tight. It left unattended, this could cause your rim to warp.
I usually check mine after I’ve been on a long haul down some less than desirable roadways that lurk in most every state. I actually like these type of highways because they usually offer the best scenery. If I’ve just been doing everyday riding, I usually check them monthly or right before a weekend run. Word of warning, If you live in the city and like to do heavy acceleration after the light turns green, then you need to pay closer attention to your rear wheel. Heavy acceleration on a regular basis puts a pretty good strain on your spokes and could loosen because of stretching. People who run mags don’t have this problem.
This is what the spoke wrench looks like and is available at places like J&P Cycles on the net.