-1

The day a customer corrected my spoke tension technique... and was right

So last month a guy rolls in with this beat up road bike, and I'm about to true the rear wheel. I grab my spoke wrench and he just goes, "You're going to go quarter turns, aren't you? That's why my last two wheels cracked." I laughed it off, but then he showed me the hairline cracks around the nipples. Turns out I was over-tightening every other spoke, putting too much stress on the rim. I switched to eighth turns and used a tensiometer after every pass, which I used to think was overkill. Now my builds roll smoother and I haven't seen a warranty return in 6 weeks. Anyone else had a know-it-all customer who actually knew it all? What's the oddest tip you've taken from one?

2 comments

2 Comments

rowan72520d ago

Came to say the same thing basically. I had a old timer come in with a touring bike and he watched me skip the dish stick and just said "youre gonna hate yourself in two months when that wheel starts pulling". He was dead on. I used to think tension meters were for shops with too much money but now I use mine every single build. Its insane how much smoother the ride is when you even out the tension instead of just guessing by feel. Half the "comebacks" I used to get were probably caused by my own lazy habits, not the parts.

vera30820d ago

Honestly, that’s gold right there. I had a similar thing happen with a commuter who insisted I check the spoke tension after every single pass with a cheap little gauge he brought in his bag. I thought he was being extra, but after I tried it on my own bike, I noticed the wheel stopped making that weird pinging sound on hard turns. Now I use a tensiometer on every build too, not just for shop builds but for my personal ones as well. It’s wild how much difference it makes when you stop relying on feel and actually let the numbers guide you. That customer literally saved me from a blown rim on a gravel bike a month later.