Preventative spoke maintenance ?

[JerryHawk250]

Originally Posted by Bill Hilly

Does anyone know what size the spokes nipples (pardon my French.LOL) are on the TBR7 ? I figure the Hawk is the same size. I see a lot of sub $10.00 spoke wrenches. Some are open end on both ends, with each jaw fitting about 3 sizes,and resemble a bow tie, and some are round rings with several notches. I searched on Amazon, specifically for motorcycle spoke wrenches, but bicycle wrenches also came up in the search.

I never really paid attention to the size. I just grab one of my smallest open end wrenches that fit and you it. lol No special tools needed.

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by JerryHawk250

I'll wait for that "Where can I find a TBR7 rim?" thread. lol As megadan and i described, it's a quick check and snug up the loose spokes. Just go over to the Hawk FB page and see how many busted up front rims you find on there.

At least the OP is looking for good advise which we should be giving.

The bikes with the smaller rim diameters are less prone to taco wheel than the 21 inch front on the Hawk. That big skinny front rim is a lot more prone to bending so the spoke checks are much more crucial.

Broken spokes on the other hand will happen to them all - especially the rear. That's an every other day post on Facebook. "Where can I get spokes" You ask if they ever tightened or checked the spokes and you get "no." Followed by a few people saying they have never touched their spokes in XXXX miles and it doesn't need to be done. That in turn is read by lazy new people who don't do it and then break spokes or taco their wheel. I hate people that say that "I never did it so it is obviously ok" stuff for that reason. Just because you got lucky doesn't make it correct. Stop.

[buzz]

ya ya ya

[Thumper]

Most of us do not have a truing stand

But the mounted wheel has "reference points" on the the forks or swingarm. You can even clamp something to the fork or swingarm that puts a reference right up against the wheel. This makes even minor out of round obvious, and tells you which spokes to loosen or tighten.

Yes, the plink method detects loose spokes and when most spoke are adjusted correctly, this works OK. But without the truing reference you are truly working blind.

A combination of sound (plink) and position (reference position) is a good compromise. Don't make large adjustments if the spoke isn't loose. Half turn at most, and spin it to see what the effect was...Take your time and use the reference to help you make it round and straight. A wobbly wheel is horrible at speed, and just plain dangerous.

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by Thumper

Most of us do not have a truing stand

But the mounted wheel has "reference points" on the the forks or swingarm. You can even clamp something to the fork or swingarm that puts a reference right up against the wheel. This makes even minor out of round obvious, and tells you which spokes to loosen or tighten.

Yes, the plink method detects loose spokes and when most spoke are adjusted correctly, this works OK. But without the truing reference you are truly working blind.

A combination of sound (plink) and position (reference position) is a good compromise. Don't make large adjustments if the spoke isn't loose. Half turn at most, and spin it to see what the effect was...Take your time and use the reference to help you make it round and straight. A wobbly wheel is horrible at speed, and just plain dangerous.

Not sure why you think you need a truing stand to do simple spoke maintenance. You aren't truing the wheel. Just going through the spokes and giving them all a snug up and the same amount of a turn. I've never needed a truing stand or a reference point to do spoke maintenance. Ever. I have also never had a wheel go out of true from a basic spoke check in my life.

That now said I would also suggest adding a truing/balancing stand to your tool set. I have a Tusk version that is currently 80 bucks and it's nothing fancy but it works. Harbor Freight sells one online for 50 bucks. Likely just as good as the Tusk stand and it has pretty darn good reviews.

[Thumper]

Originally Posted by Megadan

Not sure why you think you need a truing stand to do simple spoke maintenance. You aren't truing the wheel. Just going through the spokes and giving them all a snug up and the same amount of a turn. I've never needed a truing stand or a reference point to do spoke maintenance. Ever. I have also never had a wheel go out of true from a basic spoke check in my life.

That now said I would also suggest adding a truing/balancing stand to your tool set. I have a Tusk version that is currently 80 bucks and it's nothing fancy but it works. Harbor Freight sells one online for 50 bucks. Likely just as good as the Tusk stand and it has pretty darn good reviews.

If a wheel is way out of true, then a truing stand is called for. But I would not tighten a spoke without at least getting the wheel off the ground and spinning it first! I look at up/down, and wobble before making ANY adjustment.
Sometimes you need to tighten opposing spokes before tightening a spoke to maintain up/down. A loose spoke can be a symptom of a problem on the opposite side of the wheel. Just tightening a loose spoke can easily move a wheel away from round or straight. And a trued wheel is MUCH stronger, because stress is distributed equally to the spokes.

[dr1445]

Been a 1/2 a century since built mc wheel, lots of bicycle wheels. I use a spoke tension gauge, never a problem. I am moving so the tension gauge is in transit,so can’t say it works on mc spokes

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by Thumper

If a wheel is way out of true, then a truing stand is called for. But I would not tighten a spoke without at least getting the wheel off the ground and spinning it first! I look at up/down, and wobble before making ANY adjustment.
Sometimes you need to tighten opposing spokes before tightening a spoke to maintain up/down. A loose spoke can be a symptom of a problem on the opposite side of the wheel. Just tightening a loose spoke can easily move a wheel away from round or straight. And a trued wheel is MUCH stronger, because stress is distributed equally to the spokes.

If done regularly and.properly one can tighten spokes without issue. If your spokes get so loose they end up out of true or the wheel starts wobbling, you're doing it wrong and waiting to long.

Again, I have been doing this for over 20 years. Not once have I ever had a wheel go out of true doing proper spoke tightening techniques. Not. Once. Ever. I true wheels as a side hobby/business for extra money.

I won't repeat myself again on this subject. Suffice to say, you're confusing two different concepts here, or doing something incorrectly, if you put a wheel out of true with basic spoke tightening techniques.

[Bill Hilly]

I had my TBR7 on the jack yesterday, and checked the spokes. I got a good sound from them all, but didn't snug them. I don't have a 6 mm wrench, but I did order a spoke wrench from Amazon, I bought what I thought was the best deal, but it has slow Chinese shipping. I wish I would have spent a couple bucks extra for one shipped from the States . I braced a finger up against the fork, and let my finger tip just barely contact the rim up at the outer lip of the rim. I spun the front tire, and while my "test" allowed for human error, it seems like it was running just a little untrue. I would guess it was probably about an 1/8" of gap between my finger and the rim at the widest. I don't know how ,if any untrueness is safe. I am hoping to not have to try my hand at trueing,if I don't have to. We will be lucky to get much more riding season in ,here in West Virginia. I would rather put off what I safely can , until season is over.

[Bill Hilly]

I decided to go ahead, and do the spokes on my front wheel, using a small "Crescent" wrench. I first went around and just barely turned each one . The tighter ones kinda made little crackling sounds. I then started again at first one past the valve, and snugged them all , skipping 2, and snugging the ones that turned easier a little more. I then started at the second one past the valve, and went around, and did the same. I repeated the process again, and then went around basically checking, and barely snugging any that seemed to have less tension. I did the zip tie on the fork , and the wheel is very true. Maybe a 1/16 th or 3/32 th inch . I went down the road about 5 miles each way, and it still seems fine, so I don't think I hurt anything, and very possibly prevented future trouble. I took a video of the wheel,but I don't think I can put it on here. I might try and post it on ChondaRiders Facebook later. Thanks for all the good advice everyone.

[buzz]

Hillbilly you should have done nothing,everything was good mine is good 4500 milles.

[Bill Hilly]

Originally Posted by buzz

Hillbilly you should have done nothing,everything was good mine is good 4500 milles.

I don't think I hurt anything by doing it, but I am a worrier by nature. I am now wondering if I may have over tightened them. I didn't put much pressure on the little Crescent wrench, but it seemed that a few turned a lot easier than most, and they took more turning. I am trying to convince myself that I didn't over do it, by thinking that my wheel would probably be warped if I did. I just want the bike to be safe, and not to ruin a rim.