Wheelbuilders advice

[Louis for real]

Hi

 

Not sure if this has been posted anywhere before? I havent searched.

 

Need some advice on a set of wheels i had built recently. The wheels are used on a giant reign so do see some drop offs jumps and more agressive type riding etc

 

Rims are 26inch stans arch mk3

Front hub is a hope pro2

Rear hub is a rapide 135mm

 

My concern is the rear wheel spoke tension.

The drive side tension is tight.

The non drive side tension is...loose.

 

I took them to the builder after the initial "beding in period" he proceded to again only tighten the drive side and leave the non drive side as is.

 

Questions:

 

1)Will this negatively stress the rim at the spoke nipples on the drive side and cause failure?

2)Was the incorrect spoke lenghts used perhaps?

3)Can anyone advise on a good wheelbuilder in the garden route area?

 

Any further advice will be appreciated.

 

Thanks

[Simon Kolin]

Hi

 

Not sure if this has been posted anywhere before? I havent searched.

 

Need some advice on a set of wheels i had built recently. The wheels are used on a giant reign so do see some drop offs jumps and more agressive type riding etc

 

Rims are 26inch stans arch mk3

Front hub is a hope pro2

Rear hub is a rapide 135mm

 

My concern is the rear wheel spoke tension.

The drive side tension is tight.

The non drive side tension is...loose.

 

I took them to the builder after the initial "beding in period" he proceded to again only tighten the drive side and leave the non drive side as is.

 

Questions:

 

1)Will this negatively stess the rim at the spoke nipples on the drive side and cause failure?

2)Was the incorrect spoke lenghts used perhaps?

3)Can anyone advise on a good wheelbuilder in the garden route area?

 

Any further advice will be appreciated.

 

Thanks

@nick_the_wheelbuilder

[FDP]

As above. Talk to Nickolas

[Jewbacca]

Sounds like he has used incorrect spoke lengths.

 

Spoke tension should be as even as possible throughout the wheel.

 

As an aside, I would rather ride a wheel that is too loose than over tensioned, but no.

 

It is not correct unfortunately.

[DieselnDust]

It's the rear wheel so the tension will not be the same on either side.

all my rear wheels have non drive side slight lower in tension than the drive side.

If the wheel is no buckling often it's likely fine.

Also it's a 26er so spoke tension will be lower anyway

[Louis for real]

It's the rear wheel so the tension will not be the same on either side.

all my rear wheels have non drive side slight lower in tension than the drive side.

If the wheel is no buckling often it's likely fine.

Also it's a 26er so spoke tension will be lower anyway

Thanks for your reply.I get that a little is ok. But i can without much effort move the spokes around. Some are so loose that if tried im sure they can be turned by hand.

 

Guess ill have to post them somewhere

[DieselnDust]

Thanks for your reply.I get that a little is ok. But i can without much effort move the spokes around. Some are so loose that i tried im sure they can be turned by hand.

Guess ill have to post them somewhere

If they can be turned by hand then there is something wrong.

where are you situated?

[Louis for real]

@nick_the_wheelbuilder

Thanks I'll send him a message

[Louis for real]

If they can be turned by hand then there is something wrong.

where are you situated?

Edit

[DieselnDust]

Have you tried Kevin Evans?

Otherwise if you can get the wheels to Williams bike shop in Somerset West?

Lance Stephenson is contactable via Diasyway coaching

[nick_the_wheelbuilder]

The tension drive : non drive can differ my as much as 50%.

 

The Stans rims are really sensitive to spoke tension. Too high and the rims crack.

 

The drive side spokes should be around 110-120kgf - the non drive side will be whatever it takes to dish the wheel. Spoke length, although important, doesn’t affect spoke tension.

[David Marshall]

Hey Nick - beat me to it! here goes anyway.

 

The spokes on the drive side (or brake side on a front disc wheel) will be at a higher tension than on the non drive side.  This is necessary to keep the rim in the centre of the hub.  Various designs like two to one spoke patterns, offset spoke beds and boost hubs try to limit the difference.  In practice this is not a problem if the overall spoke tension is high enough.  If it is not high enough the spokes on the loose side will tend to loosen with use and the wheel need to be trued more often. For most rims anything from 100 to 130 kg per spoke on the drive side will be enough.  The tension on the non drive will be around 60% of this.  Over tensioning the  spokes will increase the radial strength of the wheel but after the optimum point is reached the lateral strength will decrease.  You can use this to "feel" if the wheel is close to the optimum tension.  Lay the wheel on the floor and with your hands on opposite sides of the rim gently lean all your weight onto the rim.  The minute you feel the rim give a little that is enough tension. With a 26" wheel and an Arch rim this is a bit academic anyway as you are not going to feel much give but this is useful for road and lighter MTB builds.