Loose spokes.

Eiron said:

A question from a not so newby any more:

Is it normal for a new road bike to develop loose spokes
and 2-3mm of rim warp after a few months and a few hundred miles?
Or is it a sign of Italian workmanship and lack of preparation?
Should I expect the LBS to fix it under warranty or is it normal
maintenance?

Its quite normal these days with machine built wheels. The LBS should
fix it for you. The problem is they probably won't fix it. They will
true it so that it doesn't wobble for a short time but unless they raise
the overall tension in the spokes appropriately they will not fix the
problem, just temporarily fix the consequences of the problem which is
too low spoke tension.

Tony

Eiron said:

A question from a not so newby any more:

Is it normal for a new road bike to develop loose spokes
and 2-3mm of rim warp after a few months and a few hundred miles?
Or is it a sign of Italian workmanship and lack of preparation?

My Gipiemme T Quattro rear hub bearings failed after 200 miles and a
spoke nipple fell off. I binned them. The Campag Scirocco wheels that
replaced them have been excellent after several 1000 miles.
--
Simon M.

Eiron said:

A question from a not so newby any more:

Is it normal for a new road bike to develop loose spokes
and 2-3mm of rim warp after a few months and a few hundred miles?

It's normal, but it shouldn't happen. It's only normal because
machine-built wheels are of very average quality.

Quoted message said:

Or is it a sign of Italian workmanship and lack of preparation?

Yes.

Quoted message said:

Should I expect the LBS to fix it under warranty or is it normal
maintenance?

A good LBS should do this provided it really is just a few months. Most
offer some kind of initial free check/tune up where this kind of thing
should be fixed.

Quoted message said:

Various bikes I have had in the past have never needed spokes
tightening and have never had warped wheels.

They've either had very well-built wheels in the first place or have
been ridden to bed them in and retensioned.