(Un)even spoke tension

Quoted message said:

I recently built a rear wheel where the eyelets deviate a bit. I'm not able to make this wheel
true (<.25mm) with an even spoke tension.

It's well known that even spoke tension is essential for a long lasting wheel. But I believe that
even spoke tension is more important for some spokes than others. Please, comment on the
following. I'm talking about a rear wheel, without disc brakes.

If we divide the spokes into four categories we get:

Drive side, pulling spokes Drive side, braking spokes Non-drive side, pulling spokes Non-drive
side, braking spokes

I believe that the hardest working spokes are the Drive side Pulling spokes. These spokes tighten
up under high pedal force. Therefore these should share the load – even spoke tension.

The Non-drive side spokes have less tension, 2/3 or so. The braking spokes will loosen up a bit
under high pedal force. Therefore these spokes should also have even tension so none of them are
looser than others, which could cause them to slack.

Lastly we have the drive side braking spokes and the non-drive side pulling spokes.

The Drive side braking spokes have a high tension under no load but loosen a bit under pedal
force. Since they never get tighter I think some of these spokes can have a higher tension. A
little looser may also be acceptable since they have a high tension at no load.

The Non-drive side pulling spokes have approximately 2/3 the tension at no load. Some spokes can
therefore be tightened a little more, maybe up to same tension as the drive side. They may also be
able to have a little less tension since they never loosen under load.

If you know about wheel building please comment on this.

Thanks, Frank

A few points:

Unless the wheel in question has a hub brake, there are no "braking" spokes as rim brakes apply no
torque to the spokes or the hub.

Your statement that some spokes on the non-drive side can be safely tightened up to the tension of
the drive-side spokes is incorrect for any dished wheel. To maintain the rim in the dished position,
that is, not centered between the hub flanges, the left side tension must always be lower than the
right side spokes.

The sentence "They[Non-drive side pulling spokes] may also be able to have a little less tension
since they never loosen under load." suggests that you are unaware that decreased tension in the
spokes under the hub is what provides the upward force that supports the weight on the hub. It is
true that spoke tension must be high enough that they never "loosen" but it's better to say that the
tension never falls to zero.

Even and high tension, along with stress relief, are essential to a long lasting and strong wheel.
In any dished wheel, the tension is necessarily unequal between the two sides.

--
Ted Bennett Portland OR

(Frank) may have said:

I recently built a rear wheel where the eyelets deviate a bit. I'm not able to make this wheel true
(<.25mm) with an even spoke tension.

Perhaps this may provide some help:

sheldonbrown.comwheelbuild.htmlOpen ↗

After reading that, I concluded that previously, I'd had no idea just how little I really knew about
the subject.

---
My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail.

Yes, I have a killfile. If I don't respond to something, it's also possible that I'm busy.

"Frank" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I recently built a rear wheel where the eyelets deviate a bit. I'm not able to make this wheel
true (<.25mm) with an even spoke tension.

If you really want to understand wheels and wheel building, buy Jobst Brandt's book "The
Bicycle Wheel".