How To Tension And True A Freshly Built Bicycle Wheel

Тәжірибелік нұсқаулар және стиль

Awesome, you just successfully laced up a bicycle wheel!!! Now what? In this video, I run step by step through the process of getting the wheel into a rideable state that will last for many years and miles. In order to tension and true the wheel, a few basic tools are required. In this video, I use a Park Tools truing stand, a DT Swiss spoke wrench, a Milwaukee M12 cordless screwdriver with a homemade driver bit, and a Park Tool spoke tension meter.
You certainly don't need all these tools, but they do make the overall job easier. The wheel can be effectively tensioned and trued using a basic fixture such as the actual bicycle frame and/or fork using zip-tied as a gauge, although a wheel dishing tool would be helpful.
Although not as accurate, a good wheel can be built without a spoke tension meter by plucking the spokes and listen to the tone or just plain feel.
The one tool I would not skimp on is the spoke wrench. A good spoke wrench really makes a big difference by being more ergonomic to the fingers and fit the spoke nipple better making them less likely to slip and cause damage to the spoke nipple.
My favorite spoke wrench: amzn.to/33SwEMd
Park Tool spoke tension meter: amzn.to/3nGYbIk
Park Tool nipple driver: amzn.to/33NHIKy
Park Tool wheel dishing gauge: amzn.to/3lEb18y
Park Tool TS 2.2 truing stand: amzn.to/36ZcK4g
Milwaukee M12 cordless screwdriver kit: amzn.to/3nHED6x

Пікірлер: 43

  • @peterjurczyk61
    @peterjurczyk6110 ай бұрын

    Thats amazing human calibration thanks

  • @JoeyMesa

    @JoeyMesa

    10 ай бұрын

    You're welcome!

  • @sprocketandwheel
    @sprocketandwheel2 жыл бұрын

    Joey...great tutorial..I have built thousands of wheels and this is exactly how I build them..consistency is the key..truing, tension and dishing need to happen simultaneously..I usually rub beeswax on the spoke threads to lubricate and it acts like a mild thread lock..and a drop of oil between the rim spoke hole and nipple..I built my first wheel in 1975..I also make my own nipple driver and use a Stanley Yankee push drill..works great..

  • @JoeyMesa

    @JoeyMesa

    2 жыл бұрын

    You're very welcome! Thank you for taking the time to share and leave feedback! I really appreciate it!!!

  • @bradleynorthcotte137
    @bradleynorthcotte1372 жыл бұрын

    Impressive you can count the drill revolutions to keep them all even, gold star!

  • @EvidenceofaFabulousLife
    @EvidenceofaFabulousLife2 жыл бұрын

    Thank you. Great video. Just bought a 4.2 for my cave, for my wheels and to start offering a service. Good luck!

  • @philflip1963
    @philflip196311 ай бұрын

    Good explanation, thanks.

  • @JoeyMesa

    @JoeyMesa

    11 ай бұрын

    You're welcome! Thanks for taking the time to comment!

  • @torquecanyon8424
    @torquecanyon8424 Жыл бұрын

    Great job Joey! Your videos really help me to understand more and more on how to build a wheel. Soon I'll start to build my rear wheel for the first time.

  • @JoeyMesa

    @JoeyMesa

    Жыл бұрын

    Awesome! Take your time and have fun! Good luck!

  • @jamestry
    @jamestry Жыл бұрын

    AWESOME VIDEO THANK YOU SO MUCH 'TRUELY' EXCELLENT!!!!

  • @JoeyMesa

    @JoeyMesa

    Жыл бұрын

    You are very welcome

  • @35jays
    @35jays3 жыл бұрын

    Nice video and thanks for the tips! Dave

  • @JoeyMesa

    @JoeyMesa

    3 жыл бұрын

    You're welcome! Thanks for taking the time t leave feedback, I really appreciate it!

  • @Ad-wv8zt
    @Ad-wv8zt3 жыл бұрын

    Good work...

  • @JoeyMesa

    @JoeyMesa

    3 жыл бұрын

    Thank you so much 😀

  • @joaopreichardt
    @joaopreichardt3 жыл бұрын

    Very good the suggestion to use the white paper under the wheel!! Also I have used the tips of Park Tool first in the sides then after under the rim, never like this doing both at the same time! good !! keep doing wheel videos!! I heard about this one at the facebook group.

  • @JoeyMesa

    @JoeyMesa

    3 жыл бұрын

    Thanks! I've got more I'm currently working on. Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback, I appreciate it!

  • @FireLysm
    @FireLysm2 жыл бұрын

    This is one if not THE best simple video out there! So many good advice and cool approaches in a single video. Would you advise to take the tyre down to fix the rim alignment. Over last 2 months tyre got some beating and it's about time to take care of it. On how many hours of riding would you do check?

  • @JoeyMesa

    @JoeyMesa

    2 жыл бұрын

    Thanks for the question! You'll get the best results by removing the tire. It's much easier to get the radial runout dialed in. It really depends on how much riding you're doing and the abuse you're putting the wheels through. If you're concerned, just do a quick spin test to determine how round the wheels are, and a quick tension check by feeling for low tension spokes every few rides or so. I do a lot of commuting miles over varied terrain an I probably inspect my wheels every 6 months or so. Thanks for taking the time for your feedback and question! I appreciate it!

  • @Bradbajc
    @Bradbajc2 жыл бұрын

    Great video! You kept mentioning a tension of....22, 23 on the drive side (based on the Park Tool tension chart). How do you calculate the tension for the other side?

  • @stevebennett3587
    @stevebennett35872 жыл бұрын

    🤔I wish i could do this, the spoke tension dropped on my rear wheel, when i installed the tyre😒hopefully the LBS will be able to retention it, the rim is still true, may be the spoke nipples haven't seated properly👍 great video👌

  • @JoeyMesa

    @JoeyMesa

    2 жыл бұрын

    Thanks! I appreciate the feedback!

  • @shazaidi
    @shazaidi2 жыл бұрын

    When you have completed lacing the wheel and you need to set the initial tension of all the spokes. How are you doing this? I was told to go around the wheel starting from the valve hole and turn each nipple two full turns. Keep doing this until the spokes have tension? It seems you just took some sort of electric drill and just went around the wheel and tighten them, wouldn't some spokes be tighter than others in that case?

  • @Venturewest1
    @Venturewest13 жыл бұрын

    That was an excellent, detailed video. When you are initially tensioning the spokes with the electric driver, how do you make sure you are tightening them all to roughly the same distance? I have heard you take them all to the end of the threads? When I mess mine up badly enough I am going to bring them in and let you fix them. I am in Parker.

  • @JoeyMesa

    @JoeyMesa

    3 жыл бұрын

    Good question! The driver bit I use has a protrusion that's about 3mm long. Once the nipple threads onto the spoke to the point of contacting the extrusion, it ejects the bit consistently off each nipple giving you a good starting point with all the nipples threaded onto the spokes evenly in a quick manner.

  • @Venturewest1

    @Venturewest1

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@JoeyMesa Good to know. I am going to try to make a couple of those bits today. Thanks.

  • @hendrik8814
    @hendrik88143 жыл бұрын

    how to truing if wobble up and down?

  • @JoeyMesa

    @JoeyMesa

    3 жыл бұрын

    I've got several videos in a playlist of wheel building, truing and repairing: kzread.info/dash/bejne/h4SIxNSKgpuuYc4.html I've got a video in particular that may be helpful for up and down or radial runout truing as well: kzread.info/dash/bejne/h4SIxNSKgpuuYc4.html

  • @Gledii
    @Gledii10 ай бұрын

    thanks for sharing. so all the spokes need to have the same tension? or one side will have more? after truing mine, i was trying to use the app (measuring frequency) but as i started to increase the tension the wheel rapidily went out of true... thanks

  • @Dainslaif

    @Dainslaif

    7 ай бұрын

    Generally speaking, for a rear wheel the drive side will have higher tension, while for a front wheel with disc, the disc side will have a higher tension. For a V brake front wheel, it should be relatively equal.

  • @edwardallan197
    @edwardallan197 Жыл бұрын

    Great Joey. A well built wheel dead-straight & round? With even tension on both sides, or even by dish & un-dished side? Will last forever with occassional tweaks.

  • @JoeyMesa

    @JoeyMesa

    Жыл бұрын

    Generally, the tension on the side with the hub flange closer to the center of the hub will also have higher tension than the opposing side. About the only thing with even tension on both sides would be a front, rim brake wheel.

  • @edwardallan197

    @edwardallan197

    Жыл бұрын

    Yes, you are more clear. I should have said even by side, steeper side tighter. 💛

  • @Hootyhoo-jq9vq
    @Hootyhoo-jq9vq3 жыл бұрын

    What does DT Swiss mean when they say “system weight”? They rate the tk540 at 130kg system weight. For a touring bike I guess they mean weight of rider, bike, and all cargo. Is that correct? And where are the tension specs found for rims and hubs?

  • @JoeyMesa

    @JoeyMesa

    3 жыл бұрын

    Not sure on exactly what "system weight" means, but rider weight + cargo sounds logical. DT has a chart on their website with the recommended maximum kgf on all models of DT rims.

  • @mancello
    @mancello3 жыл бұрын

    I find many bike mechanics don't know how to build wheels. Most can replace a spoke or two but building wheels is a bit of a lost art especially with all the machine built wheels today.

  • @JoeyMesa

    @JoeyMesa

    3 жыл бұрын

    I agree! It seems like a lot of shops these days would rather sell a prebuilt wheel or replace a good wheel that's broken some spokes instead of rebuilding it. I've been trying to put out videos aimed at the production mechanic and share some of the things I know about building wheels in an efficient manner. Wheel building in general is still a pretty big segment, but it's kind of a hobbyist thing. Lot's of folks are into it and like to geek out over high tech gauges and stuff, but their build processes don't really translate well to working in a bike shop. Thanks for your feedback!

  • @VideoNOLA
    @VideoNOLA2 жыл бұрын

    Funny, I've watched dozens of wheelbuilding videos lately and not a single one of them mentions RIM TAPE. Has it gone out of style or something?

  • @JoeyMesa

    @JoeyMesa

    2 жыл бұрын

    Rim tape is more of a specific tire/tube or tubeless thing, but not so much for wheel building. Whiskey tubeless tape for tubeless and Velox for tube style tires are my personal favorites though...

  • @oreocarlton3343
    @oreocarlton33433 жыл бұрын

    125-130kg of tension? Im pleasantly surprised you go higher than 100kg since so many wheelbuilders dont aim for higher than 100kg and in my opinion and experience it makes the wheels less strong

  • @JoeyMesa

    @JoeyMesa

    3 жыл бұрын

    Yes, the spoke tension on this particular wheel set is on the high side. DT recommends a max tension of about 122 Kgf, but that's across all their rims. This wheel set uses a pretty heavy duty DT free ride type rim, plus the rider I built these for is a pretty big guy who is an aggressive rider and prefers his wheels to be on the stiff side. Most wheels I build are generally in the 115-120 Kgf range, but it depends a lot on the wheel type, the size of the rider, and how they're going to be riding their bike.

  • @oreocarlton3343

    @oreocarlton3343

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@JoeyMesa there is this myth around that spoke tension doesnt affect stiffness which Im glad you dont believe in

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