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BikersToolbox

Wheel tension

Work round the wheel and enter what you measure. The diagram shows evenness at a glance — an even wheel stays true, an uneven one unwinds itself over the first few hundred kilometres.

How to measure this

4 steps
Valve hole123Number clockwise from the valve

1Find spoke 1

Put the valve hole at the top. Spoke 1 is the first spoke clockwise of it, and you number the rest in that direction. Keeping one convention is what lets you find a flagged spoke again on the wheel.

Setup

Percentage from the side average before a spoke is flagged. 20% is a normal build target; 10% is a good wheel.

Typical working range for the tight side
100–120kgf

Your rim maker's stated maximum always wins over this range. Carbon rims in particular vary widely.

Tensiometer chart

Enter the rows from your tensiometer's own chart for the spoke you are measuring. We interpolate between them.

We ship no built-in conversion table on purpose. The reading-to-tension curve depends on the tool and on the spoke's gauge, shape and material — a borrowed table is how rims get over-tensioned.

Readings

Spoke 1 is the first spoke to the right of the valve hole. Tab moves you along.