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Had a chat with a retired framebuilder about spoke tension
Met an old guy named Pete at the co-op last Saturday. He builds frames in the 70s and 80s. Told me he never used a tensiometer. Just plucked spokes like guitar strings. Said I was overthinking wheel builds with all my fancy tools. Made me realize I lean on gear too much instead of feel. Been trying it his way on a cheap wheelset. Anyone else ditch the tools and go by ear?
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mason_foster681d ago
Yeah I was all about the tensiometer for years until an old mechanic showed me the pluck method on a beat up tandem rim. Changed my whole approach.
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luna5891d ago
The pluck method really cuts through all the nonsense, doesn't it. Once you get the hang of it you can feel exactly what the wheel needs without any gadgets getting in the way. On a tandem rim with that much tension it's even more telling, you can hear the pitch change and know right where to adjust. Tensiometers have their place but they don't tell you the whole story, especially when you're dealing with different spoke gauges or rim profiles. That old mechanic probably saved you hours of fiddling and second guessing.
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