Correct spoke tension, 2019 Rad Rover rear wheel?

[Pay Jota]

Anyone know what the tension should be? I have a Park Tool TM-1. Getting readings from 25-35. I believe these are 12 gauge/2.54mm aluminum spokes, correct?

 

[spokewrench]

I believe tension tools came along for very light road-bike spokes and rims, and even then, many mechanics go by feel.

Adjusting by sound has worked for me with 4 e-bikes (including a Radrunner and a Radmission). I get the wheel off the ground and tap spokes with my spanner-style spoke wrench. The first time around, I tighten the dead-sounding ones and occasionally loosen one that sounds tauter than the rest. The second time around, I get them sounding pretty much the same.

A dead-sounding spoke could allow enough lateral movement to increase wear and affect handling. I've sometimes noticed improved handling after adjusting spokes on a new bike.

 

[mrgold35]

I have two 2016 Radrovers, 2018 Radcity, and 2023 Radcity. I've noticed the spokes from the factory had various tension and sometimes caused a "ticking" sound when riding and some slight wheel wobble. I purchased the round 8-way spoke nipple key wrench (Amazon, $2.60) and set even tension on all spokes. Some spokes were tight and others needed up to 1/2-to-several 360 degree turns to get to the same tension. Zero clue of the tq applied to each spoke; but, results are no ticking sound and having the wheel spin more true (eliminating the wobble help adjust brake pad distances with little to no wobble rubbing).

 

[spokewrench]

I have two 2016 Radrovers, 2018 Radcity, and 2023 Radcity. I've noticed the spokes from the factory had various tension and sometimes caused a "ticking" sound when riding and some slight wheel wobble.

I had to replace maybe 4 spokes on the rear wheel of my Radrunner. In the photo, the heads had popped off where the holes are. I read that most breaks are near the threads or at the elbow. The broken heads were a mystery until I noted the sunken head between the holes. The head was too small, letting it sink too deep, giving the elbow leverage to stretch and put uneven pressure around the head. When that third spoke broke, the bike would have been unrideable. I walked a lot during the month it took spokes to arrive from China.

The other photo shows the kind of wrench I prefer. It's a handy hammer to sound spokes. Fingers don't have to work between spokes. It'll grip a nipple by 3 corners, and the dogtag chain quickly identifies which end is which.