What's the best way to check my spokes?

[Terry777]

I don't have any reason to suspect there is anything wrong with my spokes but just wondered if there is a quick way of checking them? I have 26 x 4.8 fat tyres and feel a sort of wobble at high speeds but i suspect that is normal with fatties. It's not anything that makes me think something is broken or not tight or anything like that. This is my first ebike too so i have nothing to compare it to.

 

[indianajo]

I turn the bike upside down, spin the wheel, tap the spokes with a screwdriver. they should all ring at the same pitch, my 26"x2" bikes about F5. (piano pitch). While the bike is upside down you can see if the wheel wobbles side to side. If you straighten a bent wheel with spokes, the increased tension in the bent area will make those spokes ring higher pitch. The opposite side not pulling as hard will be lower pitch.
I don't own a "spoke tool". I use a 6" crescent wrench. A real one, not a HarborFreight imitation tool.

 

[Terry777]

Cool, is this the sort of thing i need? For 20 quid i'll just get one if it's what i need.

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[rich c]

I would not randomly start tightening spokes if there isn't an issue. Go too tight and you will start breaking spokes. You can get an app for you phone to check spoke tension.

 

[Sierratim]

You can also do a quick spoke tension check 'by ear'. When correctly adjusted the spokes should all have the same pitch when 'plucked'. This ARTICLE discusses this in more detail.

This ARTICLE discusses the theory behind spoke tension and musical pitch.

 

[Art Deco]

You can also do a quick spoke tension check 'by ear'. When correctly adjusted the spokes should all have the same pitch when 'plucked'. This ARTICLE discusses this in more detail.

This ARTICLE discusses the theory behind spoke tension and musical pitch.

TLDR I bet he assumes that my ears still work within tolarences spec.

 

[Dallant]

I turn the bike upside down, spin the wheel, tap the spokes with a screwdriver. they should all ring at the same pitch, my 26"x2" bikes about F5. (piano pitch). While the bike is upside down you can see if the wheel wobbles side to side. If you straighten a bent wheel with spokes, the increased tension in the bent area will make those spokes ring higher pitch. The opposite side not pulling as hard will be lower pitch.
I don't own a "spoke tool". I use a 6" crescent wrench. A real one, not a HarborFreight imitation tool.

This is always the way I’ve checked them.

 

[Luto]

Just remember spoke adjustments change the side to side pull AND the up-down amount. It is not a simple deal to make a wheel true from scratch. So trueing should be done very carefully.

 

[Terry777]

Thanks for all the input everyone. I feel much more equipped to tackle checking them now

 

[Redspot]

The quick way is to pinch a pair of spokes a bit above where they cross and feel the tension, they should all feel the same. After that, grab the seat stay with your knuckle almost touching the rim, give the wheel a spin checking for true. Takes less than a couple minutes, I do it after every long ride.

 

[lost_puppy]

Just remember spoke adjustments change the side to side pull AND the up-down amount. It is not a simple deal to make a wheel true from scratch. So trueing should be done very carefully.

The rear wheel of my new-to-me Juiced HyperFat wobbles a bit on throttle while leaned back on kick stand, and I can almost play Beethoven's 5th with the range of notes available via the spokes. But seriously, they're all over the place. None seem crazy loose, nor do any look visibly compromised.

With the bike flipped upside down, can I just determine the proper frequency and then attempt to adjust each spoke until all sound the same? Anyone, feel free to respond.

 

[indianajo]

The ones that don't ring with a pitch when you tap them, just go thock, really need to be tightened. After that you can go for round and straight. Badly bent wheels the spokes won't end up all at the same pitch.

 

[AHicks]

I'm tone deaf. About the only think I can tell is if I get a ping or a thunk when tapping a spoke. I went for a tension device similar to the one linked by the OP in post #3 to eliminate quessing. I would note that you STILL need to know your "target" reading using something like that. They are NOT all the same!! They come with a cross reference chart where you note the spoke diameter and material it's made of. Target tension, depending on the wheel manf specification, but 100 knf seems to be pretty generic. Over tensioning is hard on spoke holes (lrading to cracked rims). Under tension is hard on spokes....