Shoutout to the shop owner who fixed my spoke tension problem in 2 minutes

Been building wheels for about 3 years now. Thought I had it down. But last Tuesday a guy came into my shop, saw me tightening spokes on a new build. He watched for a minute, then said "you're chasing the wrong side." Hit me like a brick. I was always tightening the drive side spokes thinking that was the problem. He showed me how loose spokes on the non-drive side were pulling it out of true. Fixed the whole wheel in under 2 minutes. Made me realize I've been wasting hours on bad technique. Anyone else learn a basic trick way later than they should have?

3 comments

3 Comments

susan1301h ago

@emmawood biggest overlooked mistake is watching HOW someone else adjusts tension, not just what side they touch.

emmawood1h ago

3 years in and nobody told you about checking both sides first? Thats wild honestly, I learned that mistake on my second build when I snapped a spoke from overtightening. Did the guy mention any other common wheel truing mistakes people overlook?

the_faith1h ago

Ha, yeah I learned that one when my wheel started wobbling worse and I just kept tightening till it looked like a potato chip.