I was just curious, and this applies to more the normal higher spoke count wheels, how many miles do you guys normally see to bed in spokes, nipples and basically the entire wheel so it remains tight with minimal if any trueing and tensioning?
It varies from wheel to wheel dependent upon several different factors...
How well-built they were in the first place... (Biggest factor in variability)
How many 'things' the wheels have hit.... (Second biggest factor)
The size and weight of the team... (the bigger the team, the bigger the influence)
The spokes used and how they are laced... (fewer spokes = more variability)
And so on...
For wheels that I've bought and that are user-servicable using something other than a $350 DT tensionmeter, I tend to check the tension, retrue and then distress the wheel before doing a final re-truing before I even use them. Some of the wheels I've come into need nothing, whereas others have been a disaster. On the wheels I build and the ones I need to tweak, I tend to use the high-end of the recommended tension range and also use DT's threadlocker and those, along with our weight, etc... usually make for wheels that don't need much if any tweaking until I invariably nail something in the road.
Knock on wood, the Rolf's (
not user serviceable w/o DT tensionmeter and possible warranty implications) and Topolino wheels (
trued like conventional wheels with Park tensionmeter) that I presently have probably have about 1,000 mi or so each and they're all looking pretty good. The Topolino wheelset's rear wheel has had two hard hits and has a small rim nick but, again, it's still true and round. The Rolf's escaped last season unharmed but did scare the bajeezus out of me when the front wheel kicked a broken stick into the huge opening in the spokes that got slammed into the fork and then launched out ahead of the tandem. other than taking some paint off the spokes, no visible damage. However, I've since decided no Rolfs after storms or during the fall months when the roads around Atlanta tend to be littered with branches and what not.