VolpeRider541

I just received my new velocity chukker wheelset in the mail. 36 spoke 3 lace. Would it be a good idea to take them into my lbs to be tension checked or anything before I ride them? I plane to ride them hard.

wmodavis

If you plan to "I plane to ride them hard" I'd do something to make sure you don't land 'hard' and that your investment lasts.

What I'd do...
1. measure and record all spoke tensions.
2. make sure the tensions are even and at the high end of what the rim mfg suggests.
3. Then RIDE HARD!

himespau 

Is there any spoke tension tool that's cheaper than the park one? That's a pretty pricey investment.

SBinNYC

https://www.bikexprt.com/bicycle/tension.htm You could always tension them by ear.

bikeman715

If you can not do it yourself yes it be a good idea to take them to your LBS to be check.

wmodavis

How much will you spend on a new wheelset? Isn't $60 a worthwhile investment to help maximize what you get for the $ you spend on wheels. Though it can be done by ear according to some with a golden one, an objective measurement is superior IMO cuz my ear is made out of pot metal.

HillRider

I agree with your recommendations except it appears the OP can't do items 1 and 2 himself. Taking the wheels to the LBS to have that done is a good idea.

3alarmer 

+1.....this will also be an excellent chance to judge them with
regard to services. If the tensions are reasonably even and
up close to where they need to be (unlikely), they should tell
you so and the job should cost less.

If they just tell you, "this is what we charge to true a wheel,"
and hand them off to some junior mech to make sure they
are straight but who has no clue about evening the tensions
among the spokes and tensioning high for longevity, you need
to find somewhere else to spend your money.

And the Park tensiometer is about the cheapest reasonable
alternative for doing this and might be worth your money
if you "plane" to ride hard for the next how many years.

Tensioning by ear just don't cut it in my own world.

himespau 

Given the shops around here charge about $20 a wheel for simple truing jobs, if you've got to have them true more than 2-3 wheels, it seems like it makes sense just to buy your own, I guess. Well, assuming your time is free and you already have wrenches. I hadn't thought about it that way. I guess I'm going to consider adding one to my tool chest as my ear isn't as good as I'd like to think it is.

joejack951

If you enjoy working on your own bikes (and/or friends and family bikes too) and feel you are a relatively patient person that can follow instructions (for lacing and truing a wheel) then a tensionmeter, truing stand, and spoke wrenches will be one of the best investments you can make. Almost every bike will at some point need work done to the wheels though you can limit this by thoroughly inspecting them with your tools prior to the bike seeing much use. Eventually you'll get to the point where you'll want to build a wheel and realize you already have all the right spoke lengths available leftover from previous builds (like I found out this weekend), or at least be able to repair a broken spoke on someone's wheel with your "inventory". Or maybe it's just me that orders too many extras for each job.

DiabloScott

In the mean time, any friend with a truing stand should be willing to drop in your wheels and be able to tell if they really need any attention (dish, true, uneven tension). Making them just right can take some time, but confirming that they already are or aren't really doesn't.

Drew Eckhardt 

If they're machine built you'd do well to stress relieve them before riding and brought up to uniform high tension, especially if you're a Clydestale as the choice of components might imply.

Given the price of labor in expensive areas (the last LBS I visited would charge you $80 in labor + tax for that) it may be less expensive to get a Park tension meter and used truing stand.

bradtx

Yes, even more so if the wheelset is going to bear a heavy load. If you're an aggresive rider, wheel maintenance tools will pay for themselves in time, should you wish to maintain your wheels yourself.

Brad

pdlamb

+1 to all of that.

Wow! Was that for a mechanic/medium channeling the spirit of Sheldon? For a set of machine-built wheels that should already be true, I'd expect a good mechanic to be able to tension and stress-relieve two wheels in half an hour!

BikeWise1

Haven't priced the alternatives, have you?

Drew Eckhardt 

The analog version retails for just $518 and can be found on-line at a deep discount DT analog tension meter for $369

In all seriousness, $50 for the Park is as good as you're going to do.

With light alloy rims and enough spokes you can get to the same place without a tension meter by alternately increasing tension and stress relieving until the wheel deforms in waves (indicating you reached the rim's elastic limit) at which point you back off half a turn and re-true. The last pair of wheels I built that way came out at 110kgf front with no tire +9/-5% and 110kgf average rear drive side with a tire which is where I'd have ended up with a tension meter in front and a hair higher in back (an inflated tire decreases tension).

That doesn't work for deeper rims, heavy rims, or lower spoke count wheels where rim rigidity is no longer the limiting factor for spoke tension and the Park TM-1 is a fine idea.

BikeWise1

I use the analog version here in the shop. I also have the Park tool and it is amazingly accurate given its low cost.

+1