Originally Posted by
ItsJustMe
I've built 3 wheels now without a spoke tension meter. I just pluck them and listen to the pitch. As far as what's the correct tension, a friend of mine said "make them as tight as you can until you think they're about ready to strip." On the three wheels I've done this for, I've not had one of them ever go even slightly out of true after > 10,000 miles including fairly rough road that destroyed factory wheels.
(emphasis mine)
I'd be careful about the equipment combos you're using when employing this method of spoke tensioning. I used to build based on pitch, and it's a fine method; never had a problem, as long as you've got a reference wheel to base it against... Same hub, same rim, same spokes being used.
Depending on the wheel components, you could over-tension a wheel by cranking everything down until you think it's about to snap. Depending on the degree of over-tensioning it can cause a number of issues, some not immediately apparent. If it's severely over-tensioned, then just inflating the tire on the rim can put the whole thing out of true. If it's mildly over-tensioned (per manufacturer's specs for the rim or the hub) then you can end up with spokes pulling through the rim, eyelets ripping out, or cracked/broken hub flanges.
When I build, I like to use my Park TM-1 to check the tension multiple times around as I'm bringing the wheel up to final tension. I find that if I start with a true, round rim and use a nipple driver to start the spokes all evenly and then work an equal number of turns per spoke as I go around the wheel, I end up with a fairly even balanced tension and the wheel requires very little additional tweaking to bring it within +/- 0.01" of true.
Being a little bit larger than the average rider and putting some additional strain on wheels (CX, singlespeed/fixed) I run my spoke tension towards the upper end of the suggested range for whatever rim/hub combo I'm using. However, for the very same reason (singlespeed/fixed) I can also keep things under the ultra-high tensions that some Clydes prefer for a rear wheel since I don't have any drive side dishing to concern myself with.
All that said... *whew*
Were you (OP) breaking spokes at the heads or the threads (near the hub or near the rim)? Undertensioned spokes typically break at the heads (near the hub). Some things to consider are having a build done using spoke washers or using DT Alpine-III spokes (if they fit your hubs) which have a larger diameter at the head to reduce chatter/flex at the bend.