Originally Posted by
cyccommute
I agree that there is a need for experience but that has nothing to do with the manufacturers specifications on spoke tension. If there is a specification, it has a value. I've not found that to be a value that is easy to obtain.
I never let a manufacturer tension spec dictate how I build wheels, though I might use it to bypass certain rims altogether.
The rim doesn't set the tension spec, the whole wheel does. There's a certain
minimum tension needed for decent wheels someplace in the 50-60kgf range for 28-36h wheels. On a rear wheel, that would set the low boundary for the left side. Then the right side has to be whatever was needed for good dish (hopefully, not double the left). Above what's necessary, there's no benefit to higher tension, so it doesn't matter to me whether a manufacturer said 110kgf or 130kgf, I'm still building the same way.
One of the things I like about light rims, is that they tell you if the tension is right. As you get to high tensions the rim will deflect to small S-bends spoke to spoke, and as soon as this was detected you knew you were hitting the ceiling. Modern heavier rims, are stiff enough that they don't show the spoke to spoke defections, so there's no sense of the tension.
There's both are and science in good design, and these days we tend to look more to the science, and are losing touch with the art.