Originally Posted by
70sSanO
So you have a set of wheels that are 40 years old and nearly perfect and why are you messing with them? Sounds like someone built some nice wheels at back when. I'm no master builder, but I didn't own a spoke tension gauge until my wife had 20 spoke wheels.
Then again I built 36 hole wheels on the lighter tension side, by feel, so it is just my preference.
John
Thanks to all who have responded. I'm now leaning toward leaving them alone or tighten them up a very small amount.....something on the order of 10kg. I have no prior experience with rims like these and it "bugs me" that the spoke tension is so low! Having said this, it is possible that they were built this way.
FWIW, this bike came to me about a year ago as part of a larger purchase of vintage bikes/parts/and tools from a friend who was near the end of his days. This Volare is in stellar condition and has all of its OEM bits except the shifters which were converted to bar ends. Back to the point, it had it's original Shimano freewheel and chain. The chain barely failed the 50% wear test....this makes me think the bike had minimal use before it came to me. Thus, the spoke tension likely reflects it's original set up.
Last, overnight I won the bid for a set of first generation Dura Ace downtube shifters in near new condition from an eBayer in France. 'Just under $20 shipped! This will get the bike back to all original.
Dean