Originally Posted by
cyccommute
That’s just not true. Yes, tension is important but it’s just not the end all/be all of a strong wheel. The article I linked to in post 13 doesn’t mention tension at all. The article is written by Ric Hjertberg who is the founder of Wheelsmith who knows a thing or two about building wheels. People who claim that tension is all that is needed for building a strong wheel or boast about never having broken a spoke probably aren’t large riders or riders who carry large loads or aren’t large riders that carry large loads. Personally, I know how to build wheels with high tension and I still broke spokes on a very regular basis. I carried…and used…several spokes on all my bikes all the time up until the early 2000s. I don’t carry spokes any more nor do I need to because I started building all my wheels with triple butted spokes in the early 2000s. I didn’t use any different tension before or after going to more durable spokes. The only thing that changed was the spoke.
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Certainly spoke tension is not ALL that is needed, but it's the most important thing. Wheels are stronger and stay truer longer. I'm not disputing that better spokes and rims are part of the equation. But even the best spokes and rims are not going to hold up if the wheel is not built properly.
It's not about having
high tension, it's about having the
correct tension and that the spoke tension is
balanced. There are readily available charts that can be referenced for different types of wheels and spokes, including in the article I linked to, here:
The Complete Guide To Wheel Spokes Tension. I would encourage you to check out that article and pay attention specifically to the section describing absolute tension vs relative tension. There are other charts if you don't like that source - fire up your Google machine. Most experts and online sources will say that +/- 20 percent is what you're shooting for. Park Tool even has a free app so you don't have to do any math. So there are a lot of folks that seem to believe it's pretty important.
I agree the quality of materials is always important, but do we have reason to believe that the OP is exceeding the weight limits of his bicycle? Chances are the stock wheels are perfectly acceptable, and all he needs is to have the wheels rebuilt by a pro. If he wants to change spokes while he's at it, that's fine - it's his bike and his money. Sort of like replacing a derailleur because the bike doesn't shift well, when all it really needs is to be adjusted properly.