Originally Posted by
Jeff Neese
I can definitely understand and respect that. Sure, an experienced builder will get it pretty close without actually measuring tension, going simply by feel or by ear. I think they all do. It's that final QC that I'm talking about.
If a wheelbuilder tells me they don't use a tensiometer, it's like a mechanic telling me they don't ever use a torque wrench and go just by feel. They wouldn't get my business either.
I got my first tension meter (and torque wrench for that matter) relatively late.
Went by feel, comparing it to the good wheels that I could see and hold.
When I got the tension meter, I was curious too check the tension - it was pretty good on the wheels I could test that I had built without a tension meter.
Plucking the spokes to check uniform tension and "feel" was all I had used on those wheels.
Similar goes for torque wrenches, at least in my opinion and experience. Even today, I use them only when working on other people's bikes.
Here, at 21:25, is what I think about whether a torque wrench is really needed:
Relja
GoldenTouch Novović