Tacoing wheels
 

So, I think I managed to destroy a wheel today. There was a clicking noise coming from the wheel, which I thought was because the spokes were loose. So, I went around and tightened all of them a half turn, but the noise didn't go away. Stupidly, I decided to do another 1/2 turn. As I was going around, one of the spokes broke off at the nipple, and the wheel taco'd.

I detensioned the spokes and brought it by the LBS, and they pronounced the rim unsalvageable. D'oh. So, the question is, how do I know what the right tension is, absent a tensiometer? I'd tightened the front spokes as well and I'm a little alarmed about the idea of breaking a spoke and having that wheel taco while riding--that'll be a faceplant. I was trying to judge by the pitch of plucking spokes on another wheel I have, which was still higher than where I was when I taco'd the wheel, but maybe they were a different gauge of spoke? How can I avoid doing this in the future?

Thanks,
Daniel

How do you know the temperature without a thermometer?

How do you know your speed without a speedometer?

How do you know a measurement without a ruler?

How do you know the time without a clock?

How do you know the tension without a TENSIONMETER?

Answer: You DON'T.

Bob

First, you don't attack unknown wheel noises by arbitrarily tightening spokes. Apparently, that wasn't the cure anyway.

Lots of wheel builders don't use tensiometers. One way to establish the tension is to compare the "feel" of the spokes to a known good wheel or by the spoke tone when plucked. Both methods require a standard to use as a basis. Older wheelbuilders often rely on past experience but many of them didn't have access to tensiometers when they got in the business so trial-and-error was all they could do. That can be an expensive learning process unless they had another competent wheelbuilder to study with.

As Bobby noted, measuring instruments do remove the subjectivity and reduce the learning curve dramatically.

+1. My comments were primarily directed at novice mechanics. You're right, there are actually two ways to check the correct tension of a wheelbuild. One is to use a tensionmeter. The second is when you've built 350+ wheels and you KNOW (from experience) what they're supposed to feel like.

Something tells me that the OP falls into the first category rather than the second. (Typically, if you have to ask the question, you need a tensionmeter.)

Bob