Well put, waterrockets. I am not a statistician, but sometimes late at night, when no one is watching, after a glass of wine, I like to put on some soft music and dress up like one...

Yeah, it would be very helpful to see the raw data -- tension measurement on each spoke -- here, to sort out what's going on (but not necessarily to answer the original question: what could theoretically account for different average spoke tensions on a true, dished front wheel with symmetrical hub shell and rim, and uniform spokes?)

As a side note (as if this thread really needs one ;-) , I've never actually tested the inter-measurement reliability of my tension-meter (Park). It would be interesting to take repeated measurements on the same spoke and then see if there is variance in the measurement, and then also introduce some variables like where along the length of the spoke the meter is clamped, and the angle (around the axis of the spoke) of the placement. I expect that I'd find that whatever variance there is, is too low to make a difference (which, you statisticians will recognize, is a whole other can of worms.) But life is for learning!

OK, got my tensiometer, and the wheel is fine. It reads 25 consistently, on all spokes, with variance of less than half a hashmark.

Now the question is, that gives me 121 kgf if I choose 2.0 mm, and 155 if I choose 1.8mm. Anyone know how to interpret double butted spokes on this chart? Edit: I emailed Park Tools, so I'll share the reply if no one answers beforehand.

I can only conclude that the equipment in the class was fritzy in some highly improbable way. Or*, because that tensiometer was the kind where you squeeze to get the reading, there was some variation between using left or right hand. Edit: can't be that. I remember we turned the wheel in the stand to use right hand on both sides and got the same result. Oh well, it will drive me crazy to try and figure it out...I'm just going to let it go.

And I* am thinking I built a good* wheel for my first try. I'm pretty anal when it comes to stuff like this, so I would have been pretty frustrated if all my spokes were different tensions.

Thanks for the help, guys. Sorry there wasn't a solution to this, but I think it's such a weird thing it's not worth trying to figure out, especially since I don't have the original tensiometer in front of me.

The Park Tools one is very nice!

To get a reading on a 2.0/1.8/2.0 butted spoke, make sure you have all three posts on the thin part of the spoke, then use the 1.8mm column on the chart.

So I have too much tension then. Should I back the whole wheel off?

Edit! Oh wait. I need more* tension! Good, that's better.

With butted spokes, you treat the entire spoke as if it is the narrower gage. The small portion on each end does not materially change the tension measurement.

Oops! to slow.

If you are getting 155kgf, that seems a bit high. I would be shooting for 22.5 - 23 on this wheel which should bring you in around 115 - 125 kgf. Make sure you keep the tension as evenly balanced as you can while maintaining the true of the wheel. This will ensure longevity of the assembly.