Warning: A quick spoke tension check saved a carbon wheel from ruin

A customer brought in a carbon wheel set with a clicking noise. Using a tension meter, I spotted three spokes way out of spec and adjusted them to even tension. The click vanished and the bike handles perfectly now. Why do some shops skip this basic check?

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3 Comments

jamiebailey7mo ago

Short take: because they're lazy or rushed. My local shop uses a Park Tool TM-1 on every wheel build. Takes two minutes. I've seen shops just give spokes a pluck by ear and call it good, which is wild to me. Skipping the meter on carbon is asking for a cracked rim down the line. It's such a basic step, makes you wonder what else they're missing.

7

jessef227mo ago

My buddy's carbon rim split after a shop skipped the tension meter.

10

lopez.brooke6mo ago

My old shop had a policy of checking every third spoke with a meter. I watched a new guy skip it on a set of Enves, and the customer was back in three weeks with a tiny crack starting near the valve hole. Totally avoidable.

8