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Spokes pinging when I cycle
#1
Sometimes when I cycle my bike I get a noise from the back wheel, I'd say it's the same kind of noise you get when you ping your spokes with your fingers, I replaced some spokes and trued the wheel myself last year, it runs true with no buckles and no spokes are broken.

I'm thinking this might be due to incorrect spoke tension.

How tight should you go with your spokes on a wheel?
Cannondale, handmade in USA............................................Refined in Surrey, England.
- Cannondale F500, Kona Blast, Kona Caldera-
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#2
sounds like not enough tension, and no stress relieving after tensioning.

spokes should be tight enough that they never go into compression.
Nigel
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#3
How tight? Well... very tight. It depends on the rim and number of spokes (mostly). There are some lightweight rims where you have limits on the spoke tension (well, you have them on all, mostly you won't exceed them), where you absolutely should build with a tensiometer. On other wheels: get them tight. Then, tighten them some more. When you have the feeling you'll start rounding the spoke nipples: stop.
(plus all of the stress-relieving, tension removing etc.)
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#4
As an amateur wheel builder these gentlemen are 100% correct! Besides everyone here at BT has taught me all I know, well most things Wink .
Good maintenance to your Bike, can make it like the wheels are, true and smooth!
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#5
Thanks for the replies, spot on guys

Checked the spokes and one has lost some tension, you can see a little tiny bit of thread exposed, all the other spokes that are ok you can't, thing is the wheel is still perfectly true, not a buckle in sight.

Going to re-tension them and re-true the wheel back up this afternoon.
Cannondale, handmade in USA............................................Refined in Surrey, England.
- Cannondale F500, Kona Blast, Kona Caldera-
  Reply


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