Home mechanic (basic tools) ยท Time: 20 to 60 min (estimate) (estimate)
Spokes hold the rim round and centred on the hub. Loose spokes let the rim go out of true, break other spokes and can cut the inner tube. A spoke check is quick; truing a wheel needs patience and small adjustments.
Safety
- Lift the wheel with the bike stable.
- A wheel with several loose or broken spokes can collapse. Do not ride it.
- Tightening too hard can pull a nipple through the rim or crack the hub flange.
You need
- A spoke wrench that fits the nipple exactly. An adjustable spanner rounds nipples.
- A small spanner to tap spokes, and a pointer or dial indicator for truing (Check a wheel for runout).
Steps: check
- Lift the wheel. Tap each spoke near the rim with the spanner while you turn the wheel. A tight spoke gives a clear ring. A loose spoke gives a dull sound.
- Spokes on the same side of the hub should sound similar. Inner and outer spokes may differ a little.
- Squeeze pairs of crossing spokes with your hand. A loose one moves easily.
- Mark loose spokes with tape. Look for broken spokes and bent spokes.
Steps: tighten a few loose spokes
- Check runout first and mark the high spots.
- Put a drop of penetrating oil on each nipple where it enters the rim.
- Tighten each loose nipple a quarter turn at a time. The nipple must screw further onto the spoke: the direction looks reversed when you work from the hub side, so test one spoke first and listen for the ring to get higher.
- Go round the wheel more than once. Never tighten one spoke a lot.
- Remember that a spoke pulls the rim toward the side of the hub it comes from. Use this to move a high spot back into line.
- Recheck runout after each round. Stop when all spokes ring evenly and runout is within the limit (K-Light 125 limit: 2.0 mm; use your bike's value).
- If you removed the tyre, check that no spoke end sticks out of a nipple into the tube side. File it flat and fit good rim tape.
Check your work
- All spokes ring and none move when squeezed.
- Runout is within the limit.
- Recheck after the first few weeks of riding: new or retensioned spokes can settle.
When to hand it to a wheel builder
- More than a few loose or any broken spokes, or a rim that will not come true with small adjustments.
- A dented or bent rim: a badly bent spoked wheel cannot be straightened. It needs a new rim and respoking. Old spokes are rarely reused.
- Spoked wheels that run tubeless tyres with sealed spokes: spoke work may break the seal.