Should I tighten my spokes?
Generally it is preferable to tighten spokes rather than loosening them – spokes may loosen themselves over time if they are run too loose, but they will not tighten up on their own.
How often should I tighten my spokes?
If your wheels were built well, once a year or less take it into the shop and get a touch up. If you do mess with your wheels it is just as important to loosen the opposite side spokes as you tighten one side to cure a hop. Sometimes if only one spoke is loose you don’t need to loosen others.
What happens if you tighten your spokes too much?
Spokes that have too much tension can result in deforming and/or cracks near the nipple holes of the rim, as seen in the image below. Notice crack at red arrow. Too much tension can also lead to failure of the hub flange.
What happens if you over tighten bike spokes?
Spoke tension is important to ensure your wheels are strong, reliable and long lasting. Spokes that are too loose will continue to loosen and require constant wheel truing. Spokes that are too tight will cause damage to the rim, spoke nipples and hub flanges.
What happens if you over tighten spokes?
Can you ride a bike with a wobbly wheel?
Untrue wheels are weaker, may cause steering to be difficult at high speed, and if you’re using rim brakes it will cause stuttering or lockups. Having said that, it would need to be damn untrue for any of the above to be a serious problem.
Can I use pliers to tighten spokes?
No, never use pliers to tighten spokes. Use a dedicated spoke wrench which can be purchased at your local bike shop. If you do not have a wheel truing stand, have your wheels trued and tighten by a reputable bike shop mechanic.
How do you tighten bike spokes without tools?
To make them able to be tightened by mere fingers, you need to release the tension on them so the nipples will spin easily. That’s as simply as pulling the wheel as far to the right as possible, which is very easy by grabbing the wheel and chainstay and squeezing them together.