Noticed my front wheel has a few spokes that could be described as a bit loose or with a bit of flex. nothing disasterous, there is some movement and they aren’t as tight as a new build, but the wheel is still straight and true. Its not as if they are rattling about. Wheel is about a year old.

Does everyone else have a similar issue, or do you all keep on top of your spoke tension like hawks..Off to alps in a week, debating whether to give them a few turns to tighten things up, or alternatively maybe best left well alone

Off to the alps with loose spokes. 🙄

This is a joke right?

Ask yourself this… Exactly how much effort is required to tighten those spokes Vs the cost of what may happen if you don’t…

😕

why would it be a joke?

As i already mentioned, its not like they’re rattling about…but when you grab two of them you can flex them together a bit more than on my new set. I compared them to my mates bike that hes had for a similar period and his were much the same. if i thought the wheel was going to collapse i obviously wouldn’t use it, but its nowhere near that bad

I’ve never tightened a spoke in my life, I assumed that was far to easy to pull the rim out of shape, so i’d end up with something worse than i started with.

Tighten them, it’s easy.

What are you checking it against to see if it’s true? Rim brakes?

stuck a pencil on my fork about a couple of mm away from my rim, then spun the wheel and no rubbing at random points, and no visible wobble either. maybe the title of the thread was a bit misleading, the aren’t ‘loose’ as such, but slightly more flex in them than I think ideal

I’ve just given each nipple a quick tighten (probably no more than an eighth of a turn) which has tightened things a bit, but i’m reluctant to do anything more drastic in case i pull the wheel out of shape. Will ask the chap in the bike shop if its a concern, i don’t think it will be.

Bike shop should be able to tighten them up for a tenner or so, they’ll probably just tension them all until they’re tight enough (either guesswork or with a tension meter) then true it.

If you’re not confident DIY’ing it then it’s probably best getting it done before you go as they tend to get worse and a loosely spoked wheel will buckle easily.

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoR2qr0d3Gc[/video]

I tweak the odd nipple or two on my wheels if I feela slightly loose spoke – never had a problem with the wheel going out of shape. Just don’t go mad!

Quick job for a few quid for someone who knows what they’re doing. Get the wheel into the bike shop!

I’d say get it to a professional and admire the OPs reluctance to just have a go

Take them to your LBS and ask them what to do next time things slacken off. If they’re nice they’ll explain what they did and it shouldn’t cost much to know that you’re solid for your trip away.

I check mine every now and then, when something’s really off I take them to the bigger boys.