Loose spokes

[benjy_a]

An annoying squeek from my front wheel turns out to be 3 loose spokes on my new Crystalyte wheel.

What is the most likely cause of spokes becoming loose after 6/700 miles from new?

1) Poor wheel build
2) High torque from the motor
3) Regenerative braking
4) Normal for a new wheel?

I have tightened the spokes by feel and 'pinging' them to get similar tension to the others. Should I be worried or doing anything else?

Thanks

Ben

 

[Scimitar]

You're doing it right - just run the wheel in eye-line from the end and to the side and see if it's still round and non-wobbly. Only 3 spokes just tightened up to what they should be won't have made a difference to the true-ness.
Loose spokes within the first few hundred miles aren't uncommon.

 

[Mussels]

4. I wouldn't say normal but it's not rare.

 

[benjy_a]

Thanks for the advice....another thing to keep checking in a paranoid fashion!

 

[jerrysimon]

I am no expert in wheel building but have built about a dozen now.

4. Normal..... - No not if it is built properly in the first place.

Gettting all the spokes at the same tension whilst maintaining its shape is the holy grail, so if you have now done that as near as possible it should be ok, providing it is also up to correct working tension.

My first DIY wheel build also developed a creaking sound after about 1000 miles and like you I traced it to a less than tight spoke.

Regards

Jerry

 

[flecc]

Production wheels often suffer some spoke looseness after a few hundred miles, but once attended to you can usually stop worrying since the first time is only the settling of new spokes under working conditions.