I've had a spoke come loose a couple of times on the front hub motor wheel of my Brompton Nano.
Tightened it myself each time, although I don't claim to know anything about wheel building.
With this in mind, I asked my bike mechanic mate to give it the once over - he's about the only person I would trust near my bikes with a spoke key.
He explained that the spokes on the wheel don't cross in the traditional wheelbuilder's sense, in that they don't touch at the cross.
This touching helps prevent the spokes from unwinding in use.
With that in mind, he said he would nip the spokes up on my wheel a bit tighter than he would for a traditional wheel.
What surprised me was the handling of the bike definitely improved, the steering felt less 'Brompton twitchy' and the bike tracked along the road straighter than before.
I've no idea if a little wheel like the Brompton's is more or less sensitive to spoke tension than a bigger one, but I think the moral of the story is keep your spokes tight.
Tightened it myself each time, although I don't claim to know anything about wheel building.
With this in mind, I asked my bike mechanic mate to give it the once over - he's about the only person I would trust near my bikes with a spoke key.
He explained that the spokes on the wheel don't cross in the traditional wheelbuilder's sense, in that they don't touch at the cross.
This touching helps prevent the spokes from unwinding in use.
With that in mind, he said he would nip the spokes up on my wheel a bit tighter than he would for a traditional wheel.
What surprised me was the handling of the bike definitely improved, the steering felt less 'Brompton twitchy' and the bike tracked along the road straighter than before.
I've no idea if a little wheel like the Brompton's is more or less sensitive to spoke tension than a bigger one, but I think the moral of the story is keep your spokes tight.
