I finally found a cheap way to true carbon rims without a tension meter

Last month I had a customer bring in a set of used carbon wheels with a nasty wobble, and I didn't trust my spoke tension gauge after it got dropped off the bench (long story). I remembered an old trick from a mentor in Portland who used a musical tuning app on his phone to check spoke pitch. So I plucked each spoke and compared the note to the others on the same side, and it worked way better than I expected. Took me about 45 minutes to get the wheel within 0.3mm lateral runout, and the customer was thrilled. The key is to do it in a quiet room and use the same pluck strength every time, otherwise the notes lie. Has anyone else used audio or phone apps to gauge tension, or am I just the cheap guy in the shop now?

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barbaraschmidt2mo ago

And honestly, how much of that 0.3mm was the tuning app and how much was just you being careful and patient? I've seen guys true wheels by feel alone for years without any gadgets, just a zip tie and a steady hand. A phone app might get you in the ballpark, but if you're off by one note on a short spoke versus a long one, that's a real difference in tension. Plus, plucking strength is nearly impossible to keep the same for 20 plus spokes, no matter how steady you think you are. I'm not saying it's a bad trick, but calling it cheap and calling it accurate are two different things. I'd still want a real tension reading before I sent a customer down the road on carbon rims, especially if they're racing.

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