Losening Spokes

[Ajax]

I seem to have a problem with spokes working themselves loose. Its the first time i've encountered anything like this.

Is there a standard fix, eg nut sealing gel applied to the thread of the spokes, or would this be down to the way the wheel is balanced?

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I've had a few bikes with spokes that kept coming loose. At first I just tightened the loose ones, which gave a temporary fix, but always more came loose. I was frightened to tighten more than the loose ones in case the wheel went out of true. Out of necessity for various projects, I learnt how to build a wheel using Sheldon Brown's guide and one or two of the Youtube videos, which gave me the confidence to sort the loosening spokes properly. I found that, once properly tensioned, the spokes don't come loose anymore.

If you can hear that characteristic creaking noise, they need sorting or you'll end up with broken spokes and/or broken rim.

For anybody wanting to have a go at adjusting spokes, be aware that the nipples on most ebikes are larger than a normal bike, so the spoke-keys with three different sizes that you get in Halfords and other bike shops don't fit. These ones make a good starter, but you want a better quality one if you're going to be using it a lot.
Silverline Carbon Steel 10-15 Gauge Bike Bicycle Wrench Spoke Key | eBay

 

[JuicyBike]

Dave (or anyone of course) - What effect do you think there might be, on spoke tensions, when storing the bike indoors, in the warm (hopefully) and then riding the bike outside, in the cold?

Anyone with any evidence that temperature plays a part in loosening spokes?

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I found from my 30 years of investigating and solving problems in manufacturing processes, that nearly all problems have simple causes, and that these sort of theories spring up when people miss the obvious or try to put up a smoke screen to hide the obvious.

 

[JuicyBike]

We rarely get problem spokes these days, since mechanising the tensioning process topped off with human double-checking at the factory, and then checking again as part of our final PDI.

It was actually a serious question... and I am trying to quit smoking as it happens...

I doubt rapid, regular, heat change from interior to exterior, even in the middle of winter, in Derbyshire, has any significant effect on tensions... but I'm interested in considering it.

Guitar strings do go out of tune with heat change but then they each have differing thickness.

 

[Old_Dave]

I think that the strings are also affected in no small part by being stretched / tensioned over wood even though the coefficient of linear expansion is kinda hard to calculate.


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