Chat with a retired courier in Portland made me rethink my spoke tension approach

I was at a shop on Hawthorne last Tuesday and this old guy who used to ride for the Postal Service came in. He watched me tighten spokes and said I was going too slow and even all around, but he said real wheels are built with intentional looser spots for shock absorption. I’ve been doing it the textbook way for 12 years, and now I’m wondering if I’ve been making wheels that are too stiff. Anyone else heard of building in deliberate soft spots?

2 comments

2 Comments

oscar7431d agoMost Upvoted

Real wheels are built with intentional looser spots" - wait, that's a real thing?

the_elliot11h ago

Yeah, the "looser spots" thing is real. I remember building my first set of wheels and thinking I messed up because one spoke felt like it was barely doing anything. Turns out that's on purpose to let the wheel flex a bit when you hit bumps. My wheels have always been more "loose in all spots" if I'm being honest.