Vent: Tried to true a wheel without a spoke tension meter and made it way worse

I was at a group ride last Saturday and my rear wheel started wobbling bad. Pulled over to fix it on the spot with just a spoke wrench. Thought I could eyeball the tension like some old timer showed me once. After 20 minutes of turning spokes, the wheel looked straight but the rim had a flat spot I didn't see. Rode another 3 miles and the tire blew off the rim. Walked home pushing the bike. Next day I borrowed a friend's Park Tool tension meter and realized I had the spokes all over the place. Has anyone else had a field repair go this wrong?

3 comments

3 Comments

gavin6922mo ago

Fixing a wheel on a ride is hard, and blowing a tire after all that work really stinks.

milessmith2mo ago

Tension meters are cheap enough that trying to feel it out is just asking for trouble lol.

robinson.hannah2mo ago

Broken spokes are one thing but blowing a tire off the rim is a whole other level. Ive tightened a loose spoke with a multitool on a trail before and it held for the rest of the ride. Maybe the rim was already bent and the spoke adjust just made it worse, or your tire pressure was too high for the ride back. You sure it wasnt just bad luck with the road conditions?