Well I've bought a spoke adjusting tool, £10! For a tiny bit of metal.....rip off Britain.
Hopefully it won't be too hard to sort out. Any tips?
Oil nipples with light machine oil before you start and get used to which way tightens the spokes and which way loosens them.
Yes start from scratch and loosen all spokes before you start so the rim wobbles side to side..
Make sure all the spokes are lace correctly and are of the same length, you never know why it is egg shaped.
Like you would do a car wheel up set the spoke length around the wheel in four opposite and adjacent places around the rim and mark them with a pen, keep the tension down to a minimum.
You can tell by the spoke thread that extrudes from the nipples.
Once the rim is centred over the hub and is round. Then work you way around the rim in between the spokes you set and marked, the same opposite and then adjacent matching the loose tension of the spokes you set at first. All should be equal length.
Once all spoke are equal length, from where the inner tube valve comes out, work you way around the wheel with half turns until you do all spokes.
You will notice as you go around once the tension will increase considerably so be careful not to over tighten them initially.
The strength you use would be no more than what you would need to do up a plastic sauce bottle lid up with.
Honestly, tight spokes are weaker spokes as you take away any stretchability they may give you when you need it, loose spokes = weaker rim.
If your rim is very strong you can rely upon it more but only to a point..
Spin the wheel using the brake pads as a guide, and mark with a pen on the rim the places that protrude untrue, then loosen the protruding side first then tighten the unprotruding side to make true.
When the rim feels solid and is round take it for a small ride and hit few bumps at slow speed to force out any kinks that may exist in your work.
Then check the rim for untrue places again.
Make true again. Take it for a longer ride and recheck.
Recheck rim true for a few days, if you get any small wobbles fix them.
After a day of riding or so it may become untrue after heavy rides please be patient because if your job is OK the rim should always reset itself anyway.
Too much nipple adjustment can wear out the spoke and nipple thread so try not to over do the adjustments.
If the spokes are thread into the nipples at even length in most cases the rim should become true anyway.
I used 12ga on my HBS and they have lasted a very long time on a tough rim but they are not tense as one would think.
