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Spoke Torque Question....


CaptainBob
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After seeing those spoke torque specs written in newton-meters, I agree they do seem low.

As a very general point of reference, a standard M4 fastener might require 3.5 Nm, and an M5 fastener about 7 - 8 Nm.

Edited by konrad
fixed typo
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It seems light to me too. Now you’ve got me concerned. Errors do occur in books. When I smack my spokes they give off a nice sharp ping though. I think I’ll call my local dealer to ask the question. Good luck!

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3 hours ago, 7heilRhino said:

It seems light to me too. Now you’ve got me concerned. Errors do occur in books. When I smack my spokes they give off a nice sharp ping though. I think I’ll call my local dealer to ask the question. Good luck!

Let me know what your dealer says.  It would be interesting to know.  I think Konrad is close to the mark with the 7nm rating.  I did not try to tighten the spokes to see just how tight they are with my torque wrench but, they are far beyond the spec in the book which makes sense to me

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The GG manual may be a typo.  But if I had to guess, I would say the published spec may be the torque use by Morad's wheel building machine (likely with a lubricant on the thread).  It has no bearing on tensioning a dirty spoke by the end user. 

This test shows the effect of torque on a lubricated thread versus a dry thread: https://youtu.be/-hSmtLVESSM?t=999  

The link drops you into the relevant part, but the entire video is worth watching.

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48 minutes ago, konrad said:

The GG manual may be a typo.  But if I had to guess, I would say the published spec may be the torque use by Morad's wheel building machine (likely with a lubricant on the thread).  It has no bearing on tensioning a dirty spoke by the end user. 

This test shows the effect of torque on a lubricated thread versus a dry thread: https://youtu.be/-hSmtLVESSM?t=999  

The link drops you into the relevant part, but the entire video is worth watching.

Yep, never torque a bolt with anti-seize on it.  I already knew about that.  I always torque "dry" bolts.  Good video.  I'm willing to bet that GG has a typo in their manual.  Although, anything is possible and I am certainly no expert but, I would be surprised if they use lubricant when they assemble their wheels.  Published torque specs are usually for dry threads.   I don't know...  Will be interesting to see what the dealer has to say.

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On 7/10/2024 at 2:57 PM, CaptainBob said:

Yep, never torque a bolt with anti-seize on it.  I already knew about that.  I always torque "dry" bolts.  Good video.  I'm willing to bet that GG has a typo in their manual.  Although, anything is possible and I am certainly no expert but, I would be surprised if they use lubricant when they assemble their wheels.  Published torque specs are usually for dry threads.   I don't know...  Will be interesting to see what the dealer has to say.

The engineering conundrum, I'd never assemble without anti sieze .....

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On 7/10/2024 at 11:57 PM, CaptainBob said:

Yep, never torque a bolt with anti-seize on it.  I already knew about that.  I always torque "dry" bolts.  Good video.  I'm willing to bet that GG has a typo in their manual.  Although, anything is possible and I am certainly no expert but, I would be surprised if they use lubricant when they assemble their wheels.  Published torque specs are usually for dry threads.   I don't know...  Will be interesting to see what the dealer has to say.

Yes the trials bike manufacturers don't seem to lubricate anything properly when they put the bikes together. People either pull their new bike apart and lube things properly, or replace the rusty and seized parts when they fail. In my experience the steering head bearings, swing-arm and shock link bearings last about one season unless lubricated post-purchase. Many people also lube the spoke threads as part of their new bike ride preparation.

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On 7/12/2024 at 7:01 AM, b40rt said:

The engineering conundrum, I'd never assemble without anti sieze .....

On my MTB wheel building course we were taught to lube the thread to assemble the wheel.  The explanation was that a dry thread might require different force between individual spokes to achieve the same tightness.  I have no idea if that is correct or sensible - just what the person taught me.  The tutor was a professional wheel builder and had worked for some of the top teams.

Thinking about the issue raised by this topic it occurs to me that trials (and other spoked MC) wheels generally do not need any attention.  Neither do modern machine-built MTB wheels.  When I started mountain biking it was common for a shop that built a wheel to tell you to bring it back in a couple of weeks to readjust.  (My course tutor said this is because the idiot that built it had not got it right at the first attempt).  The wheel I built never needed adjusting and the hub broke eventually.  You do not see adverts for hand-built wheels any more.

I think the hypothesis that the manual has the wrong torque settings might be a good one.

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14 hours ago, ChrisCH said:

On my MTB wheel building course we were taught to lube the thread to assemble the wheel.  The explanation was that a dry thread might require different force between individual spokes to achieve the same tightness.  I have no idea if that is correct or sensible - just what the person taught me.  The tutor was a professional wheel builder and had worked for some of the top teams.

Thinking about the issue raised by this topic it occurs to me that trials (and other spoked MC) wheels generally do not need any attention.  Neither do modern machine-built MTB wheels.  When I started mountain biking it was common for a shop that built a wheel to tell you to bring it back in a couple of weeks to readjust.  (My course tutor said this is because the idiot that built it had not got it right at the first attempt).  The wheel I built never needed adjusting and the hub broke eventually.  You do not see adverts for hand-built wheels any more.

I think the hypothesis that the manual has the wrong torque settings might be a good one.

Interesting....  I had a couple wheels built for me by Warp 9.  When I received them, Paperwork stated to check tightness after 1 hour ride (44 inch pounds).  Then, check again after 8 additional hours of riding.  I did so and found some spokes required tightening after the first hour.  I may have needed to tighten another spoke or two after the second iteration.  After many hours of riding, they have now settled in and have not needed any additional adjustment.

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