Hello all, I have received several emails asking the importance of tensiometers. In a nut shell: Any monkey can follow step by step instructions to lace a wheel... or simply copy the lacing pattern of a similar built wheel. But, where the art form comes in is not only making the wheel straight (side to side) and round (eliminating hop). It doesn't stop there. A "true" wheel isn't truly true, until it is not only straight and round, but maintaining proper AND even spoke tension. Even spoke tension is what makes a wheel last a long time. Even the crappiest Rigida or Saavedra rims can be made into good wheels if the spoke tension is right. A tensiometer takes the guess work out of properly tensioning a wheel's spokes. You can 'twang' the spokes to see if the sound that resonates sounds the same, BUT without a tensiometer, you never truly know if the tension is proper. Keep the rubber side down and ride, ride, ride!
Kevin Weitzel