How tight should the spokes be on my bike?

Question

Trek hybrid FX 7.3. They seem a little loose. Its about 2 months old, not sure if I should have the shop adjust it for me.

Answer 1

Knowing good spoke tension for a particular wheel comes through experience and there's just no way to tell you via text....you have to feel it for yourself.   It depends on the spoke length and the type of rim, as well as the quality of the build.

The best advice I can give you is to go to a bike shop and squeeze the spokes of good quality wheels that are of a similar construction as yours....you can get an idea of the tension that way.  You can also pluck them with your fingernail and listen to the sound....higher tones are tighter spokes, lower tones are looser spokes.   If you have lower quality rims, you shouldn't have spoke tension as high as that of stronger rims.

Or, just take it to a shop you trust and get their opinion.  Chances are that it's just fine.   If you don't notice any wobbling then at least the wheel is true...that's what you're after.  If you hear a slight pinging or clicking on every wheel rotation at you ride, then you may have a spoke coming loose.   It could just be the new wheels settling in if they weren't built the right way, but those two things are pretty common in new wheels.

Hope this helps some.

Answer 2

I don't know how to tell you the actual amount to tighten them, but I will caution you to have someone do it who knows what they are doing.  If some spokes are too tight and others are too loose, the wheel will go out of round.

Answer 3

just tighten them up its easy