Park Tool TM-1 Spoke Tension Meter

Comments about Park Tool TM-1 Spoke Tension Meter:

On 14 gauge steel DT spokes a quarter of a turn on the nipple would create a one number change of the gauge's units. The range of the included chart gives a lot of range in the tension you use. I found I had tensioned the drive side of a rear wheel I built near the upper limit of tension. I have had cracks in rims develop in the past. I used this tool to get the tension to about 115 lbs and the non drive side was still acceptable at about 85 lbs. With a 36 spoke wheel this should work.
I also found using the gauge allowed me to easily find loose or tight spokes. On a rim that ran within 0.010" of true I found a few. With a Park Professional truing stand, a Campy wheel dishing tool and this tension gauge I can now measure every variable that can be adjusted in wheel building and maintenance. I am very happy with the tool.

Comments about Park Tool TM-1 Spoke Tension Meter:

I found the spoke gauge a great asset when building wheels and it's a fraction of the price of the competition

Comments about Park Tool TM-1 Spoke Tension Meter:

I can't believe how good this product is...great instructions...went a whole DH meeting without a spoke issue

Comments about Park Tool TM-1 Spoke Tension Meter:

I've always built wheels using the musical pitch of the plucked spokes to determine the appropriate tension. That has worked well (never had to true a wheel, never broken a spoke, never cracked a rim on any wheel I've built in the last 15 years or so) along with following the advice in the book The Bicycle Wheel by Jobst Brandt. However, I've always been a little uneasy that perhaps the spoke tensions weren't being controlled as accurately as they should. This meter has put my mind at ease (i.e. pitch tensioning works if you have a decent ear) and incidentally proven that at least for the rims I've used (Velocity, Bontrager, Kinlin, Sun) , spoke tension can be at 150 - 170 kgf (per this tool) without cracking the rim. That's nice to know since wheels with high even spoke tension are less likely to go out of true. Now I have more confidence I'll be able to build reliably durable wheels.

Comments about Park Tool TM-1 Spoke Tension Meter:

People comment about this tool being accurate or inaccurate... I couldn't say since I do not have another means to check spoke tension. However, when I tension to the recommended level, the spokes do feel about right. This tool allows me to get consistent tension and locate problems.

I routinely break spokes on my rear wheel (even on handbuilt wheels from bike shops who don't know what they're doing). Though I have had good wheels in the past so I know it's possible. Now I can tune and check my wheels much more easily. I also don't need to take the time to go to the LBS to drop off and pick a wheel... and not know what I'm going to get.

Comments about Park Tool TM-1 Spoke Tension Meter:

This tensio will give a fine reading for the home mechanic, but cannot match the accuracy of the DT Swiss or Wheel Fanatyk gauge (those are much more expensive, though).

I've built a couple sets of wheels using the Park tool -- it's adequate, but just.

Comments about Park Tool TM-1 Spoke Tension Meter:

I never knew what a properly tensioned wheel set felt like. I didn't know if my spokes were tight or loose unless they were rattling around. I just tightened up my favorite set. Turns out they were about half tensioned and they still rode great. Park tools are easy to use and give great instructions.

Comments about Park Tool TM-1 Spoke Tension Meter:

A great product which really assist in building a strong wheelset.

It is a tight fit however to use on 20inch BMX wheels.

Comments about Park Tool TM-1 Spoke Tension Meter:

Good product. Used this tool with a spoke wrench a ruler and some zip ties to true and dish the wheel on my bike. I was amazed at how well everything worked. This tool allowed me to be certain that I had not over or undertightned the spokes of the wheel.

Comments about Park Tool TM-1 Spoke Tension Meter:

The product is absolutley easy to use and works amazingly well. The only draw back was figuring out the mfgs. sugggested wheel tension. There appears to be a differnence between the spokes on either side of the wheel. This is especially true if you have disc brakes where the spokes are not centered over the hub and a different tension is 'required' for either side. This is also true for the rear wheel because of the cassette.

I was amazed at how the bike responded differently after re-tensioning the wheel.

I ride and Specialized Epic Disc with Mavic 217 wheels. I was noticing a little wobble while doing single track over rocky trails. It is now gone!