To tie or not to tie?

i wouldnt bother to tie the spokes unless you plan on riding through brush or rough terrain where debris will hit the wheels. just my opinion.

Tied & soldered spokes used to be a somewhat common practice, but even then it was a hotly debated subject as to whether it provided any benefit at all;

http://sheldonbrown.com/brandt/tied-soldered.html

I would suggest that with modern wheel technology (more uniform spokes, stiffer double wall rims) any advantage it might have provided is negated, leaving only the difficulties of trying to tune/maintain a soldered & tied spoke...

In spite of the inability to prove a measurable, significant advantage - some wheel builders still swear by it, including the one I trust to build my custom wheelsets. While I decline his offer to solder & tie - I will admit if properly done, it adds a nice aesthetic touch to a build, particularly a vintage one.

Here's a link to a nice, simple tut if you're interested;

http://www.urbanvelo.org/issue11/urbanvelo11_p70-71.html

Lions and lepords are attracted to tied spokes. So I wouldnt do it.

Back in the old days I used to tie my spokes with stainless steel wire to stiffen the wheels for desert racing and Baja.

Solder them......never! Seriously why would you even think of soldering them, you could never true the wheel if you did that. You may as well solder or loctite the spoke nipples as well, you won't be able to re-build or true it again.

Zip ties will do the trick on bicycle spokes and can easily be removed if neccesary.

Solder......reeeeaaally?

I just never know what I might learn. LOL I've never even heard of tying and soldering spokes...but I read that article and that's pretty cool. A nice old school touch.

Yeah, I learned this here a while back elsewhere. I personally conclude that tying is good and soldering is bad.

Mannhouse51 said:

I just never know what I might learn. LOL I've never even heard of tying and soldering spokes...but I read that article and that's pretty cool. A nice old school touch.

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The question would be then, if tying and soldering provided so little improvement that there was no marked reduction in deflection - is there any point in tying alone?

Just for the sake of discussion, the solder is removable for tuning & repair via heat - tedious perhaps, but no more so than soldering in the first place.

I've had dirtbikes that had the rear spokes tie-wrapped... Never went to the trouble of actually doing it myself.
I DO recall tightening up loose spokes on wheels that had the ties installed..

I don't know they accomplish much...

Best
rc

I personally think that tying alone will allow for some slippage when tightening or when they loosen, while still holding onto the counter spoke for added strength and sway prevention when bucking of spoke is tested. jmo and probably flawed somehow.. lol

BarelyAWake said:

is there any point in tying alone?

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