Buy Park Tool TM-1 Spoke Tension MeterPark Tool TM-1 Spoke Tension Meter Product Description:
- Measures the absolute tension of each of the spokes in a wheel
- The TM-1 works on nearly any bicycle spoke
- Used for building or truing wheels, diagnosing wheel problems, or assembling new bikes
- Measures relative tension between all the spokes in a wheel
Product Description
The key to wheels that are strong and reliable is having spokes that are properly and uniformly tensioned. The TM-1 Tension Meter accurately and reliably measures the absolute tension of each of the spokes in a wheel, as well as the relative tension between all the spokes in a wheel. Easy to use and priced affordably, the TM-1 works on nearly any bicycle spoke¿no matter what the diameter, material, or shape. Not just for the experienced mechanic, the TM-1 is for anyone building or truing wheels, diagnosing wheel problems, or assembling new bikes. It¿s a tool that belongs on every workbench.
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
41 of 45 people found the following review helpful.
The best tool you'll never really "need..."
By Nathaniel Allen
I guess I'm what you call a "book learned / internet learned" home wheel builder (as opposed to having been mentored in a shop environment), and on my first half-dozen builds over many years, I got along just fine without a tension gauge. The most important factors in building a reliable wheel have proved to be sufficient, even tension. (It took me only one attempt to figure out how horribly unreliable an undertensioned wheel could be!) But... with that number of wheels to my name, I was always curious what tension I was ultimately stopping at. So I've had this meter at my side for maybe about five years now.If you're the least bit neurotic or OCD, this tension meter will simultaneously be the best and worst friend in your toolkit. It's possible, for instance, to perform your initial lacing to a low tension value, rather than driving the nipples to where the spoke threads just disappear below the nipple. Possible, but a huge time waster.It's possible to go around and around and around and around again, a quarter turn tighter here, a quarter turn looser there, in an attempt to achieve "perfect" uniform tension as indicated the the Park's scale. Again, a huge time waster.Here's how I prefer to use the tension meter: leave it in the box initially. Lace the wheel, lightly tension, stress relieve the spokes, build the tension and true with care. All the while, pluck the spokes and listen to the tone. Pull the tension meter out to verify final tension, but then trust your ears while plucking your way around the wheel looking for noticeably high pitched (over tensioned) or low toned spokes.This meter is great as a final check, and a neat and somewhat inexpensive toy in that respect, but when you're comparing successive spokes in a fully-built wheel, the plucked tone they generate is going to highlight the problem areas far more quickly and just as reliably as this meter.In a nutshell: This works, and will give you a numeric value to tension to, but *won't* give you a more reliable wheel than what you're capable of building without it. So by all means, pick one up if you're curious and don't mind the investment, but don't add it on your "essential items" list, as it's not a substitute for care and patience and understanding, and definitely not a crutch for inexperience.
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful.
No More Guessing and Hopefully No More Broken Spokes
By D. J. Mccartney
The TM-1 Spoke Tension Meter works very well. I commute by bike every day to work, and among my three road bikes that I rotate through (set up differently for weather and load), was popping spokes to the tune of about 1 or 2 a month, mostly due to what I perceive to be overtorque on some of the spokes. Now I have torqued my spokes at the lower end of the recommended range and have yet to pop a spoke, and it is reassuring to know that they all are torqued to the same value. It does take a little bit of give and take to get the wheel trued, but with just a little bit of effort you can adjust the tension to the correct range, then make minor adjustments of individual spokes to get the wheel to spin true. You end up with a much more consistent torque range throughout the entire wheel, which eliminates overstress (hot spots) on overtorqued spokes.
61 of 74 people found the following review helpful.Use with Caution
By New England Yankee
I have to say that when I was being trained in wheel work, tension gauges were frowned upon. Tension is important, but the problem is that it is only one variable among many, and concern was always that mechanics would try to apply it in simplistic fashion. The problem is this - if you know wheels, you don't really need a tension gauge. If you don't, using one isn't going to help out much, and can actually hurt you, especially in wheel repair. Gauges are most useful in building new wheels with pristine components, and when building to a production standard. That's not a very good description of home wheel work and not even for shop work.The gauge itself is decent. Instead of buying it, however, my advice is to take a wheel building and repair workshop at a good local shop instead.
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